Photonics Dictionary

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...

A plane-parallel interferometer that yields extremely high contrast over a wide range of finesse values without significantly reducing transmission.

In rudimentary form, this technology consists of diffusion of a PN junction through a mask of silica, over which a contact is applied.

A tool used to remove the outer cladding of an optical fiber without damaging the fiber core.

A type of sheathing for fiber optic cable that incorporates a coil of metal; often used in harsh environments.

A system-on-chip (SoC) is an integrated circuit (IC) that incorporates all necessary components of a computer or electronic system onto a single chip. This typically includes a microprocessor or...

Formulas designating the relationships between image distance, object distance, focal length, refractive index, etc., of a thin lens.

Thin-film deposition equipment refers to machinery and tools used in the process of depositing thin layers of material onto a substrate surface. This technique is commonly employed in various...

The process or device by which more than one signal can be sent over a single channel by using different time intervals for the different signals. This may be done by varying the pulse duration,...

Tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) is a powerful technique that combines Raman spectroscopy with the enhanced spatial resolution provided by a sharp metallic or dielectric tip. TERS allows...

A spectroscopic technique that combines the high chemical specificity of Raman scattering and signal sensitivity provided by surface plasmon resonance enhancement, with the nanoscale spatial...

A compound lens consisting of two negative lenses of flint glass. A double-convex lens of crown glass is cemented between the two negative lenses. With this system, it is possible to decrease...

Also known as corner-cube reflector or retrodirective reflector. Three reflecting surfaces, perpendicular to each other, that are arranged like the inside corner of a cube. As the triple mirror has a...

A lens assembly made up of three lens elements that may or may not be cemented.

Ultrasound used in the cleaning of metal and optical parts by virtue of its vibration rates. Large acoustic forces break off particles and contaminants from surfaces.

In interferometry, the result of superimposing two wavefronts of identical shape, yielding a uniform intensity interference pattern with no bands.

Refers to the transistors in which the working current flows through only one type of semiconductor material, either P-type or N-type. In unipolar transistors, the working current consists of either...

A simple electrostatic lens with a focus controlled by a single potential difference.

A device that converts alternating voltage to direct voltage, while at the same time increasing its amplitude.

A device that consists of two types of mode converters, one of which must be magnetic. It is nonreciprocal because the coupling constants of the two mode converters have a different phase relation...

A system that allows the transmission of more than one signal over a common path, by assigning each signal a different frequency band. Also known as frequency division multiplexing.

A two-fiber optical cable containing two single-fiber cables that are connected by a strip of jacket and that can easily be separated from one another for the installation of optical connectors.

A package for electronic components that is suited for automated assembly into printed circuit boards. The DIP is characterized by two rows of external connecting terminals or pins, which are...

A very high bandwidth communication line often used in fiber optics.

Photon flow created by imaging of light into a detector array; IPD is the electrical signal used by the image processor in a laser radar angular tracking system.

The separation between the exit pupils of a binocular instrument. This usually is adjustable so that it can be set equal to the observer's interocular distance, a normal range being from 55 to 75 mm.

Multi-image phasor analysis is a computational method used in fluorescence microscopy for analyzing complex datasets consisting of multiple images or time-series of images. This technique extends the...

The description of the refractive index along a fiber diameter.

Robotic arms, also known as robot arms or manipulator arms, are mechanical devices designed to mimic and perform the functions of human arms. They consist of multiple articulated segments, joints,...

3D laser triangulation is a technology that allows sensors to probe the surroundings. Laser triangulation systems have an ideal operating point, or the standoff distance, where its reflected spot is...

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), is a manufacturing process that builds three-dimensional objects layer by layer from a digital model. This technology allows the creation of...

3D profiling, also known as three-dimensional profiling, refers to the process of capturing, analyzing, and visualizing the three-dimensional shape, geometry, and surface characteristics of objects...

3D scanners are devices used to capture the three-dimensional shape and characteristics of physical objects or environments. They utilize various technologies to gather data about the geometry,...

Abaxial spherical aberration, also called oblique spherical aberration, refers to a specific type of optical aberration that occurs in lens systems. It is a form of spherical aberration that affects...

An Abbe condenser is a type of optical component used in microscopy to enhance the illumination of the specimen. Named after the German physicist Ernst Abbe, who developed it in the 19th century, the...

A dispersion relation defined in order to value the reciprocal amount of dispersion. It is defined as the refractivity over the difference in index values of the shortest and longest visible...

An Abbe refractometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the refractive index of liquids and solids. Named after the German physicist Ernst Abbe, this device operates on the principle of...

An Abbe-Porro prism, often referred to simply as a Porro prism, is an optical prism used in binoculars and other optical instruments to invert and reverse an image. It is named after the Italian...