Photonics Dictionary

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor deposition, a technique for depositing thin films of various materials onto...

A technique for polishing silicon in which an alkaline suspension containing silicon dioxide particles creates a soft layer of silicon hydroxide, which is then removed, leaving a surface with the...

The binding of gas to a surface or in matter by chemical activity.

1. A localized fracture at the end of a cleaved optical fiber or on a glass surface. 2. An integrated circuit.

Chip-on-board (COB) lights refer to a type of LED lighting technology where multiple LED chips are directly mounted onto a substrate, typically a printed circuit board (PCB), without the need for...

Chirped mirrors are optical devices designed to manipulate the spectral properties of ultrashort laser pulses. They consist of multiple layers of dielectric coatings deposited on a substrate, where...

The mark formed when the movement of the lens over the face of the centering chuck abrades the surface.

CID, or charge injection device, camera refers to a type of imaging device that utilizes a specific kind of solid-state image sensor technology. CID cameras are capable of capturing images in a...

Circular-ranging optical coherence tomography (CR-OCT) is a specialized imaging technique used in medical diagnostics and research to obtain high-resolution cross-sectional images of biological...

The low-refractive-index material that surrounds the core of an optical fiber to contain core light while protecting against surface contaminant scattering. In all-glass fibers, the cladding is...

A ray that is reflected into the core of an optical fiber from the outer surface of the cladding.

The limited light-gathering area of an optical system. The area is normally restricted to an edge or outer surface of an individual component. Also known as free aperture or objective aperture. The...

In a visual optical system, the axial distance from the last mechanical surface of the eyepiece to the exit pupil.

Also called shining. Grinding and polishing one surface of a blank to permit a more thorough examination for quality.

Optical elements that have been coated with one or more layers of dielectric, or metallic material. These coatings serve to reduce or increase reflection from the surface, and to protect the surfaces...

A jet of inert gas along a laser welding beam's axis that cools, protects or cleans the work surface.

A cathode that emits electrons, not with the influence of heat radiation, but by means of a high-voltage gradient at its surface.

1. The process of aligning the optical axes of optical systems to the reference mechanical axes or surfaces of an instrument. 2. The adjustment of two or more optical axes with respect to each other....

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are nanometer-sized semiconductor particles that are dispersed in a colloidal solution. These quantum dots have unique optical and electronic properties due to their...

1. A constituent part. It may consist of two or more parts cemented together, or with near and approximately matching surfaces. 2. The projection of a vector on a certain coordinate axis or along a...

A lens composed of two or more separate elements of optical glass that may or may not be cemented together. The surfaces of the elements are shaped to reduce or eliminate the aberrations inherent in...

Computational imaging refers to the use of computational techniques, algorithms, and hardware to enhance or enable imaging capabilities beyond what traditional optical systems can achieve. It...

Computer numerically controlled (CNC) grinding is a manufacturing process that utilizes computerized controls and precision machining tools to remove material from a workpiece. In CNC grinding, a...

A computer-generated hologram (CGH) is a holographic image produced using computational methods and algorithms, rather than traditional optical techniques. CGHs are generated entirely in digital form...

Concave is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves inward or has a hollow or recessed appearance. In the context of geometry or optics, a concave shape is one that curves or...

Concave and convex spherical mirrors are types of curved mirrors that have surfaces shaped like segments of spheres. These mirrors are commonly used in optics for various applications, including...

A reflecting grating ruled on a concave spherical surface that not only disperses the light but focuses the spectrum. The great advantage of this grating lies in the fact that no separate collimating...

A lens with one concave surface and one convex surface; synonymous with meniscus.

A lens having surfaces whose centers of curvature coincide.

The dispersion of a light ray striking the surface of a biaxial crystal, in which the resulting rays are reflected in a conical manner.

A lens with a surface that is a cone instead of the usual sphere.

A converging lens with one convex and one concave surface.

Convex is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves outward, bulges, or has a rounded and outwardly extending appearance. In the context of geometry or optics, a convex shape is...

A mass-relieving method whereby material is removed through the sides of a reflector in a direction parallel to the surface. A method of cutting a cylindrical piece of material from a large piece.

The transparent front layer of the eye. Light entering the eye is refracted (converged) by the outer surface of the cornea.

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...

Translucent collector developed to compensate for the partial blocking of a flat surface's collection angle that normally occurs in spectroradiometry. The device samples radiant flux according to the...

Law relating the illuminance (or irradiance) of a surface to the cosine of the angle, q, between the normal to the surface and the direction of the incident wave.

Conversion of vibratory energy into heat that is observed in the rubbing of two dry surfaces over each other.

The concave portion of a surface, formed on a blank, on which the disk of higher refractive glass will be fused to form a multifocal spectacle lens.

A technique used in integrated optics where a groove is cut on a substrate surface and covered by a thin film to facilitate the construction of filters, resonators, beamsplitters and grating couplers...

A coverslip, also known as a cover glass or cover slip, is a thin and flat piece of transparent material typically made of glass or plastic. It is used in microscopy to cover a specimen mounted on a...

A surface scratch or series of scratches formed by mishandling.

A stain in a glass surface.

A vacuum pump in which pressure is reduced by condensing gases on surfaces cryogenically cooled to about 20 K (liquid hydrogen) or 4 K (liquid helium).