Photonics Dictionary

The spectroscopic analysis of interference patterns using a monochannel spectrometer, spectrograph or multichannel spectrometer with a Fabry-Perot interferometer to record the fringes.

The Faraday effect, named after the English scientist Michael Faraday, is a phenomenon in physics where the polarization plane of light is rotated when the light passes through a transparent medium...

A fiber optic imaging bundle is a specialized optical device composed of multiple optical fibers bundled together. Each fiber optic strand within the bundle acts as a conduit for transmitting light....

The face of a cathode-ray tube (CRT) that has a fiber optic sheet attached to its surface. The sheet's fibers are at right angles to the face, allowing the transmittance of the fluorescent trace...

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...

An interferometer spectrometer designed to measure thicknesses of thin films or layers by recording the interferogram and by having a computer within the instrument to establish the distance between...

A fixed-focus camera designed to record the ink impression of fingerprints that have been impressed on a card or form for record purposes.

A technique used in radiography to obtain an unblurred image of a moving object by the use of very short x-ray exposures, such as one microsecond, to record the image.

An automatic camera that can record reduced images of documents at a rate of up to 30,000 documents per hour by having the film and documents move synchronously in opposite directions.

A powerful method, referred to as FCS, for determining the average diffusion coefficients of fluorescent molecules in solution or membranes. FCS measurements rely on recording the transition of...

The photographic recording of a subject that exhibits luminescence only for an extremely short time (10-8 s) after the exciting source is removed. In the process, the subject may be illuminated by...

A lens having an extremely high aperture and used in the recording of x-ray fluorescent screen images. It often is specially designed for the camera, the color of the light and the image...

The photographic recording of a visible image formed by the impact of invisible radiation on a fluorescent screen.

A hologram formed by the recording of a plane object situated in the focal plane of a lens so that each object gives rise to a parallel beam of light incident on the plate. A collimated reference...

A high-speed cine camera that produces discrete frames of a continuous event as opposed to the flow photographic record of a streak camera.

A device that permits the adjustment of facsimile transmitters and recorders so that their scanning lines stop and start at the same place in relation to the subject copy.

The number of separate images exposed by a cine camera in a second or the number illuminated by a cine projector in a second. By varying the number of images recorded per second, films can be created...

A hologram formed with an object located close to the recording medium.

A camera used in scintillation recording to make a visible record of the distribution and relative concentration of radioactive tracer elements in a sample that is undergoing scanning.

GigE, short for gigabit Ethernet, refers to a standard for high-speed Ethernet communication, capable of transmitting data at rates of up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps), or 1000 megabits per second...

A camera accurately aligned to a weapons system to provide a photographic record of system performance.

1. In a cathode-ray tube, the glow surrounding a bright spot that appears on the fluorescent screen as the result of the screen's light being reflected by the front and rear surfaces of the tube's...

An instrument designed to record the duration and intensity of solar radiation.

The holographic recording of sequences of high-speed phenomena. With a multiple beam laser, multiple holograms that depict rapid events can be formed on a single medium.

A high-speed motion camera, also known as a high-speed camera or slow-motion camera, is a specialized imaging device designed to capture fast-moving events or phenomena at extremely high frame rates....

A camera designed to record at rates exceeding 50 fps. For frame rates up to about 500 fps, an ordinary pull-down mechanism can be used. From 500 to 1000 fps, the film must be moved continuously, the...

Photography involving the recording of events that occur too fast to be perceived by the human eye or recorded by conventional photographic techniques. See high-speed movie camera; high-speed...

An interference pattern that is recorded on a high-resolution plate, the two interfering beams formed by a coherent beam from a laser and light scattered by an object. If after processing, the plate...

A technique used to create a series of interrelated holographic images that give an appearance of motion when projected in sequence. A flashing laser is used in both the recording and projecting of...

The study of crystal growth from the molten stage utilizing a holographic system wherein interferometric techniques record detailed and measurable elements of crystal microstructure. In this way, the...

A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists of a periodic structure of alternating transparent and opaque regions,...

The three-dimensional interference pattern of fringes that is recorded on a holographic plate to facilitate the study of a complex object.

The interferometric analysis of a complex object by utilizing the three-dimensional hologram. By causing a laser beam to diverge into two directions, one of which directly strikes a holographic...

A photographic recording of interference patterns between a plane wave and a spherical wave on a high-resolution photographic emulsion.

The holographic recording of a microscopic specimen whereby magnification is achieved by alteration in a wavelength or radius of curvature between recording and reconstruction of the wavefront. With...

A component used to modify light rays by diffraction; the HOE is produced by recording the interference pattern of two laser beams and can be used in place of lenses or prisms where diffraction...

A method of measuring flow velocity by seeding the flow with neutrally buoyant particles and using a pulsed laser to holographically record particle displacement during a short time period. An...

Holographic tomography is an advanced imaging technique that combines holography and tomography to provide three-dimensional reconstructions of transparent or weakly scattering objects with high...

Holography is a technique used to capture and reconstruct three-dimensional images using the principles of interference and diffraction of light. Unlike conventional photography, which records only...

Hyperspectral imaging is an advanced imaging technique that captures and processes information from across the electromagnetic spectrum. Unlike traditional imaging systems that record only a few...

Complex devices, often involving a computer, in which a photograph is scanned by a point of light, the amplitude of the electrical signal being modified electronically before being recorded on...

A hologram in which the image of an object, or the object itself, is located near the hologram recording plane, for optimum image reconstruction. Because the images are close to the hologram plane,...

A measure of the closeness with which an optical image is capable of resembling the original object. The factors that affect image quality are lens aberrations, diffraction, dirt and stray light...

A type of electroluminescent display that will record and maintain an irradiated image on its phosphor screen, provided a DC potential is applied to the screen. Used to record x-ray images, the...

A camera system in which the image formed on the fluorescent screen of an image converter tube in the system is recorded by photography or direct contact printing from the face of the tube.

Complex devices, often involving a computer, in which a photograph is scanned by a point of light, the amplitude of the electrical signal being modified electronically before being re-recorded on...