Photonics Dictionary

A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, or quartz iodine lamp, is an incandescent lamp that uses a tungsten filament surrounded by a small amount of halogen gas, such as...

Harmonic generation refers to a nonlinear optical process in which incoming photons interact with a material and produce new photons at integer multiples of the frequency of the incoming photons....

A direct-vision prism made in one piece that can be used only in parallel light.

A test for spherical aberration, coma or astigmatism in which incident rays from a point source are isolated by small holes in a metal disc located close to the lens or mirror under test....

A type of cooling system in which one fluid is used to carry heat off another without direct contact between the two.

A lamp designed to emit a large amount of infrared radiation; used in applications requiring heat.

A heat sink for a laser is a device designed to absorb and dissipate the excess heat generated by the laser during operation. This is crucial to maintain the laser's performance, prevent overheating,...

A guided missile that uses an infrared sensor to detect and home in on an enemy target. The missile is guided by the high infrared emissions produced by a target, such as the heat from an aircraft or...

A display that allows the observation and measurement of the altitude and range of airborne objects.

A method used in facsimile scanning that sweeps the elemental area across the copy in a spiral motion as the result of the movement of a single turn helix against a stationary bar.

A device having a plane mirror so mounted that it can be set to reflect sunlight into a piece of laboratory equipment. It is driven by a clock to compensate for the sun's daily motion around the pole...

A small mass spectrometer used to find leaks in a vacuum system by detecting the presence of helium. Using a magnetic deflection device that is permanently tuned to helium, it is capable of detecting...

A helium-neon (HeNe) laser is a type of gas laser that emits visible red light at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. It operates based on the principle of stimulated emission of photons from excited helium...

A compact optical projection system, mounted on or built into a helmet, and used to project data or a scene directly into the eyes of the wearer. Also called visually coupled display.

A photoanalytical instrument for analysis of jaundice conditions in infants that measures bilirubin (a breakdown product of hemoglobin that produces jaundice), albumen-carrying capacity and binding...

Laser cavity bounded by a plane mirror and a concave spherical mirror with the plane mirror located at the center of curvature of the concave mirror.

The inductance of a closed circuit in which an electromotive force of one volt is produced when the electric current in the circuit is varied uniformly at a rate of one ampere per second.

The total fusion and sealing of materials, or usually an enclosure, to ensure that they are airtight.

In optical communications, the translation of optical signals into radio signals, lowering their frequency in detection from greater than 1014 Hz to less than 1010 Hz, so that further signal...

A heterojunction is a junction formed between two different semiconductor materials with differing band gaps. These materials can be of the same or different types (e.g., both n-type, both p-type, or...

The Higgs boson is a fundamental particle associated with the Higgs field, a field that permeates the universe and is responsible for giving mass to other fundamental particles through the mechanism...

A term used to describe a photograph, film or television picture where the values for black and white areas are at or near their limits, thereby giving the maximum degree of difference between them.

A superthin, highly reflective mirror.

A satellite-borne remote sensing device capable of transmitting images at 10 and 20 m resolution from an altitude of 830 km, each sensor covering a ground area of 60 km, by means of a folded...

A high-sensitivity camera is a type of camera designed to perform well in low light conditions, capturing clear and detailed images with minimal noise. These cameras typically feature advanced sensor...

A high-speed motion camera, also known as a high-speed camera or slow-motion camera, is a specialized imaging device designed to capture fast-moving events or phenomena at extremely high frame rates....

A camera designed to record at rates exceeding 50 fps. For frame rates up to about 500 fps, an ordinary pull-down mechanism can be used. From 500 to 1000 fps, the film must be moved continuously, the...

An imaging device whose technology contributes three specific advantages: ability to study large solid specimens that exhibit behavior in bulk; conduction of in situ studies of radiation damage; and...

A fish-eye lens designed to photograph cloud formations over the entire visible sky.

A null optic in the form of a concave spherical mirror; used for the test and evaluation of a hyperboloidal aspheric surface.

Histochemical staining is a laboratory technique used in biology and medicine to visualize specific chemical components within biological tissues. This technique involves the application of various...

Histology is the branch of biology and medicine that involves the study of the microscopic structure of tissues and organs at the cellular and subcellular levels. It is a field that focuses on the...

A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to capture 3D holographic images of objects or scenes. Unlike conventional...

A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists of a periodic structure of alternating transparent and opaque regions,...

The interferometric analysis of a complex object by utilizing the three-dimensional hologram. By causing a laser beam to diverge into two directions, one of which directly strikes a holographic...

A component used to modify light rays by diffraction; the HOE is produced by recording the interference pattern of two laser beams and can be used in place of lenses or prisms where diffraction...

Holography is a technique used to capture and reconstruct three-dimensional images using the principles of interference and diffraction of light. Unlike conventional photography, which records only...

A thin film of absorbing or nonabsorbing layers in which the absorption of radiation at any point is directly proportional to the electrical field intensity at that point.

A junction between semiconductors that differ in their doping level conductivities but not in their atomic or alloy compositions.

A visual spectrophotometer with a rhomb located directly before the entrance aperture of a constant-deviation spectrophotometer.

An ocular having two planoconvex lenses that are formed from similar glass and that are separated by a space equal to half the sum of their focal lengths. This eyepiece is free of lateral chromatic...

An analysis used for problems of wave propagation. The principle notes that each point of an advancing wavefront is the center of a new disturbance, the source of a new series of waves. It also notes...

A wave in the electromagnetic spectrum that has both electrical and magnetic field vectors in the direction of propagation.

A mode possessing components of both electrical and magnetic field vectors in the direction of propagation.

A sensor module used in advanced pattern recognition systems, containing signal-processing integrated circuits stacked and connected by a busing circuit.

A hydrogel is a three-dimensional network of polymer chains that are hydrophilic, meaning they have a strong affinity for water. This network structure allows hydrogels to absorb and retain large...

Hydrophilic is a term used to describe substances or materials that have an affinity for water. The word hydrophilic comes from the Greek words "hydro," meaning water, and "philos," meaning loving or...