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3,142 terms
Photonics Dictionary
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optical cavity
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resonator
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or stimulus is applied at a specific frequency, causing the system to oscillate...
optical cements and adhesive
Optical cements and adhesives are specialized materials used in the assembly and bonding of optical components in optical systems. These materials are designed to provide secure and durable bonds...
optical character reader
A photosensitive device used to optically scan and read character data (numbers, letters etc.) and input this data into a storage device. Optical character readers are based off the process of...
optical character recognition
Optical character recognition (OCR) is a technology that is used to convert printed or handwritten text into machine-readable text. OCR software and systems are designed to recognize and extract...
optical chopper
A mechanical or electrical-electromagnetic device for periodically interrupting or blocking abeam of light for a brief known interval. The three most common chopper types include the tuning fork...
optical clock
An optical clock is a highly precise and advanced timekeeping device that relies on the oscillations of electromagnetic radiation in the optical or ultraviolet part of the electromagnetic spectrum....
optical coherence tomography imaging system
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics and biomedical research to obtain high-resolution, cross-sectional images of biological tissues. An OCT imaging...
optical collimator
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collimator
An optical instrument consisting of a well- corrected objective lens or mirror with a light source and or object/image (i.e. illuminated slit or retical) at its focal plane. Collimators are used to...
optical combiner
An optical combiner, in the context of optics and display technologies, refers to a device or component that combines multiple optical signals or images into a single output. The purpose of an...
optical comparator
Typically used for the examination of manufactured or engineered parts, an optical gauging device, in which a backlight is used to project the silhouette of an object upon a screen in which the...
optical computer
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photonic computer
A type of computer in which the electronic circuits, which process data serially, are replaced by photonic circuits capable of parallel processing and thus of much greater speed and power. Where the...
optical contact
The adhesion of two sufficiently clean and close-fitting surfaces without the use of cement or glue. The optically contacted surface is almost as durable as the body of the glass, and the surfaces...
optical correlator
A device incorporating a spatial light modulator and a reference filter; used for matching an input optical waveform or signal with stored data in a photonic computer. This technique is done using...
optical coupler
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optoisolator
An optical coupling device that uses light to bridge the gap between incompatible wire communications systems. It contains an input amplifier, a light-emitting diode, a photodiode and an output...
optical data storage
The storage of information via optical means, primarily employing a low-power laser to inscribe data on a photosensitive surface as pits or phase differences and to read such data via reflected light...
optical density
A measure of the transmittance through an optical medium. Optical density equals the log to the base 10 of the reciprocal of the transmittance. where τλ is transmittance. In spectroscopy,...
optical density (photographic)
The transmittance of a point on a photographic negative equal to the log to the base 10 of the reciprocal of the transmittance through the negative at that point.
optical design and engineering services
Optical design and engineering services involve the development, customization, and optimization of optical systems and components to meet specific performance requirements and application needs....
optical design software
Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to simulate, model, analyze, and optimize the performance of optical systems and...
optical distance
The physical length of the light path in a substance divided by the refractive index of that substance. See also equivalent air path.
optical emission spectroscopy
In dry etching, a method of characterizing the composition of solid materials such as metal. Atoms in the OES technique are excited by energy that comes from a spark formed between the sample and an...
optical extent
Mathematically defined as the product of etendue (or throughput) and the square of the refractive index, the optical extent is the quantitative value that describes the geometrical limit to how much...
optical fiber optic switches
Optical fiber optic switches are devices used in optical fiber communication systems to selectively route optical signals from one input fiber to one or more output fibers. They play a crucial role...
optical fiber
Optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent strand or filament made of glass or plastic used for transmitting light signals over long distances with minimal loss of signal quality. It serves as a...
optical filter
An optical filter is a device that selectively transmits or blocks specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. Optical filters are used to control the spectral content of light in various...
optical fluorography
The fluorographic method whereby the visible image (as opposed to the x-ray image) is photographed by mounting a camera in front of the fluorescent screen.
optical Fourier transform
The optical Fourier transform is a mathematical operation applied to optical signals that involves transforming a spatial domain representation of an image into its corresponding frequency domain...
optical gate
An optical gate typically refers to a device or system that controls the transmission of light, allowing it to pass through or be blocked in a manner analogous to an electronic gate controlling the...
optical glass
Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems, such as lenses, prisms, mirrors, and filters. Optical glass is...
optical grating
An optical grating, in the context of optics and physics, refers to a device with a periodic structure of closely spaced, parallel slits or rulings. These slits or rulings act as obstacles to the...
optical head
In compact disc and CD-ROM technology, the portion of the drive that projects the laser light onto the surface of the media and picks up the resulting reflections read as data. The head includes the...
optical instrument dome
A dome-shaped structure used for some optical instruments in place of a flat window. The transparent material should be of good quality and the hemispherical surfaces should be concentric.
optical interconnection
The use of photonic devices rather than electronic devices to make connections within and between integrated circuits.
optical manufacturing tools and machinery
Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the fabrication, shaping, finishing, and testing of optical components and systems....
optical materials
Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the fabrication of optical components and systems. These materials are characterized by...
optical memory
Optical memory is a type of data storage technology that uses light to read and write information. It typically involves the use of lasers to encode data onto an optical medium, such as a disc, and...
optical microphone
Laser-powered telephone device for analog communications that employs a vibrating plastic membrane as a transmitter to modulate laser light piped via optical fibers from a central exchange, omitting...
optical modulator
An optical modulator is a device used to control or modify a property of light, such as its amplitude, phase, polarization, or frequency. Optical modulators are essential components in a wide range...
optical molasses
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laser cooling
Laser cooling is a technique used to reduce the temperature of a material or a collection of atoms or molecules by using laser light. It is based on the principle of selective absorption and emission...
optical multichannel analyzer
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multichannel spectral analyzer
A spectrometric instrument that detects radiation simultaneously in multiple channels, sorts it spectrally from the deep ultraviolet to the infrared, digitizes the information and stores it for...
optical multimeter
An instrument that measures several optical parameters, such as optical power and wavelength, with a single measurement input.
optical noise
Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or integrity of the transmitted information. This type of noise is particularly...
optical null method
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null process
Commonly performed in spectroscopy, the optical null process is a method for radiation detection whereby physical detectors are used to rapidly interchange the intensity between a reference beam and...
optical parametric amplification
Optical parametric amplification (OPA) is a process in nonlinear optics where a weak signal beam is amplified by a much stronger pump beam through the nonlinear interaction in a nonlinear optical...
optical parametric chriped-pulse amplification
Optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) is an advanced technique used in ultrafast laser systems to amplify optical pulses to extremely high intensities while maintaining their short...
optical parametric oscillator
A laser-pumped crystal with nonlinear optical properties inside of an optical resonator in which the output generates coherent light whose output can be tuned continuously over a variety of infrared...
optical path
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optical distance
The physical length of the light path in a substance divided by the refractive index of that substance. See also equivalent air path.
optical perturbation
Optical perturbation refers to any disturbance or alteration in the characteristics of light as it propagates through or interacts with a medium. This perturbation can include changes in the...
optical phase distortion
Optical phase distortion refers to a phenomenon where the phase of an optical wavefront is altered as it propagates through a medium. This distortion can result from variations in the refractive...
optical phonon resonance
The point at which infrared transmission is cut off.
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Photonics Dictionary
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