Photonics Dictionary

The exact mathematical description of the interactions of matter and intense electromagnetic fields, such as those that occur when laser sources are used to excite flame gases for spectroscopic...

The region at the PN junction in a semiconductor radiation detector where the potential energies of the two materials create an energy barrier, which results in an electrical field that depletes the...

A device that obliterates the polarization of a polarized beam by reflecting the beam in all directions at right angles to its axis.

A critical image parameter in applications where object position may change dynamically relative to the imager; this is a sensitive function of the system's preclosed loop (initial) focal range and...

The distance, on either side of the object plane focused on, through which satisfactory image definition can be obtained. For the special case of an imaging system with lens axis perpindicular to the...

The range of image distances that corresponds to the range of object distances covered by the depth of field.

The direct appreciation of the distance between a given object and the observer, or between the front and back of a solid object. Real depth perception is achieved by the retinal disparity formed by...

Design and engineering consulting services refer to professional services provided by specialized firms or individuals to assist clients in various aspects of product development, system design, or...

The interaction of superimposed light from two separate sources that results in a combined intensity that is less than the sum of their individual intensities before they were superimposed.

1. A device designed to convert the energy of incident radiation into another form for the determination of the presence of the radiation. The device may function by electrical, photographic or...

A detector array refers to a collection of individual detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional grid or matrix format. Each element within the array is capable of detecting electromagnetic...

In optical communication systems, operations in which the amplitude of the pulses, as opposed to their width, determines the distance between repeaters.

A detector-Dewar assembly typically refers to a combination of a detector and a Dewar flask used in scientific instruments, particularly in the field of infrared spectroscopy or other applications...

A device in which the functions of optical detector and emitter are combined.

A discharge lamp filled with deuterium to produce high-intensity ultraviolet radiation for use in spectroscopic analysis.

A chemical solution that changes the silver salts (latent image) of exposed photographic film into black metallic silver (visual image).

The process by which a vitreous or amorphous substance forms a crystal structure at a specified temperature.

Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of breaking up and forming isolated droplets on a substrate. This occurs due...

Able to rotate the plane of polarization of a transmitted, plane-polarized light beam clockwise as seen by a viewer looking in the same direction as the traveling light. Also called dextrorotary; the...

A caustic formed by refraction.

A telescope that corrects dispersion and spherical aberration through the use of one or more lenses, usually smaller than the objective lens, that are positioned at a distance from the objective lens.

Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce high-quality optical surfaces and components with extremely tight tolerances. It...

Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and mirrors, from materials such as metals, plastics, and crystalline materials...

A very hard, highly transparent coating based on forms of carbon, used to protect optical components from abrasion and chemical damage.

A flanged or plain ring with a restricted aperture, located in an optical system at any of several points, that cuts off marginal light rays not essential to image formation. Diaphragms are used as...

1. An optical device used for projection of enlarged images of transparencies or lantern slides on a screen. 2. A device designed to hold and backlight transparencies so that their images can be...

In an optical rangefinder, the system of wedges that rotate in opposite directions to aid in the detection of deviation in the image axis.

A type of photographic film, often used in microfilming, that is processed by heat treatment, needing no liquid application.

Dichalcogenides are a class of compounds composed of two atoms of a chalcogen element bonded to a single atom of a metal or metalloid element. Chalcogens are the elements in group 16 of the periodic...

A dichroic coating, also known as a dichroic filter or dichroic mirror, is an optical coating designed to selectively transmit or reflect certain wavelengths of light while simultaneously absorbing...

A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that selectively reflects or transmits light based on its wavelength. Dichroic...

A polarizer that consists of dichroic polarizing material embedded in a plastic sheet, and that transmits light that is almost completely plane polarized with an intensity that is half that of the...

The ratio between two given absorption coefficients.

Dichroism refers to the property of certain materials to exhibit different colors or absorbance of light depending on the direction of light propagation or polarization. The term is commonly used in...

An eyepiece used in a polariscope or polarizing microscope to give a comparison view of the same object under illumination by the two complementary rays of polarized light.

Glass tinted with mixed oxides of neodymium and praseodymium that, unlike most solid materials, have absorption bands that are very narrow and that have very sharp areas.

Die bonding is a critical process in semiconductor manufacturing and microelectronics assembly, where a semiconductor die or chip is attached and electrically connected to a substrate or a package....

Exhibiting the characteristic of materials that are electrical insulators or in which an electric field can be sustained with a minimum dispersion of power. They exhibit nonlinear properties, such as...

A shallow, fine-pitch diffraction grating having a precise dielectric overcoating that experimentally has absorbed wavelength-specific incident light that is polarized in the P-plane.

A number that indicates the magnitude of the shift in a solid of positive and negative charges in opposite directions when a voltage is applied across the solid.

The minimum of change in stimulation needed to effect an awareness of change in sensation that is statistically determined.

A lidar (light detection and ranging) technique used in pollution monitoring. Two light beams are emitted simultaneously, one at a wavelength that will be absorbed by the target particles, and the...

Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, also known as Nomarski interference contrast microscopy, is an optical imaging technique used in microscopy to enhance the contrast of transparent...