Photonics Dictionary

A small defocused Galilean telescope mounted in a hole in a door. Viewed from inside through the positive lens, a wide-angle view of the outside is seen; viewed from outside through the negative...

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

The process by which laser emission is used in measuring fluid velocity and, more specifically, the detection of air and wind velocity.The laser technique measures the amount of frequency shift...

A laser diode module is a compact device that incorporates a laser diode, optics, and often other components into a single package. These modules are designed to provide a convenient and efficient...

A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams of light. Interferometry is a technique that combines and analyzes...

A linear positioning stage, also known as a linear stage or translation stage, is a precision mechanical device used to accurately move and position objects along a linear axis. These stages are...

Liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) is a display technology that combines liquid crystal materials with silicon-based semiconductor technology to create high-resolution, high-quality images. LCoS...

A lock-in amplifier is a specialized electronic instrument used to extract and measure small signals embedded in noise or interference. It is particularly useful in fields such as spectroscopy,...

The total optical power loss in a system. The loss budget is often stated in terms of the transmitted power and the power required at the receiver to express the maximum acceptable amount of loss.

A lumen is a unit of measurement used to quantify the amount of luminous flux, which is the perceived power of light. In other words, the lumen measures the total amount of visible light emitted by a...

Luminosity refers to the total amount of energy emitted by an astronomical object, typically measured per unit time. It quantifies the intrinsic brightness of the object and is often expressed in...

A measure of the time-integrated amount of flux. It has units of lumen-seconds and might be used to describe such things as the radiant energy that the eye would receive from a photographic flash.

Descriptive of the radiant power of visible light modified by the eye response. It is the measure of the flow of visible light energy past any given point in space in a given time period, and is...

A machine vision lens is a specialized optical lens designed for use in machine vision systems, which are used for automated inspection, measurement, and quality control in industrial applications....

The reddish/purple color that results when equal amounts of blue and red are combined so that no one wavelength dominates.

Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique used to determine the molecular composition and structure of compounds based on their mass-to-charge ratio (m/z). It involves ionizing chemical...

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...

A MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals between multiple fiber optic channels. These switches utilize miniature...

A device to modulate spatially a collimated coherent beam of light with input data in optical data processing. It uses a photocathode mounted on a microchannel plate, which amplifies an electron...

A microdisplay is a miniature electronic display technology that is designed to project visual information onto a small screen. Unlike traditional displays, microdisplays are typically very compact...

Microfluidics is a multidisciplinary field that involves the manipulation and control of very small fluid volumes, typically in the microliter (10-6 liters) to picoliter (10-12 liters) range, within...

A device used for slicing very thin specimens in preparation for mounting on a microscope slide.

In physics, momentum transfer is the amount of momentum transferred from one particle to another during particle collision or interaction. This phenomenon can be utilized in various areas of physics...

In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such as mirrors, lenses, stages, or other elements within an optical setup. The...

A near-infrared (NIR) camera is an imaging device designed to capture images in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The near-infrared spectrum typically extends from about 700...

Neuromorphic refers to the design and development of computing systems or devices that are inspired by the structure and functioning of the human brain and nervous system. The term is derived from...

A coating applied to a neutral density glass that is designed to reduce the amount of light evenly across the transmitted light spectrum with no color distortion. These coatings are designed to...

The amount of spatial noise detected equivalent to the output emission location of the giving source.

In physics, nuclear fusion refers to the process in which two atomic nuclei come together to form a heavier nucleus, releasing a large amount of energy. This process powers the sun and other stars...

A device that completely or partially restricts the amount of light reaching the eye.

On-board optics refers to optical systems integrated into devices or platforms for various purposes, such as imaging, navigation, communication, and sensing. These systems are crucial in a wide range...

An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a specific function within an optical system. These components may include lenses,...

A device for measuring linear dimensions. The optical caliper generally consists of two circularly mounted mirrors whose angular positions are monitored by an autocollimator, and that are capable of...

Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms, to modify their reflective and transmissive properties. These coatings are...

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...

A system of modular mechanical components for building precision optical systems. The basic equipment includes a variety of modules for mounting, supporting and accurately positioning lenses and...

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...

The amount by which an optical surface deviates from its ideal design value, expressed in wavelengths of light. Optical manufacturers use this value to determine two common characteristics of an...

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.

A device used to detect and measure small amounts of rotation. The rotating object contains a reflecting surface from which a beam of light is reflected onto a positional detector. A large distance...

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 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...

An optical table, also known as an optical bench or an optical breadboard, is a specialized platform used in optics laboratories for mounting and aligning optical components. These tables provide a...

A configuration or device mounted at the end of a fiber or cable that is intended to prevent reflection.

The degree to which the surface of a lens causes an incident ray of light to bend, or the amount of convergence or divergence that the surface contributes to a wavefront passing through it.

Optomechanical refers to the integration of optical and mechanical systems or components. In optomechanical systems, optics (related to the manipulation of light) and mechanics (related to the...