Photonics Dictionary

Indication of emission brightness with degree of emission from an optical source.

A graphic depiction of the loci of all points in space relative to a laser transmitter at a specific altitude.

With respect to the effect of crystals on lightwaves, the family of curves having constant direction of polarization.

In the context of electronics and optics, an isolator refers to a device that allows the transmission of signals in one direction while attenuating or blocking signals in the opposite direction. The...

A direct recording photometer that is designed to scan a photographic negative to determine its points of isodensity.

That property of a material that determines that velocity of propagation within the material is the same for all directions.

An instrument designed to measure the index of refraction of a gas by the interference patterns formed by two beams, one of which passes through a vacuum tube in which the gas is slowly released.

A device to hold and locate a workpiece as it guides, controls or limits a cutting tool.

1. In relation to cathode-ray tube displays, errors in the signal's amplitude, phase or both that result in small, rapid aberrations in size or position of the image. 2. Errors of synchronization...

A design for bent crystal monochromators in which spacing is constant along any circular arc terminating at the two foci and with equally spaced Bragg planes curved about only one axis.

Characteristic of radiation detectors that produce energy that is similar to the energy of superconductive gaps when interacting with photons.

A semiconductor device with the property of conducting current more easily in one direction than the other. It has two terminals containing a single crystal of semiconducting material that ranges...

A simple form of astronomical telescope that uses a fixed objective and a focusable eyepiece. The objective forms an intermediate image in the instrument, resulting in an image that appears upside...

The Kerr effect, named after the physicist John Kerr who first observed it in 1875, is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where the refractive index of a material changes in response to an applied...

A Kerr soliton refers to a specific type of soliton, a self-reinforcing wave packet, that arises in nonlinear optical systems due to the Kerr effect. The Kerr effect is the phenomenon where the...

E.I. duPont's trade name for an aramid yarn used as a strength member in the jacket of fiber optic cable.

A type of geometrical distortion that brings about a trapezoidal display of a nominally rectangular picture. Usually produced when a picture is projected abnormally to the screen.

That portion of physics concerned with motion in the abstract, such as of points or space figures, and separated from its dynamic properties.

A cathode-ray tube that serves as a picture tube in a television receiver. The signal representing the picture intensity is transmitted to the electron gun grid so that the beam intensity varies with...

For any point on a thermal radiator, at thermal equilibrium and for each wavelength, the emissivity in any direction is equal to the absorptance for radiation from the same direction.

A thermionic tube that has a velocity-modulated electron stream and that may be used as a microwave amplifier or oscillator.

An imaging device originally created to image whole mouse brain volumes at microscopic resolution. The main component of the instrument is an automated microtome and microscope capable of producing...

A measurement of the hardness of a material as determined by the penetration depth of a diamond stylus under a specified amount of pressure.

A two-stage illuminating system for a microscope in which the source is imaged in the aperture of the substage condenser by an auxiliary condenser, and the substage condenser in turn forms an image...

Westinghouse trade name for an alloy of iron, nickel and cobalt, which has the same thermal expansion as glass and therefore is often used for glass-to-metal or ceramic-to-metal seals.

Analysis of the reflection spectrum that allows the determination of the experimental dielectric function.

Astronomical detector consisting of a photocathode isolated from the target by a coin value from which electrons are focused on a nuclear emission, producing tracks on the emission. Track density can...

Pennwalt's trade name for polyvinylidene fluoride, a material used in the jacket of fiber optic cables where low smoke emission is deemed more important than flexibility.

A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a miniaturized device that integrates various laboratory functions and capabilities onto a single, compact chip. Also known as microfluidic devices, lab-on-a-chip systems are...

Label-free refers to a technique or method that does not require the use of additional labels, tags, or markers to detect or identify specific components or entities. In various scientific and...

Transmittance of a solution, or internal transmittance of a transparent solid, is an exponential function of the thickness of the layer.

Flux per unit solid angle leaving a surface in any direction is proportional to the cosine of the angle between that direction and the normal to the surface. A material that obeys Lambert's cosine...

A unit of luminance equal to 1/p candela per square centimeter. (l).

An optical source that has a luminous distribution that is uniform for all directions.

In optics, a plane that emits a flux proportional to the cosine of the angle of the normal; dense opal glass is an example.

A perfectly diffusing surface; the intensity of the light emanating in a given direction from any small surface component is proportional to the cosine of the angle of the normal to the surface. The...

Composed of layers.

A nonluminous area around a negatively charged probe that is inserted into the positive column of an arc or glow discharge.

Edge enhancement technique that accentuates all edge details in an image without discriminating as to spatial orientation.

Lapping and polishing services involve specialized processes used to improve the surface finish and dimensional accuracy of components to meet specific requirements or standards. These services are...

Optical fiber with a large core, often a step-index fiber; "large'' is at times defined as greater than 85 µm.

Laser ablation is a process that involves the removal or erosion of material from a target surface using laser energy. This technique is widely used in various scientific, industrial, and medical...