Photonics Dictionary

In communcations and video signals, the portion of a composite signal between the leading edge of the horizontal blanking pulse and the leading edge of the horizontal synchronization pulse.

A method of focusing an optical system by moving the front component (the lens closest to the subject) to change the distances between components. Also known as front-element focusing.

An optical reflector with the reflective coating applied to the front surface of the substrate. This eliminates the ghost image formed with second-surface mirrors.

FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrometer is a powerful analytical instrument used to obtain an infrared spectrum of absorption or emission of a solid, liquid, or gas sample. It operates based...

The number of electrons that each pixel of a charge-coupled device can hold without overflowing and causing blooming.

Molecules composed entirely of carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid or tube. Also called buckyballs. Cylindrical fullerenes are called carbon nanotubes or buckytubes.

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique that measures changes in hemoglobin concentration in the brain. It utilizes near-infrared light to penetrate the...

Fused quartz and silica are closely related materials, both composed primarily of silicon dioxide (SiO2), but they are produced through different manufacturing processes and have distinct properties...

Fusion ignition refers to the point in a controlled nuclear fusion reaction where the energy released by the fusion reactions becomes self-sustaining, leading to a continuous release of energy...

A GaAlAs laser is a type of semiconductor laser diode that emits light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is composed of layers of gallium, aluminum, and arsenic, hence...

Also known as amplification. 1. The increase in a signal that is transmitted from one point to another through an amplifier. A material that exhibits gain rather than absorption, at certain...

In an avalanche photodiode, the gain multiplied by the signal frequency in MHz.

A laser diode in which the beam is confined to the region of the active layer with gain high enough to accomplish such confinement without a built-in refractive index profile. That region generally...

Gain-switching is a technique used in lasers to generate short pulses of light by modulating the gain of the laser medium. This method is distinct from Q-switching and mode-locking, two other common...

A refracting telescope that yields an erect image by the use of a positive lens for its objective and a negative lens for its eyepiece.

Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) is a semiconductor alloy composed of gallium (Ga), arsenic (As), and phosphorus (P). It is commonly used in the fabrication of optoelectronic devices, particularly...

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a compound semiconductor material composed of gallium (Ga) and arsenic (As). It belongs to the III-V group of semiconductors and has a zincblende crystal structure. GaAs is...

Gallium nitride (GaN) is a compound made up of gallium (Ga) and nitrogen (N). It is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material that exhibits unique electrical and optical properties. Gallium nitride is...

A galvanometric scanner, also known as a galvanometer scanner or galvo scanner, is a type of optical scanning device used to rapidly and precisely direct a laser beam or other light source to...

GaN (gallium nitride) distributed feedback (DFB) lasers refer to a specific type of semiconductor laser based on Gallium Nitride materials and designed with a distributed feedback structure. These...

Gallium nitride-based light-emitting diodes (GaN-based LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current passes through them. These LEDs are constructed using gallium nitride...

A technique for measuring the concentration of any gases. Identical infrared beams are alternately chopped, one passing through a reference cell and the other passing through a cell with the gas...

One of the first lasers to find practical application. Generally, the pumping mechanism is an electric discharge, although some high-power forms employ chemical reaction or gas compression and...

The increase in current of a phototube as a result of the gas in the tube becoming ionized.

A photoemissive cell having an inert gas added to its envelope. Subsequent ionization of the gas increases the responsivity of the photocell.

A phototube having increased response due to the addition of a quantity of gas.

An electron tube whose current flow is affected by the pressure on the gas or vapor contained in the tube.

A telescope objective with excellent spherochromatic correction, consisting of a meniscus crown and a meniscus flint, both convex to the long conjugate.

A beam of light whose electrical field amplitude distribution is Gaussian. When such a beam is circular in cross section, the amplitude is E(r) = E(0) exp [-(r/w)2], where r is the distance from beam...

An intensity distribution (intensity as a function of radial distance from the beam center) which is given by the Gaussian function: where: I0 is the intensity at the beam center r is the radial...

The masking of all openings of an optical transform -- except the hole at the symmetrical center -- with a thin wire gauze to attain a more precise image.

A photometer used to measure sky brightness and polarization associated with zodiacal light, background starlight, F-region airglow and spacecraft corona.

The area of optics in which the propagation of light is described by geometrical lines (or rays) governed by Fermat's Principle. Geometrical optics is useful as long as the objects in which the light...

A man-made satellite that orbits 35,680 km from the Earth at a rate of one orbit per 24-hour period, thereby retaining its initial relative alignment with the Earth.

Germanium crystal refers to a crystalline form of the element germanium (Ge), which is a metalloid and semiconductor commonly used in various electronic and optical applications. Germanium crystals...

A type of photoconductive detector in which germanium, usually doped with boron, gallium and indium, serves as a semiconductor and can detect up to and beyond 100 µm.

Germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) refers to a specific range of UV radiation that has disinfectant properties capable of killing or inactivating microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The...

1. A faint second image caused by reflection that is sometimes seen when observing through an optical instrument. 2. With respect to spectroscopy, a false image of a spectral line formed by...

GigE, short for gigabit Ethernet, refers to a standard for high-speed Ethernet communication, capable of transmitting data at rates of up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps), or 1000 megabits per second...

A device similar to the ordinary spectrophotometer but containing particular modifications to provide for the comparison of two sources.

A prism resembling a Nicol prism but having faces normal to the axis and the two parts divided by a glycerine film. Also known as Glan prism.

A noncrystalline, inorganic mixture of various metallic oxides fused by heating with glassifiers such as silica, or boric or phosphoric oxides. Common window or bottle glass is a mixture of soda,...

An early form of photographic media consisting of glass plates coated with an emulsion.

An optically pumped solid-state laser in which the active medium is a neodymium ion in a glass rod host. Abbreviated Nd:glass.

A furnace used to heat glass materials. It may be a small laboratory-type furnace for small-scale experiments or large enough to hold gas-fired tanks for the commercial mass production of glass....

The total radiation, both solar and diffuse sky, that is incident to a unit's horizontal surface.