Photonics Dictionary

Remote sensing is a method of data collection and observation where information about objects, areas, or phenomena on Earth's surface is gathered from a distance, typically using sensors onboard...

1. In optics, the ability of a lens system to reproduce the points, lines and surfaces in an object as separate entities in the image. 2. The minimum adjustment increment effectively achievable by a...

A chart on paper or glass containing a series of sets of lines at progressively smaller spacing and used to ascertain the limiting number of lines per millimeter that an optical system is capable of...

A measure of an optical system's ability to produce an image which separates two points or parallel lines on the object. See Rayleigh criterion of resolving power.

Resonance can be defined in various contexts, including physics, chemistry, and music. Here are definitions for resonance in a few different fields: Physics: In physics, resonance refers to the...

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or stimulus is applied at a specific frequency, causing the system to oscillate...

The absorption of a material by a medium or system that has formerly been released from absorption by that same medium or system.

A reticle, also known as a reticule or graticule, is a pattern or set of markings placed in the focal plane of an optical instrument, such as a microscope, telescope, riflescope, or camera, to...

A special-purpose camera used by ophthalmologists to photograph the retina of the eye. The optical system operates through the eye pupil, and the illuminant must be able to send light into the eye...

A retroreflector is an optical device or structure that reflects incident light or electromagnetic waves back to their source, regardless of the direction from which the light approaches. Unlike...

Rhodamine refers to a family of fluorescent organic dyes that are widely used in various fields, including biology, chemistry, medicine, and materials science. These dyes are known for their bright...

A system of local area networking in which each node or station is connected to two others, ultimately forming a loop. Data are passed in one direction only, being received by each node and then...

A ring laser gyroscope (RLG) is a type of gyroscope that uses laser light to detect and measure changes in orientation. It operates based on the Sagnac effect, which is a fundamental principle of...

A Risley prism, also known as a Risley prism pair or Risley rotating prism, is an optical device used for controlling the direction of a laser beam or other optical beam by independently rotating two...

Robotic arms, also known as robot arms or manipulator arms, are mechanical devices designed to mimic and perform the functions of human arms. They consist of multiple articulated segments, joints,...

Conductor element for use in integrated electro-optic systems that measures current flowing through it.

Rolling shutter artifacts are distortions or visual anomalies that can occur in images or videos captured by cameras with rolling shutter sensors. A rolling shutter is a type of image sensor that...

A corrective lens system that is placed near the focal plane of a Newtonian telescope to increase its effective field of view by correcting for coma formed by the telescope's paraboloidal mirror.

A camera system used for microphotography that has a structure, such as a cylinder or surveyor belt, to rotate the documents to be recorded. The image is fixed relative to film motion and exposure is...

Developed for use in military reconnaissance systems, it consists of a polygonal mirror, drive motor, interface between motor and mirror, and control electronics. Also used in broadband video...

RTSP, or real-time streaming protocol, is a network control protocol designed for controlling streaming media servers. It is used for establishing and controlling media sessions between endpoints....

A Rugate filter is a type of optical filter that is designed to have a continuously varying refractive index profile throughout its thickness, rather than the discrete layers found in traditional...

The movement of the eye as it focuses on details of a scene. Some imaging systems mimic this movement by small, rapid scanning motions of the sensor.

Sagnac interferometry is a technique used to measure rotation or angular velocity based on the principle of interference. It relies on the Sagnac effect, named after the French physicist Georges...

Formula that describes the thermal equilibrium of gas electrons and ions as a direct function of variations in temperature.

Sapphire optical fiber is a type of optical fiber made from single-crystal sapphire, which is a form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is highly transparent in the infrared region of the electromagnetic...

A sapphire window refers to a transparent optical component made from sapphire crystal. Sapphire is a single-crystal form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is highly prized for its exceptional optical...

Sapphire refers to a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is used in various optical and photonic applications due to its exceptional optical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Sapphire...

A saturable absorber is a type of optical device that exhibits variable absorption properties depending on the intensity of incident light. In essence, it becomes less absorbent as the light...

A device composed of a light source and phototube used to scan a moving strip of material in photoelectric side-register control systems.

An optical system that records inhomogeneities within a medium by detecting the energy refracted by that portion of the medium in which the inhomogeneity occurs. The image appears in the form of a...

Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment devised by the physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935 to illustrate the paradoxical nature of quantum mechanics, particularly the concept of...

A scientific CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) camera is a type of digital camera specifically designed for scientific imaging applications. It employs CMOS sensor technology, which...

A scintillation crystal, also known simply as a scintillator, is a material that emits light when it interacts with ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, x-rays, or charged particles. The emitted...

A self-interference effect that generates random patterns; secondary speckle pattern (SSP) typically occurs in diffuse reflections of a laser on paper, white paint or rough surfaces. By tracking both...

Characteristic of dissimilar metals in thermoelectric solar cells whereby separate junctions exhibiting distinct temperatures transform incident voltage into a current.