Photonics Dictionary

MTF analysis/measurement equipment refers to instruments and tools used to measure and analyze the modulation transfer function (MTF) of optical systems. The MTF is a quantitative measure of the...

A modulator is a device or component that modifies a carrier signal in order to encode information for transmission over a communication channel. The process of modulating involves varying one or...

A molecular motor refers to a nano-sized device composed of organic molecules or other small-scale components that can convert light energy into mechanical motion at the molecular level. These...

In physics, momentum transfer is the amount of momentum transferred from one particle to another during particle collision or interaction. This phenomenon can be utilized in various areas of physics...

A filter that transmits a single spectral line emitted by a line source.

A monochromator is an optical instrument used to isolate and select a narrow range of wavelengths from a broader spectrum of light. The term monochromator is derived from "monochromatic," meaning...

With respect to a crystal, a monoclinic crystal consists of three unequal axes, two of which intersect each other obliquely and yet still form right angles to the third.

A monocyte is a type of white blood cell (leukocyte) that is part of the innate immune system. Monocytes are produced in the bone marrow and circulate in the bloodstream. They are characterized by...

In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such as mirrors, lenses, stages, or other elements within an optical setup. The...

Method for reducing laser speckle in which the object field comes from a real diffuse object or the reconstructed object field from a hologram. During recording of the image, an aperture is moved in...

A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor material. Unlike the more common PIN photodiodes, which have a P-type and...

Computerized lens design algorithm that permits the lens MTF characteristic to be included and controlled during the optimization process. MTF optimizations typically allow lens design users to...

Multi-axis alignment refers to the process of aligning or adjusting components or systems in multiple spatial dimensions or axes. In various technical and engineering contexts, achieving precise...

Multi-image phasor analysis is a computational method used in fluorescence microscopy for analyzing complex datasets consisting of multiple images or time-series of images. This technique extends the...

A photon-counting instrument for use in both space-borne and ground-based photometric and spectroscopic instrumentation. This style of detector is composed of opaque photocathodes for photon to...

A group of four cameras loaded with different combinations of filters and film (one is usually an infrared color film) to permit the recording of the same subject in four separate regions of the...

An array of optically distinct fibers that are fused into one strand. They are used to keep the resolution efficiency of the smaller, single fibers and eliminate difficulty in handling. Their...

A multihaul transceiver is an optical transceiver module designed to support multiple network architectures or transmission technologies within a single compact device. It offers versatility and...

A photovoltaic device that consists of multiple p-n junctions to produce a greater efficiency when in use than that of traditional single junction devices. A multijunction device is unique because...

A coating made up of many layers of material having alternating high and low refractive index. In this way, it is possible to produce coatings with a great variety of properties. These may be...

A multiline laser system refers to a type of laser that is capable of emitting multiple discrete wavelengths or spectral lines simultaneously. Unlike single-line lasers, which produce radiation at a...

A specific form of phase shifting interferometry - commonly referred to as multiple wavelength phase shifting interferometry - this form of interferometry utilizes two short wavelengths to synthesize...

A group of related lines that represent transitions between two spectroscopic terms, each of which may be complex. Also in physics, a multiplet is recognized as a group of related subatomic particles.

Founded by professor Albert Munsell. In the field of colorimetry, the Munsell color system is a color space that identifies a given color based on three different color measurements. These...

A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path difference to create interference between split optical wavefronts. The...

An LED (light-emitting diode) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs are commonly used for lighting, displays, and indicators. A NanoLED is on the...

Nanoparticle photonic resonator absorption microscopy is a microscopy technique that combines the principles of photonic resonators and nanoparticle imaging to visualize and study biological samples...

Nanophotonics is a branch of science and technology that explores the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, typically at dimensions smaller than the wavelength of light. It involves the study and...

Nanopositioning refers to the precise and controlled movement or manipulation of objects or components at the nanometer scale. This technology enables the positioning of objects with extremely high...

A nanotube, also known as a nanotubule or simply a tube-like structure, is a nanoscale cylindrical structure composed of various materials, including carbon, boron nitride, or other compounds....

The light emitted from tissues without the use of fluorescent dyes as markers. Because cancerous tissues and normal tissues have differing emission spectra, the native fluorescence can be used to...

Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain medium. This type of laser emits light at a wavelength of 1064 nm in the...

The area closest to an aperture or source where the diffraction pattern differs substantially from that observed at an infinite distance, or more specifically, the far field. Also referred to as the...

A scanning probe microscope that analyzes the surface of a specimen by recording the intensity of light as it is focused through a pipette and raster scanned across the specimen at a distance less...

A near-infrared (NIR) camera is an imaging device designed to capture images in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The near-infrared spectrum typically extends from about 700...

A form of liquid crystal with an appearance of moving, threadlike structures, particularly visible when observed in thick specimens with polarized light. During this phase, the molecules of the...

A Nernst glower, also known simply as a Nernst lamp or Nernst filament, is a type of incandescent lamp or radiant heater based on the Nernst effect. It was invented by the German physicist and...

A network interface card (NIC), also known as a network adapter or LAN adapter, is a hardware component that allows computers to connect to a local area network (LAN) and communicate with other...

Neurodegenerative refers to a process or condition characterized by progressive dysfunction or loss of structure and function of neurons (nerve cells) in the brain or peripheral nervous system. This...

A coating applied to a neutral density glass that is designed to reduce the amount of light evenly across the transmitted light spectrum with no color distortion. These coatings are designed to...

A light filter that equally decreases the intensity of all wavelengths of light without altering the relative spectral distribution of the energy.

A nitrogen vacancy (NV) refers to a specific type of defect or impurity in a crystal lattice where a nitrogen atom replaces a carbon atom adjacent to a vacancy (an empty lattice site) in the diamond...

Also referred to as differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy; Nomarski microscopy is a unique form of microscopy especially suited for the evaluation of surface quality and defects as well...