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392 terms

Photonics Dictionary

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critical flicker frequency

Relative to a light source, the frequency at which the source appears to fluctuate in light intensity half the time and remains constant during the other half.

critical illumination

Illumination in which the light source is imaged at the object.

crystal laser -> solid-state laser

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...

cube-corner prism -> corner cube

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...

cyanometer

An instrument designed to measure the proportion of light emitted by a source in the blue region of the spectrum.

dark beam

A precision-engineered microminiature light source that is safe for darkroom use, yet emits a beam of light bright enough to read by.

data acquisition systems

A data acquisition (DAQ) system is a combination of hardware and software used to collect, process, and analyze data from physical phenomena or processes. data acquisition system suppliers...

degree of coherence

A quantitative measurement of the coherence of a light source; equal to the visibility (V) of the fringes of a two-beam interference test: where Imax equals the intensity at a maximum of the...

dense wavelength division multiplexing

Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) is an optical communication technique used to increase the data-carrying capacity of optical fiber networks by simultaneously transmitting multiple...

destructive interference

The interaction of superimposed light from two separate sources that results in a combined intensity that is less than the sum of their individual intensities before they were superimposed.

diffraction

Diffraction is a fundamental wave phenomenon that occurs when a wave encounters an obstacle or aperture, causing the wave to bend around the edges and spread out. This effect is most commonly...

diffractive optical processors

Diffractive optical processors are optical devices that utilize diffractive optics principles to perform various computational tasks, such as image processing, pattern recognition, and optical...

diffuse illumination

Light emitted by one or more sources and characterized by a high degree of scatter.

diffuse reflectance spectroscopy

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a nondestructive analytical technique used to investigate the optical properties of materials, particularly in the field of spectroscopy. Unlike traditional...

diffusion (light) -> light diffusion

Light diffusion refers to the process by which light is scattered or spread out in various directions as it interacts with a medium or material. Unlike direct transmission through a transparent...

dimmer

An electric or electronic device that regulates the voltage going to a light source as a means of varying the intensity of the light emitted by the source.

diode laser -> diode laser

A diode laser is a type of laser that uses a semiconductor diode as the active medium to generate coherent light. Semiconductor diodes are electronic devices that conduct electricity primarily in one...

diode laser

diode-pumped solid-state laser

A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into a solid gain medium, resulting in the generation of coherent light. This...

direct illumination

Light produced by visible radiation that moves from the light source to the object without reflection. With respect to microscopy, this is the light that directly strikes the stage of the microscope...

direct time-of-flight

Direct time-of-flight (dTOF) is a technique used in 3D imaging and depth sensing to measure the time taken for light or electromagnetic waves to travel from a source to a target object and back to a...

direct-vision pocket spectroscope

A small handheld instrument consisting of a slit and collimator that feeds light into a small direct-vision dispersing prism. The eye is placed behind the prism to observe the spectrum of a colored...

distributed feedback laser

A distributed feedback laser (DFB laser) is a type of semiconductor laser diode designed to emit coherent, narrow-bandwidth light with precise control over the wavelength. It achieves this through a...

Doppler velocimeter -> laser Doppler velocimeter

Device which determines particle velocity through the measurement of scattered interference of a beam pair from a single source. The measured light is Doppler shifted which provides information...

Doppler-Fizeau principle

The principle stating that the displacement of spectrum lines is determined by the distance between, and relative velocity of, the observer and the light source. When distance decreases, the lines of...

double-exposure holography

The formation of an interferogram by means of two holograms on the same recording medium, often used for determining small changes in an object. One hologram produces a primary image that constitutes...

electron trapping optical memory

A method of erasable optical data storage in which information is stored by visible light, then read by illumination with an infrared source that returns trapped electrons to their ground state....

electron-beam film scanning

The method by which photographic film is scanned by an electron beam. One technique uses the uniform light of a television screen, focused by a lens onto the processed film, as a means of creating a...

elliptical polarization -> polarization

Polarization refers to the orientation of oscillations in a transverse wave, such as light waves, radio waves, or other electromagnetic waves. In simpler terms, it describes the direction in which...

embedded laser

The term "embedded laser" typically refers to a laser device that is integrated or embedded into a larger system or structure. In this context, "embedded" implies that the laser is an integral part...

emission spectroscopy

Emission spectroscopy is a technique used to study the emission of electromagnetic radiation (light) by atoms, molecules, or ions when they undergo transitions from excited states to lower energy...

emission spectrum

An emission spectrum is a graphical representation or a characteristic pattern of the wavelengths or frequencies of light emitted by a source, such as an atom, molecule, or celestial object. It shows...

endoscope

An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or confined spaces within the body. It consists of a flexible or rigid tube equipped...

epitaxial equipment

Epitaxial equipment refers to a set of specialized tools and systems used in the process of epitaxy, which is the growth of crystalline layers on a substrate material. Epitaxial growth is a critical...

equal-energy source

A light source that produces an equal-energy spectrum.

erbium-doped fiber laser

An erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) is a type of laser that uses an optical fiber doped with erbium ions (Er³+) as the gain medium. These lasers are widely used in telecommunications, medical...

extreme ultraviolet

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. EUV radiation has wavelengths between 10 and 124 nanometers, which...

far-field diffraction pattern

The diffraction pattern of a source such as a light-emitting diode, injection laser diode or the output end of an optical waveguide observed at an infinite distance from the source.

fiber laser

A fiber laser is a type of laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth ions such as erbium, ytterbium, or neodymium. Fiber lasers generate coherent light through...

fiber optic spectrometer

A fiber optic spectrometer is a device used for measuring the spectral content of light. It utilizes optical fibers to transmit light from a source to a spectrometer unit, where the light is...

fiber photometry

An optical recording technique that uses light source(s), a beamsplitting cube, light detector(s) and an optical fiber chronically implanted in animal brain to deliver excitation light to neurons...

fiber-coupled LED

A fiber-coupled LED (light-emitting diode) refers to an LED device that is optically coupled to an optical fiber for the purpose of efficient light transmission. In this configuration, the LED serves...

Fizeau interferometer

A Fizeau interferometer is an interferometric device that uses the principle of interference to measure the surface flatness and quality of optical components. It consists of a light source,...

flash sensitometer

A sensitometer that utilizes an electronic flashtube or a photoflash lamp as both the light source and the shutter for obtaining short-duration exposures.

flash spectroscopy

The study and interpretation of the spectra of substances after they have absorbed the radiant energy emitted by a brief, intense light source.

fluorescence

Fluorescence is a type of luminescence, which is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. Specifically, fluorescence involves the absorption of...

fluorescence and phosphorescence spectroscopy

Fluorescence and phosphorescence spectroscopy are techniques used to study the emission of light (photons) by molecules following their excitation by external energy sources. While both processes...

fluorescence decay system

A device, also called a fluorescence lifetime instrument, that measures decay curves of fluorescing samples. It generally consists of a gated pulsed flashlamp or a cavity dumped dye laser...

fluorescence lifetime

Fluorescence lifetime refers to the average time it takes for a fluorophore, a molecule that absorbs light at one wavelength and emits it at another, to return to its ground state after being excited...

fluorescence lifetime imaging

Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is an advanced imaging technique that provides information about the lifetime of fluorescence emissions from fluorophores within a sample. Unlike traditional...

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