Photonics Dictionary

An interband cascade laser (ICL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on interband transitions between energy bands in a semiconductor material. Unlike traditional semiconductor...

A lens that has a mount, usually bayonet or screw type in design, that can be used on a camera in place of lenses with the same mounting. This allows one camera body to be used with lenses of...

1. The additive process whereby the amplitudes of two or more overlapping waves are systematically attenuated and reinforced. 2. The process whereby a given wave is split into two or more waves by,...

An interferometer is a scientific instrument that utilizes the principle of interference to measure differences in the path length, wavelength, phase, or amplitude of coherent electromagnetic waves....

Heat measurement method in which the sample is made part of the interferometer and the temperature increase is determined by measuring the change in optical pathlength through the material. By moving...

Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) is a type of display technology used in electronic devices, known for its energy efficiency and ability to produce high-quality reflective color displays....

Interlayer attraction refers to the attractive forces between adjacent layers of atoms or molecules in a material, particularly in layered structures such as van der Waals solids, graphene, and...

The effect in which photons are absorbed and excite the electrons; the electrons move from the valence band to the conduction band (intrinsic photoeffect), from the valence band to impurity levels or...

The creation of free electrons within a solid by the absorption of a sufficient amount of photons. The effect produces an increase in the conductivity of the solid.

A nonoptical surface, within lenses and lens mounts, that contributes largely to flare by reflecting light into the image space. As a result, such surfaces, so located, are finished with a dull...

The internet of things (IoT) refers to a network of interconnected physical devices, vehicles, appliances, and other objects embedded with sensors, actuators, software, and network connectivity....

Measures the refractive indices axially from the fiber profile. Microscopy technique provides an interferogram with high contrast with demonstrated improvements in relation to the Pluta two-beam...

That distortion resulting from dispersion of the group velocity of a propagating mode. It is the only distortion occurring in single-mode waveguides.

A lens that is implanted within the eye to replace the eye lens, which has been removed because of cataract or other defect.

Intravital microscopy is an imaging technique used to visualize biological processes within living organisms, typically in real-time. Unlike traditional microscopy, which involves the examination of...

The changing of the kinetic energy of a mobile electron into radiant energy, as in formation of x-rays.

Any problem that requires retrieval of the distribution of some internal properties, such as temperature concentration, etc., from remotely sensed data.

An invisibility cloak is technology that would render an object or individual invisible to the observer. In scientific research, efforts to create real-life invisibility cloaks have been...

An atom that has gained or lost one or more electrons and, as a result, carries a negative or positive charge.

A laser in which the transition involved in stimulated emission of radiation takes place between two levels of an ionized gas. The gases are electrically excited in a container called a plasma tube,...

A technique for improving the structure density of thin-film coatings by bombarding the growing film with accelerated ions of oxygen and argon. The kinetic energy then dissipates in the film, causing...

Ion-beam sputtering (IBS) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique used for depositing thin films onto substrates. It involves bombarding a target material with a beam of energetic ions,...

Also known as gas focusing. The introduction of an inert gas into a cathode-ray tube for the concentration of the electron beam. The gas molecules are ionized by the electrons, producing a core of...

The amount of energy required for a particular kind of atom to remove an electron to infinite distance. The ionization potential is usually expressed in volts.

Also known as the Bragg spectrometer. A system used for the x-ray analysis of crystal structure. In the instrument, a homogeneous beam of x-rays is directed on the known face of a crystal and the...

A mechanical device designed to smoothly vary the effective diameter of a lens, thereby controlling the amount of light allowed through.

A thermosetting material used in the jacket of fiber optic cables.

In the context of electronics and optics, an isolator refers to a device that allows the transmission of signals in one direction while attenuating or blocking signals in the opposite direction. The...

Lines of equal atmospheric attenuation in a laser beam.

A design for bent crystal monochromators in which spacing is constant along any circular arc terminating at the two foci and with equally spaced Bragg planes curved about only one axis.

A small defocused Galilean telescope mounted in a hole in a door. Viewed from inside through the positive lens, a wide-angle view of the outside is seen; viewed from outside through the negative...

A semiconductor device with the property of conducting current more easily in one direction than the other. It has two terminals containing a single crystal of semiconducting material that ranges...

The Kerr effect, named after the physicist John Kerr who first observed it in 1875, is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where the refractive index of a material changes in response to an applied...

A mount for an optic element or optics assembly, designed so that all six degrees of freedom are singly constrained. This assures that movement will be prevented, while stress will not be introduced...

That portion of physics concerned with motion in the abstract, such as of points or space figures, and separated from its dynamic properties.

An atmospheric nonlinear process unique to CO2 laser wavelengths, whereby CO2 absorbs 10.6-µm radiation and the CO2 molecules in the (100) vibrational state are excited to the (001) level, and...

A thermionic tube that has a velocity-modulated electron stream and that may be used as a microwave amplifier or oscillator.

An imaging device originally created to image whole mouse brain volumes at microscopic resolution. The main component of the instrument is an automated microtome and microscope capable of producing...

A measurement of the hardness of a material as determined by the penetration depth of a diamond stylus under a specified amount of pressure.

Pennwalt's trade name for polyvinylidene fluoride, a material used in the jacket of fiber optic cables where low smoke emission is deemed more important than flexibility.

A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a miniaturized device that integrates various laboratory functions and capabilities onto a single, compact chip. Also known as microfluidic devices, lab-on-a-chip systems are...

Label-free refers to a technique or method that does not require the use of additional labels, tags, or markers to detect or identify specific components or entities. In various scientific and...

A method of depositing crystalline films one molecular layer at a time, by dipping the substrate into water containing a polymer that forms a single layer of molecular chains on the surface. This...

A metal tool used to grind lenses with loose abrasive (see diamond cutting tool). The functional surface of the lap is carefully formed to be opposite the curve to be produced on the glass (concave...

1. The process of wearing down the surface of a softer material by rubbing it under pressure against the surface of a harder material that has been formed in the shape opposite to that desired on the...

Lapping and polishing services involve specialized processes used to improve the surface finish and dimensional accuracy of components to meet specific requirements or standards. These services are...