Photonics Dictionary

A glass substrate that has its rear surface coated with a reflective coating. Also known as a back-surface mirror.

An optical adapter typically refers to a device or component used in optical systems to facilitate connections between different types of optical fibers, connectors, or interfaces. Here are a few...

A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....

The scattering of x-rays by the regularly spaced atoms in a crystal. The angle at which the reflection occurs is known as the Bragg angle.

Light perceived as achromatic, that is, without hue.

The application of reversible writing with a laser beam on particular storage materials. In one method, an amorphous film is heated and then crystallized for writing. Bubble writing involves the...

The pattern formed by a character generation cathode-ray tube system, in which the characters are composed of a sequence of line segments (strokes) generated by the electron beam motion with time...

Raman scattering, also known as the Raman effect or Raman spectroscopy, is a phenomenon in which light undergoes inelastic scattering when interacting with matter, such as molecules, crystals, or...

A solid-state laser is a type of laser that uses a solid gain medium (as opposed to a liquid or gas) to produce coherent light. The term "solid-state" refers to the fact that the active medium, where...

The removal of the zero-order component of the Fourier spectrum distribution of an object with a small, opaque absorber or reflector in the Fourier plane, to produce images that appear bright on a...

The removal of the zero-order component of the Fourier spectrum distribution of an object with a small, opaque absorber or reflector in the Fourier plane, to produce images that appear bright on a...

A color center, in the context of materials science and condensed matter physics, refers to a specific type of crystallographic defect in a crystalline structure that introduces color to the...

The number of fields scanned per second in a television system. The US standard is 60. Also called field frequency.

A device that converts an analog signal, that is, a signal in the form of a continuously variable voltage or current, to a digital signal in the form of bits.

In interferometry, the result of superimposing two wavefronts of identical shape, yielding a uniform intensity interference pattern with no bands.

The optical form of the crystal fluorspar, calcium fluoride, that is utilized for its low optical dispersion, its low refractive index, and its transparency to infrared and ultraviolet radiation.

Refers to micron-size complex machines that have physical dimensions suitable for the fabrication of optical switches for use in state-of-the-art communications networks.

Equipment for testing an observer's color vision. Some tests require the identification or ordering of colored samples. The commercially available examples include: the Ishihara plates, on which...

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...

A projector designed to give each of the observer's eyes its own disparate image.

Radiation in which every ray from any given object point can be considered to be parallel to every other. This is never completely the case: The light from a star is really diverging, and all...

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...