Photonics Dictionary

Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light and its interactions with different materials. The term "optoelectronics" is...

Optofluidics is an interdisciplinary field that combines principles from optics and fluidics to create devices and systems that integrate the manipulation of light and fluids. This field focuses on...

A discipline that combines optics and genetics to enable the use of light to stimulate and control cells in living tissue, typically neurons, which have been genetically modified to respond to light....

An optical coupling device that uses light to bridge the gap between incompatible wire communications systems. It contains an input amplifier, a light-emitting diode, a photodiode and an output...

Optomechanical refers to the integration of optical and mechanical systems or components. In optomechanical systems, optics (related to the manipulation of light) and mechanics (related to the...

A television camera tube in which a low-velocity electron beam scans a photoactive mosaic that has been created by an optical image. Once scanned by the electron beam, the electrical storage capacity...

A camera designed with a telecentric optical system and a narrow field of view; the telecentric optical system (placement of the system's stop at its focal point) ensures that the principal image...

Optimization method used in optical design computer programs that employs a variable-by-variable approach to construct new variables that are orthogonal. This technique can uncover solutions that...

An instrument used to record rapidly varying currents or voltages. An oscillograph may consist of a cathode-ray tube oscilloscope with a camera attachment, or a mirror galvanometer with a lamp and...

The direct computation of the Fourier transform of the space variant system output of an optical processor with a single spherical lens. The one-dimensional output spectrum appears along a 45°...

A process for the production of optical fibers. A glass bait is rotated in a traversing flame of a reaction burner. Reactants passed through the flame react with oxygen at the high temperatures to...

The physical distance, measured along the optical axis, from the object to the image. Also called overall length.

The condition of the numerical aperture or beam diameter of the laser, LED, or other optical source being larger than the optical fiber core or other driven source. Also called overfilled launch...

1. In a photonic interconnect, the number of detectors in a given area. Detectors spaced too closely may give rise to crosstalk. 2. In the cross section of a fiber optic bundle, the ratio of fiber...

The condition in which the index of refraction in an optical fiber varies as a parabolic function of the radius.

A concave mirror that has the form of a paraboloid of revolution. The paraboloidal mirror may have only a portion of a paraboloidal surface through which the axis does not pass, and is known as an...

A saturated compound of carbon and hydrogen used as a liquid coating material for optical components in high-power laser applications. See liquid coating.

The optical phenomenon that causes relative motion between two objects when the eyepoint is moved laterally. When parallax appears in a telescope between the image and reticle, this indicates the...

Means of amplifying optical waves whereby an intense coherent pump wave is made to interact with a nonlinear optical crystal to produce amplification at two other optical wavelengths. See parametric...

A device using a parametric amplifier inside a resonant optical cavity to generate a frequency-tunable coherent beam of light from an intense laser beam of fixed frequency. This device is tuned by...

Characteristic of optical analyses that are limited to infinitesimally small apertures. Also called first-order or Gaussian optics.

A ray that behaves according to paraxial equations; one that lies close to and almost parallel to the optical axis.

Description of an optical system in which all the elements are aligned on the same axis.

Passive optical components are devices or elements used in optical systems that do not require external power or active control to perform their function. These components manipulate light signals...

A passive optical network (PON) is a telecommunications network architecture that uses optical fibers and passive optical components to provide high-speed broadband services to end-users. In a PON...

The criterion maintaining that if light follows a specific path through an optical system, it will, if reversed, traverse that same path in the opposite direction.

A thin film or coating that forms on various finished surfaces. On optical surfaces it usually denotes aging.