Photonics Dictionary

Laser texturing is a manufacturing process that involves using a laser beam to selectively modify the surface of a material, creating textures, patterns, or microstructures. This technique is...

The variation of the electronically detected signal with respect to the scaled version of the classical optical signal incident on the photomultiplier tube.

Laser viewing cards, also known as laser alignment cards or laser safety cards, are specialized cards or sheets designed to visualize laser beams or assist in aligning optical equipment while...

A laser, which stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," is a device that produces coherent and focused beams of light through the process of optical amplification based...

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is a spectroscopic technique that involves using a laser to excite molecules or atoms, leading to their emission of fluorescence light. This technique is widely used...

A scattering photometer using scattered light in the solid angle 4.51+0 19° with respect to the forward direction, and an impactor with a rectangular jet. Scattered light intensities of entering...

Laser-mediated gene transfer refers to a technique in molecular biology and genetic engineering that utilizes lasers to introduce genetic material into cells. This method is a type of gene delivery...

A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams of light. Interferometry is a technique that combines and analyzes...

A length that denotes the size of the unit cell in a crystal lattice. With respect to the cubic crystal, this is the length of the side of the unit cell. However, a simple definition of the term is...

With respect to the crystal, the decrease in energy that follows the process whereby the ions, separated from each other by an infinite distance, are brought to their locations in the stable lattice....

A Laurent polarimeter is an instrument used in optics for measuring the rotation of plane-polarized light caused by optically active substances. Optical rotation, also known as optical activity, is a...

A lens blank is a piece of optical material in a raw, unfinished state, typically in the form of a disk or block, from which lenses are eventually fabricated. Lens blanks are made from various...

Lens testing equipment refers to a range of specialized tools and instruments used to evaluate the optical performance, quality, and characteristics of lenses. These instruments are essential for...

A lens is a transparent optical device that focuses or diverges light, allowing it to pass through and form an image. Lenses are commonly used in optical systems, such as cameras, telescopes,...

Lensless microscopy, also known as computational or holographic microscopy, is an imaging technique that captures and reconstructs microscopic images without the use of traditional lenses. Instead of...

An ophthalmic instrument used to measure the magnitude and direction of the maximum and minimum powers of a spectacle lens, and mark the optical center of the lens by an ink dot. When the lens to be...

Leukocytes, commonly known as white blood cells, are a crucial component of the immune system in vertebrates, including humans. These cells are responsible for defending the body against infections...

Electromagnetic radiation detectable by the eye, ranging in wavelength from about 400 to 750 nm. In photonic applications light can be considered to cover the nonvisible portion of the spectrum which...

LiFi, short for light fidelity, is a wireless communication technology that utilizes visible light or infrared light to transmit data. Developed as an alternative or complementary technology to...

The term light field refers to the spatial distribution of light rays traveling in all directions through a given space. It includes information about the intensity and direction of light rays at...

A homogeneous optical medium or coating that transmits only in particular regions of the spectrum. It is used to change or modify the total or relative energy distribution of a beam of light.

Also known as single plane illumination microscopy (SPIM), this process was designed for imaging of sensitive samples and fast biological processes in vivo. In this method, a light sheet illuminates...

With respect to display systems, a device that uses an independent light source and a control-layer medium, the active optical element, to convert an electrical charge image to an optical image....

An LED, or light emitting diode, is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs are widely used in various applications due to their energy efficiency,...

Celestial point sources that emit specific wavelengths of radiation that appear on spectral charts as narrow lines. The term linar is a contraction of line and star.

Line scan refers to a method of capturing images or data by scanning a single line at a time, as opposed to capturing the entire image simultaneously. This technique is commonly used in various...

In the spectral sense, an optical source that emits one or more spectrally narrow lines as opposed to a continuous spectrum. In the geometric sense, an optical source whose active (emitting) area...

A line-scan camera, also known as a line-scan image sensor or linear array camera, is a type of digital camera designed to capture images one line or row of pixels at a time, rather than a full...

A linear image sensor is a type of solid-state electronic device used to capture and convert light into electrical signals. Unlike area image sensors (such as CCD or CMOS sensors), which capture an...

Linear polarization refers to the polarization state of light where the electric field oscillates in a single plane as the light propagates through space. In other words, the electric field vector of...

A linear positioning stage, also known as a linear stage or translation stage, is a precision mechanical device used to accurately move and position objects along a linear axis. These stages are...

Linear receive optics typically refers to the optical components and systems used in the reception (detection) of linearly polarized light signals in various applications, such as optical...

A Michelson-type interference microscope used to produce interference patterns of reflective specimens through the interference between light reflected by the specimen and that reflected by a...

Liquid crystals are a state of matter that exhibits properties intermediate between those of conventional liquids and solid crystals. In a liquid crystal, the molecules are ordered like those in a...

An immersion liquid used to treat polarizing filters to eliminate the effects of surface variations and to minimize the optical path difference between that part of the spectrum that passes through...

Liquid or fluid optics refers to the use of liquids to create or enhance optical systems. These systems leverage the unique properties of liquids, such as their ability to change shape, refractive...

Lithium triborate, commonly abbreviated as LBO, is a nonlinear optical crystal widely used in various applications involving frequency conversion of laser light. It is valued for its excellent...

A 30-60-90° spectrograph prism that is coated on the surface opposite the 60° angle with a reflecting film.

A lock-in amplifier is a specialized electronic instrument used to extract and measure small signals embedded in noise or interference. It is particularly useful in fields such as spectroscopy,...

A diagram that uses special symbols called logic symbols to represent the detailed functioning of electronic logic circuits. The symbols do not represent the type of electronics used, but only their...

A fiber optic component or system designed in such a way that it can be operated by people without specialized knowledge of the field.

A long-pass filter is an optical filter that allows longer wavelengths of light to pass through while blocking or attenuating shorter wavelengths. These filters are designed to transmit light with a...

Long-wave infrared (LWIR) refers to a specific range of the infrared spectrum. Infrared radiation is divided into three main categories based on wavelength: near-infrared (NIR), mid-wave infrared...

The Lorentz oscillator model is a theoretical model used in physics to describe the response of a charged particle (such as an electron) to an oscillating electric field. It is particularly employed...