Photonics Dictionary

A laser fitted with up to eight optical fibers that transmit the energy to different workstations in turn.

A time-to-amplitude converter (TAC) is an electronic circuit that converts a time interval between two events into an amplitude or voltage signal. TACs are commonly used in various scientific and...

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 Ti:sapphire laser is a type of solid-state laser that utilizes a titanium-doped sapphire crystal as the gain medium. The name Ti:sapphire comes from the combination of titanium (Ti) as the dopant...

A variation of tomography in which several photographs of a patient are taken at different angles, and back-projection of the resulting radiographs produces light distribution in a chosen...

Topological photonics is a branch of physics and optics that explores the application of topological concepts to the behavior of light in photonic systems. Drawing inspiration from the field of...

Topology is a branch of mathematics that focuses on the properties of space that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, crumpling, and bending, but not tearing or gluing....

A surface that is swept out by revolving a circle about an axis that lies in the plane of the circle but that does not intersect its center. The result is a surface having different curvatures in...

Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy is an advanced fluorescence microscopy technique that leverages the principle of total internal reflection to selectively illuminate and image...

A precision lens designed to convert the plane wavefront output of an interferometer to a spherical wavefront for the testing of curved (spherical) surfaces.

The element in a charge-coupled device that receives the charge packets transferred from the line of sensor sites and then delivers the image data to the device's output circuitry.

Multiple scattering method used in biological analysis in which approximations yield simple, explicit solutions, at least for slab geometry. The approximations are usually differential equations...

In the context of optics and lasers, a transverse mode refers to a specific spatial pattern of the electric field within the cross-section of a laser beam. These modes represent the different...

Abbreviated TEA CO2 laser. A gas laser that provides shorter pulses and higher peak powers than conventional CO2 lasers. The electrical excitation pulse occurs transversely to the optical axis...

A magnetic-deflection mass spectrometer that has an electrostatic field placed perpendicularly to its magnetic field, permitting both spatial mass dispersion and perfect double focusing in the plane...

The size of the field of view in the object space of an optical system as differentiated from that in the image space (apparent field).

An observed effect of the ability of certain atomic particles to pass through a barrier that they cannot pass over because of the required energy level, based on a law of quantum mechanics that...

Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by the presence of suspended particles. These particles can include sediment, silt, clay, plankton, and other microscopic...

A defect of natural quartz crystals in which both the right and left quartz are in the same crystal.

This results from the simultaneous absorption of two photons, each having half the energy needed for excitation and requiring a high spatial and temporal concentration of photons. The ensuing...

Two-photon polymerization (TPP) is a technique used in additive manufacturing, specifically in the field of 3D printing. It involves using a focused laser to polymerize a photosensitive material in a...

Referring to compound semiconductor materials combining one element with two valence electrons and one or more with six. Examples include beryllium oxide and zinc selenide. (II-VI).

The form taken by scattered light, as a result of the Tyndall effect.

An ultrafast pulsed laser is a type of laser that emits extremely short pulses of light with durations typically on the order of femtoseconds (10-15 seconds) or picoseconds (10-12 seconds). These...

A laser capable of generating light pulses that last only a few femtoseconds. This can be achieved by nonlinear filtering to increase bandwidth and compress the pulse or by passive mode-locking or...

An instrument with a fluid that modulates a light beam traversing it because of the effect of ultrasonic waves passing through the fluid.

A light-interference device whose excitation is determined by the modulation of a light beam by an ultrasonic field.

Ultrasonic refers to sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing, typically above 20,000 Hz. These waves are termed ultrasonic because they are beyond the range...

Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet radiation with shorter wavelengths than those of visible light. UV-C radiation spans the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths...

Ultraviolet (UV) fiber optics refers to optical fibers that are designed and optimized for the transmission of ultraviolet light, which is electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than...

The study and photographing of microscope specimens in ultraviolet light; using an optical microscope containing fluorite and quartz components to efficiently image wavelengths much shorter than the...

Ultraviolet reflectance refers to the ability of a material or surface to reflect UV light. Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than those of visible light,...

A color space in which equal distances represent equal visually perceived color differences.

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.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot onboard. UAVs are remotely controlled or autonomously operated, and they can be used for various...

A resonator often used for mode control in Fresnel number laser cavities that is highly vulnerable to extremely weak external sources of feedback.

In optics, the term vacuum typically refers to a space devoid of matter, including air and other gases. However, in practical terms, achieving a perfect vacuum, where there is absolutely no matter...

Equipment dependent on the effects of a vacuum. The principal applications in optics are in the coating of lenses and substrates and the fabrication of multilayer interference filters.

A vacuum chamber is a sealed enclosure from which air and other gases are removed to create a low-pressure environment, typically close to or at a complete vacuum. These chambers are often...

A phototube that functions within a vacuum and thus eliminates the effects of gaseous ionization on its electrical properties.