Photonics Dictionary

A tube containing mercury vapor and lined with a phosphor. When current is passed through the vapor the strong ultraviolet emission excites the phosphor, which emits visible light. The ultraviolet...

A type of optical microscope that allows the specimen being viewed to be irradiated by ultraviolet, violet and occasionally blue radiation, causing the specimen to fluoresce.

Fluorescent proteins are proteins that exhibit the property of fluorescence, which is the ability to absorb light at a specific wavelength and emit light at a longer wavelength. These proteins are...

A fluorescent screen refers to a phosphorescent or fluorescent-coated surface that emits visible light when exposed to other forms of electromagnetic radiation, such as x-rays or ultraviolet light....

Fluoride fibers are optical fibers made from fluoride-based materials, typically fluoride glasses or crystalline fluoride compounds. These fibers are characterized by their unique optical properties,...

Optical glass containing zirconium fluoride that results in special characteristics such as improved transmission.

The optical form of the crystal fluorspar, calcium fluoride, that is utilized for its low optical dispersion, its low refractive index, and its transparency to infrared and ultraviolet radiation.

An objective that uses the mineral fluorite in its construction to reduce the secondary spectrum. It is usually intermediate between achromatic and apochromatic in correction, but may be more highly...

The combination of the organic dye in a stained specimen and the antibodies produced that is detected by exposure to light.

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.

An instrument used to measure the duration of fluorescence emanating from a biological sample to monitor and evaluate its condition.

The analysis and measurement of the fluorescence emitted by a source. Fluorometric processes are more sensitive than light absorption methods and are rapidly being applied in medical and biological...

A fluorophore is a molecule or a portion of a molecule that has the ability to emit light upon excitation by an external energy source, such as ultraviolet or visible light. The process by which a...

The intensity of radiation transmitted to a receiver.

Flux per unit area measured normal to the direction of propagation of the flux.

A method of synthesis for crystals such as KTP. The process involves the use of a high-temperature solution called flux to enable crystal growth. Flux dissolves the elements of the desired crystal,...

An alteration in the direction of the magnetic induction at the interface between two media of different permeability.

The moving spot of light emitted by a source, generally a cathode-ray tube, to illuminate specific points of an area carrying light and dark regions according to a specific pattern.

A microscope that uses a flying spot scanner, directed through the eyepiece, as a light source to determine the features of a transparent specimen. The flying spot is modulated by the varying density...

A device used to scan, with a small, intensely bright spot, portions of a picture surface and to transform the original picture into a series of electrical signals. In optical character recognition,...

FMCW lidar stands for frequency-modulated continuous wave lidar. It is a type of lidar (light detection and ranging) technology used for remote sensing, distance measurement, and 3D mapping. FMCW...

The focal length of a lens is the distance between the lens's optical center (or principal point) and the image sensor or film when the lens is focused at infinity. In simple terms, it is the...

A linear or two-dimensional matrix of individual detector elements, typically used at the focus of an imaging system.

An infrared imaging device composed of a detector array and readout electronics. It may include a cryogenic cooling system. The assemblies are used in meteorological and surveillance satellites,...

A single-particle scattering technique in which an incident laser beam is tightly focused by means of lenses to yield a focal spot in the scattering material with a diameter on the order of the...

A coil used to focus an electron beam by the generation of a magnetic field parallel to the beam.

A scale on an optical instrument that indicates the condition of focus. May indicate the distance to the object or diopter output, or from infinity focus.

1. A term used to describe the clouded appearance of an incompletely polished surface that scatters light. 2. The accumulation of moisture on an optical surface. 3. The extra spectral blackening of a...

1. A flaw in a blank caused by folding the blank's surface during its formation. 2. The change in the direction of a system's optical axis caused by a reflective component.

The application of ultraviolet, x-ray, infrared and conventional photography to law enforcement.

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a mechanism describing the transfer of energy between two closely spaced fluorescent molecules. This phenomenon is named after the German scientist...

Voltage that produces current flow in the direction of lesser resistance to the steady-state direct current, i.e., from the anode to the cathode.

A night-vision device that uses one or more infrared transducers to scan a scene in the 3- to 5-µm or 8- to 12-µm spectral region, convert the infrared radiation to electronic data and...

The Foucault test is performed by moving a knife edge laterally into the image of a small point source. The eye, or a camera, is placed immediately behind the knife edge, and the exit pupil of the...

A rotating mirror coupled with a distant mirror and used in a system by Foucault to compute the velocity of light. Light moving from the rotating mirror to the distant mirror and back was following...

A solid-state laser consisting of active atoms or ions of a transition metal, rare-earth metal or actinide, imbedded in a crystal or glass material, often garnet. Excitation and transfer to different...

A phenomenon that occurs in WDM and DWDM systems when three closely spaced signal wavelengths near the zero-dispersion wavelength interact with each other, producing a fourth wavelength that...

The representation of arbitrary functions as the superposition of sinusoidal functions whereby the representations themselves are referred to as Fourier series or Fourier integers.

The series of images formed when periodic objects are exposed to collimated monochromatic radiation and that result from Fresnel diffraction.

An instrument using a Michelson interferometer, a beamsplitter, two plane mirrors and a detector to give Fourier analysis of the detector signal to provide the desired spectrum.

Any of the various methods of decomposing a signal into a set of coefficients of orthogonal waveforms (trigonometric functions).