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1,977 terms
Photonics Dictionary
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optics x
skew ray
Any ray through an optical system that is not a meridional ray. The plane created by a refracted skew ray does not contain the optical axis.
slab interferometry
The method for measuring the index profile of an optical fiber by preparing a thin sample that has its faces perpendicular to the axis of the fiber, and measuring its index profile by interferometry.
slicing and cutting machines - for crystals, quartz, glass, etc.
A crystal, glass, or quartz slicing and cutting machine is a specialized piece of equipment used in the manufacturing process to precisely cut and slice materials such as crystals, glass, and quartz...
slide projector
An optical projection device designed to project positive color transparencies onto a screen for viewing.
sliding wedge
->
measuring wedge
A wedge in a rangefinder or heightfinder used to displace the image produced by one telescope so that it coincides with that produced by the other telescope, thus affording a measurement of the...
slot modulator
In photonics, a slot modulator refers to a type of optical modulator that operates based on the principle of modifying the optical properties of a slot waveguide. A slot modulator is an optical...
slurry
The name of the mixture of liquid and grinding or polishing compounds used in processing optical materials.
SMA connector
The fiber optic connector developed and manufactured by Amphenol Fiber Optic Products.
smart bomb
A bomb guided to its target by some form of electro-optical system.
smart pixel array
An array of active optical devices (modulators, laser diodes and/or detectors), each of whose electrical inputs or outputs are directly connected to electronic logic circuits, which also are a part...
smear camera
->
streak camera
A streak camera is a specialized instrument used to capture and analyze ultrafast phenomena, such as extremely short pulses of light or rapidly changing events. Unlike traditional cameras that...
Smith-Baker microscope
A transmission interference microscope that produces interference patterns of a sample by using birefringent plates that split a polarized beam of light into ordinary and extraordinary rays, then...
SOA
semiconductor optical amplifier
soft coating
A term describing an antireflection coating that may be applied to optics that cannot tolerate the high temperatures usually required for normal "hard'' coatings. Such coatings lack durability...
soft mold blocking
Blocking by means of a pitch ring, pitch button or a totally pitched block. Pitch, containing a soft filter, may be used between the optical components to bar lateral movement.
sol-gel
A gelatinous fluid that can be used as a porous thin-film coating for optical components, including laser beam collimators, or as a protective coating for glass and crystalline materials.
solar furnace
An optical system that is designed to produce a high temperature in a specified area by the optical direction and concentration of solar radiation on that area. The system usually consists of a...
solar simulator
A solar simulator is a device used to replicate the spectrum and intensity of sunlight in a controlled environment for testing and research purposes. Solar simulators are employed in various...
soleil compensator
An optical compensator similar to the Babinet compensator, but which produces a phase-change consistent throughout its field, as opposed to the Babinet's phase-change, which occurs progressively...
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...
solid-state light valve
A light valve that uses a crystal as the control layer medium and that operates on the principle of the electro-optic effect.
SONET
synchronous optical network
sonoholography
->
acoustical holography
Acoustical holography is a technique used to visualize and analyze sound fields in three-dimensional space. It involves capturing the complex spatial distribution of acoustic waves, much like how...
SOQE
Society for Optical and Quantum Electronics
source efficiency
The ratio of emitted optical power of a source to the input electrical power.
space-division multiplex
In fiber optics, the condition in which each fiber of a bundle carries a separate channel.
spaser
A spaser (surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is a nanoscale device that generates coherent optical radiation at nanometer-scale dimensions. It is analogous to a laser...
spatial light interference microscopy
Spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) is an optical microscopy technique that belongs to the category of quantitative phase imaging methods. It is designed to provide high-resolution,...
spatial light modulator
A spatial light modulator (SLM) is an optical device that modulates or manipulates the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light in two dimensions, typically in the form of an array. SLMs are...
spatially offset Raman spectroscopy
Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is a technique that extends traditional Raman spectroscopy by incorporating measurements at different spatial offsets. This method allows for the selective...
spatio-temporal optical coherence tomography
Spatio-temporal optical coherence tomography (ST-OCT) is an advanced imaging technique that combines the principles of optical coherence tomography (OCT) with spatio-temporal modulation methods to...
speckle noise
->
modal noise
In an optical system, noise created by mode-dependent optical losses and variations in the distribution of radiant power among the modes or relative phases of the modes. Also known as speckle noise.
spectra
->
optical spectrum
1.) Generally, the electromagnetic spectrum within the wavelength region extending from the vacuum ultraviolet at 40 nm to the far-infrared at 1 mm. 2.) The wavelength or color distribution...
spectral domain optical coherence tomography
Spectral domain optical coherence tomography is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics, particularly in ophthalmology, to visualize and analyze the internal structures of biological...
spectral integral density
With respect to color photography, the measurement, at a given wavelength, of the way the color film modulates the radiant flux in the optical system containing the film.
spectrograph
An optical instrument for forming the spectrum of a light source and recording it on a film. The dispersing medium may be a prism or a diffraction grating. A concave grating requires no other means...
spectroradiometer
A spectroradiometer is a device used to measure the intensity of light at different wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum. It provides a detailed spectral distribution of light, breaking...
spectrum
See optical spectrum; visible spectrum.
spheric lens
A spheric lens, also known as a spherical lens, is a type of optical lens with at least one surface that is part of a sphere. This means that the lens surface is curved in a symmetrical manner,...
spherical aberration
Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays passing through a lens or curved optical surface do not converge or diverge to a single focal point. Instead of focusing to a...
spherical gradient
In gradient index optics, a gradient profile in which the refractive index varies symmetrically about a point.
SPIE
International Society for Optical Engineering
spiral
A defect in the cleaved end face of an optical fiber in which the surface changes abruptly.
splice
A permanent joint whose purpose is to couple optical power among two or more ports. Also, a device whose purpose is to couple optical power between a waveguide and a source or detector.
splice loss
->
insertion loss
The total optical power loss caused by the insertion of an optical component such as a connector, splice or coupler into a fiber optic system. See attenuation.
splitter
A passive fiber optic coupler that divides light from a single fiber into two or more fiber channels.
splitting uniformity
When splitting the output of a single optical fiber into two or more fibers, the difference in the maximum loss between any two channels.
spot-to-line converter
->
section converter
An arrangement of optical fibers in a bundle whereby the geometric configuration of the input end differs from that of the output end without changing the total area; for example, a circular bundle...
spread function
The distribution of energy about the image of a point source in the focal plane of an optical system.
sputtering equipment
Sputtering equipment is machinery used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering. Sputtering is a method of depositing thin films of material onto a substrate surface...
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Photonics Dictionary
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