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8,726 terms

Photonics Dictionary

cardioid condenser
An oil immersion condenser used to permit only light that has been diffracted or dispersed by a microscope specimen to enter the microscope. It is used in dark-field microscopy.
carrier
An analog signal capable of being modulated as to frequency, amplitude or phase to carry information.
carrier injection
Carrier injection refers to the process of introducing charge carriers (either electrons or holes) into a semiconductor material. Semiconductors are materials with electrical conductivity between...
carrier-to-noise ratio
The ratio of the power of the carrier wave to that of unwanted signal distortions, or noise, before any nonlinear signal processing such as detection or amplitude limiting.
CARS
coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering; coherent amplified Raman spectroscopy; coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy
cartesian
Of or pertaining to the methods of the French philosopher Rene Descartes. Refers to the standard orthogonal X-Y-Z coordinate system.
cartesian lens
A lens, one surface being a cartesian oval, that produces an aplanatic condition.
cascade amplification
In a series of amplifiers, amplification by each of the preceding output.
cascade image tube
An image tube that functions in low-light-level conditions by virtue of its series of stacked sections wherein the output of one section becomes the input for the next.
cascade method
A heterochromatic photometric process using successive comparison of similar chromaticities and the calculation of relative luminances of unlike chromaticities as the product of ratios of luminances...
cascade shower
A shower of cosmic rays whereby a high-energy electron produces one or more photons that convert into electron pairs, the secondary electrons producing the same effects as the primary. As the process...
cascade tube
An instrument consisting of a high-voltage vacuum tube used to form hard x-rays or high-speed ion beams. By partitioning the tube into separate sections, the total voltage is divided.
case hardening
A surface heat-treating process that produces a highly stressed surface. In case-hardening of glass, a plate of glass is heated almost to the softening point and then cooled quickly in a blast of...
case-hardened glass
Glass that has been treated by the case-hardening process.
Casimir force
The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged conductive surfaces. This force arises from the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the...
Cassegrain lens system
A two-mirror lens design used in astronomical telescopes, the primary being a parabola, the secondary a smaller hyperbola. The image formed is free of spherical aberration and color and is located...
cassette
A container designed to hold recording material (film, video- and audiotape) so that when it is loaded into a recording instrument, the recording material is threaded simultaneously.
CAT
clear air turbulence; catadioptric; computerized axial tomography
catacaustic
A caustic formed by reflection.
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...
cataphoretic effect
The attraction of particles suspended in a solution to a cathode, as a result of an electric field.
catastrophic optical damage
The darkening of the laser facet of a semiconductor laser diode. It can be prevented by placing the component in a hermetically sealed enclosure.
cathetometer
A type of comparator with a telescope equipped with a cross wire mounted on a vertical sliding column. It is used to measure vertical distances on fairly near objects.
cathode coupling
In electronics, the coupling of power from stage to stage by the use of an input or output element in the cathode.
cathode dark space
The area of low-level luminance lying between the cathode and the negative glow in a glow-discharge, cold-cathode tube.
cathode emission -> cathode stream
Also known as cathode rays. Formerly, this term described a stream of electrons emitted from the cathode of a gas-discharge tube during its bombardment by positive ions. It also describes any stream...
cathode glow
The apparent luminosity or glow that immediately envelops the cathode in a gas-discharge tube operating at low pressures. The glow increases as the pressure decreases.
cathode modulation
The amplitude modulation through the application of modulating voltage to the cathode circuit.
cathode radiant sensitivity
Cathode radiant sensitivity refers to the ability of a photocathode to convert incident radiant energy, typically in the form of light, into an electrical signal. Photocathodes are components used in...
cathode rays -> cathode stream
Also known as cathode rays. Formerly, this term described a stream of electrons emitted from the cathode of a gas-discharge tube during its bombardment by positive ions. It also describes any stream...
cathode sputtering
The method of disintegrating the substance of the cathode by bombarding it with ions and depositing it on another electrode or electron tube envelope.
cathode stream
Also known as cathode rays. Formerly, this term described a stream of electrons emitted from the cathode of a gas-discharge tube during its bombardment by positive ions. It also describes any stream...
cathode
A cathode is an electrode through which electric current flows out of a polarized electrical device. In different contexts, the specific role and behavior of the cathode can vary, but it generally...
cathode-coupled amplifier
A cascade amplifier that uses a common cathode resistor to couple energy from stage to stage.
cathode-ray graphic display
A cathode-ray tube, driven by a computer, that receives impulses of information from the computer and displays it in a series of lines, circles, curves or other graphic forms to be viewed by the user.
cathode-ray oscilloscope -> oscilloscope
A system in which a supplied signal causes the deflection of the electron beam in a cathode-ray tube, thus forming a visible trace on the phosphor screen of the tube and providing for examination of...
cathode-ray output
A term used in data processing to describe a cathode-ray tube that displays graphic or character data.
cathode-ray tube deflection plane
A plane that lies at right angles to the tube axis that has the deflection center.
cathode-ray tube envelope
Envelopes for cathode-ray tubes are made by blowing glass in the same manner as light bulbs. They have a fairly flat end face to carry the phosphor material applied internally.
cathode-ray tube faceplate
A fiber optic end plate constructed by drawing a bundle of parallel fibers embedded in glass and cutting it into thin slices. These slices are assembled in a plane and heated to produce a...
cathode-ray tube grid -> Wehnelt cylinder
Also known as cathode-ray tube grid or shield. A cylindrically shaped electrode that, containing the cathode of a cathode-ray tube with opposite potential, is designed to focus and control the...
cathode-ray tube lens
A high-quality, narrow-angle lens of high aperture designed for low magnification in the recording of cathode-ray tube images.
cathode-ray tube pattern
The luminous trace formed on the cathode-ray tube screen by the motion of the electron beam.
cathode-ray tube shield -> Wehnelt cylinder
Also known as cathode-ray tube grid or shield. A cylindrically shaped electrode that, containing the cathode of a cathode-ray tube with opposite potential, is designed to focus and control the...
cathode-ray tube
A vacuum tube with an electron gun at one end and a fluorescent screen at the other. Electrons emitted from a heated filament are accelerated by a series of annular anodes at progressively higher...
cathodic etching -> vacuum etching
Also known as cathodic etching. Surface etching achieved by bombarding an evacuated surface with gas ions.
cathodoluminescence
Light produced when a metal is bombarded with high-velocity electrons causing small amounts of the metal to vaporize and emit radiation. Also known as electronoluminescence.
cation
An ion carrying a positive charge and thus attracted to the cathode during electrolysis.
catoptric light
Light that is directed or focused by means of curved reflective surfaces.
catoptric system
An optical system in which the only image-forming elements are curved-surface mirrors; e.g., a Cassegrain lens system.

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