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396 terms

Photonics Dictionary

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acousto-optic tunable filter

An acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) is a device that utilizes the acousto-optic effect to selectively filter and transmit light based on its wavelength or frequency. It operates by applying an...

acousto-optic

Acousto-optic refers to the interaction between sound waves and light waves within a material medium, where acoustic waves (sound waves) influence the optical properties of the material. This...

acousto-optics

Acousto-optics is a branch of physics that deals with the interaction of sound waves (acoustic waves) and light waves (optical waves) within a medium. It primarily focuses on phenomena where acoustic...

acuity (visual acuity)

Visual acuity specifically refers to the clarity or sharpness of vision, typically measured by the ability to discern the details of objects at a specific distance. It is a fundamental measure of the...

acuity, visual -> acuity (visual acuity)

acute bisectrix

The term acute bisectrix is used in mineralogy and crystallography to describe a specific optical property of minerals, particularly in relation to their crystal structure and light behavior. ...

angle of deviation

The angle through which a ray of light is deviated by a refracting or reflecting surface, or a prism; the angle between an incident ray and the refracted or reflected ray.

anisotropy

Anisotropy refers to the property of exhibiting different values or characteristics when measured in different directions. In various fields, including physics, materials science, and geology,...

anomalous dispersion

Dispersion that occurs when the medium's index of refraction decreases as the frequency of the propagating light increases. For a given medium, some wavelength ranges may produce anomalous dispersion...

anomalous propagation

Irregular propagation of a wave due to variations in the medium's density or refractive index.

antiguide

A waveguide that has a core with a lower refractive index than the refractive index of the cladding. This structure can limit the power of the transmitted beam by removing unwanted radiation, for...

antireflection coating

An antireflection coating (AR coating) is a thin film or coating applied to optical surfaces, such as lenses or windows, to minimize unwanted reflections and increase the transmission of light...

Abbe refractometer; acoustic radiometer; acoustic resonance; active region; alpha ray; amplitude ratio; antireflective; aperture ratio; applied research; argon; aspect ratio; atomic reactor; augmented reality

aspheric lens system

An optical system having one or more lens or mirror components that have nonspherical surfaces. These surfaces, whether reflecting or refracting, serve to advance or retard the incident wavefront,...

astronomical telescope

An astronomical telescope is a type of optical instrument designed to gather and magnify light from distant celestial objects for observation and analysis. It typically consists of two main optical...

atmospheric inhomogeneities

Localized variations in the purity and the index of refraction of the atmosphere.

attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy

Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry to obtain IR spectra of samples. It is particularly useful for analyzing solid and liquid samples without...

autocollimating spectrograph

A spectrograph in which the refracted beam returns almost along the path traveled by the incident beam, and is brought to a focus by the lens that collimates the incident beam.

automatic profiling

In fiber optics, the use of a detector to study the range of refractive indices achieved at various wavelengths. This information is calculated electronically to establish the divergence between...

axial gradient

In gradient index optics, a gradient profile in which the refractive index varies along the direction of light propagation, or optical axis. Axial gradient lenses can be used to correct spherical...

axial vapor-phase deposition

A vapor-phase oxidation process for fabricating graded-index optical fibers. It differs from outside vapor phase deposition in that the preform is developed radially rather than longitudinally. An...

azimuth angle

1. In astronomy, the angle measured clockwise (eastward) in a horizontal plane, usually from north (true north, Y-north, grid north or magnetic north). 2. With relation to the plane-polarized light...

Babinet absorption rule

The rule stating that positive uniaxial crystals have greater absorption with respect to the extraordinary component of light, whereas negative crystals have greater absorption for the ordinary...

ball lens

A ball lens is a small, spherical optical component typically made of glass or other transparent materials. It is characterized by its spherical shape, with both its front and back surfaces forming...

baryta -> glass barium

A type of glass containing barium oxide, which is added to increase the refractive index while maintaining a relatively low dispersion.

beam shaper

A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser or light beam. The goal is to transform the incoming beam into a desired shape...

Becke line

A band of light that appears along the outer edge of a transparent material under microscopic investigation and that moves toward higher refractive indices as the microscope's focus is raised, and...

bending of light

1. That action occurring when light passes through an optical interface at other than normal incidence, i.e., refraction. 2. The curving of a path of light that passes close by a massive object, due...

biaxial crystal

A birefringent crystal having two axes along which there is an absence of double refraction. Mica, sulphur and turquoise are biaxial crystals.

binary optics

Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the collected energy as opposed to the more common refracting or reflecting optics....

birefringence

Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light of different polarizations. In other words, when light passes through a...

bismuth silicon oxide

A photorefractive material used in image processing, holography and optical switching.

bistability -> optical bistability

The phenomenon that can render an optical resonator the equivalent of a semiconductor flip-flop. A bistable device will remain stable in two optical states, one of high transmission and another of...

blacking -> optical blacking

A light absorbing material applied to ground optical surfaces during the process of making that surface non reflective. Such material should have a refractive index as high as that of the underlying...

Bragg cell -> acousto-optic modulator

An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the acousto-optic effect to modulate the amplitude, phase, frequency, or polarization of a laser beam or other coherent light source. It...

Brewster angle window

A parallel plate of glass in such a position that the refracted and reflected rays of incident parallel light are mutually perpendicular. In this situation the reflected light is plane polarized, and...

Brewster's angle

For light incident on a plane boundary between two regions having different refractive indices, the angle of incidence at which the reflectance is zero for light that has its electrical field vector...

brightfield

Brightfield refers to a type of microscopy and imaging technique in which the specimen is illuminated with a white light source, and the image is observed or captured against a bright background. In...

broadband dielectric mirrors

Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or transmit light over a broad range of wavelengths. These mirrors are constructed...

button

A piece of glass with a high refractive index that is fused to the major blank.

calcite

A doubly refracting mineral used to produce polarizing prisms. It is uniaxial negative and in the trigonal division of the hexagonal system of crystals. Its indices are e = 1.486, w = 1.658; its...

campimeter -> eye test apparatus

Instruments used by ophthalmologists and optometrists to study the eye. There are, for instance, the ophthalmoscope to observe and photograph the retina; the retinoscope and optometer to determine...

catadioptric imaging system

A system that uses both reflection and refraction to achieve its focal power. While the relative powers of the lenses and mirrors vary from system to system, the use of the reflective surfaces to...

Cauchy formula -> dispersion formula

All formulas that present the index of refraction as a function of a wavelength of electromagnetic radiation. Also called dispersion equation, Cauchy formula, Hartmann formula.

Cerenkov radiation

The radiation produced when a charged particle traverses a medium that has a refractive index considerably greater than unity. The moving particle has a velocity that exceeds the velocity of light in...

chalcogenide

Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te). These elements are known as...

chirped mirrors

Chirped mirrors are optical devices designed to manipulate the spectral properties of ultrashort laser pulses. They consist of multiple layers of dielectric coatings deposited on a substrate, where...

Christiansen effect

The monochromatic transparency effect produced by the immersion of a finely powdered substance (e.g., glass or quartz) into a liquid with a similar refractive index.

Christiansen-effect filter

A transparent powdered solid immersed in a liquid or plastic of similar refractive index but widely different dispersion; used to isolate narrow spectral regions.

chromatic aberration

Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a lens or optical system, leading to a failure to focus all colors to the same...

Photonics Dictionary

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