Photonics Dictionary

Any of several compounds capable of binding heavy-metal ions, thereby preventing interaction between the bound ions and the rest of the medium.

A laser that relies on chemical activity instead of electrical energy to produce the pumping action necessary to form pulses of light.

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...

Chemical vapor deposition is a process of applying dopants to a glass bait by flame reactions of gaseous compounds. See also outside vapor-phase oxidation; inside vapor-phase oxidation.

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.

Also known as mesosphere. A level of the atmosphere, extending from the stratosphere to the ionosphere, that is noted for its photochemical activity.

The ray that passes through the center of the aperture stop in an optical system. It often is called the principal ray of an oblique beam.

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...

Chirality is a property of certain molecules and objects in which they are non-superimposable on their mirror images. In other words, a chiral object or molecule cannot be exactly superimposed onto...

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...

A laser whose pulses are expanded, using gratings and optical fibers, before amplification and compressed to increase beam intensity without damage to the optical train.

Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies without causing damage to the amplifying medium. The method was first...

A rapid change, as opposed to a long-term drift, of the emission wavelength of an optical source. Chirping is most often observed in pulsed operation of a source.

1. Attribute of a visual sensation that permits a judgment to be made of the amount of pure chromatic color present. 2. The portion of a composite video signal that carries the chrominance values,...

Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a lens or optical system, leading to a failure to focus all colors to the same...

The ability of the instrument to separate wavelengths that are close together, numerically equal to the ratio of the shorter wavelength to the difference between two wavelengths that can just be...

The qualities of color associated with hue and saturation, but not brightness or lightness.

The plane diagram produced by plotting one of the three chromaticity coordinates (X,Y,Z) against another. The most common diagram is the CIE (X,Y) diagram, which is plotted in rectangular coordinates.

A technique of using dyes during endoscopy to improve tissue differentiation. Dyes such as methylene blue, Toluidine blue and Lugol's solution all have the ability to stain particular types of cells....

A layer between the corona and the photosphere of the sun; its emission is overwhelmed by light emitted by the underlying, denser photosphere.

The photographic recording of an action by taking a series of still pictures at regular intervals throughout the action.

In the optical field, a tube to which a lens is fastened for centering.

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...

Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage, the international commission on illumination.

A camera capable of making successive exposures on a continuous film driven by accurately spaced sprocket holes (a motion picture camera).

The technique of making motion pictures.

The photographic filming of the action of x-ray images recorded on a fluorescent screen by means of large lens apertures and highly sensitive filters.

An optical instrument used to track and image a test vehicle (target) throughout its flight. The cinesextant frequently includes multiple devices such as high-speed video and film cameras as well as...

The image of a point source that appears as a circle of finite diameter because of defocusing or the aberrations inherent in an optical system.

The optical phenomenon in which right circularly polarized light transmitted by an active medium travels at a different velocity than that of left circularly polarized light.

A type of spectroscopy used extensively in the analysis of biological samples. Because most biologically synthesized molecules, such as proteins, are optically active, circular dichroism spectroscopy...

Circular dichroism (CD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the structural characteristics of chiral (asymmetric) molecules, particularly biomolecules like proteins, nucleic acids, and certain...

Scanning characterized by the generation of a plane or right circular cone with a vertex angle of about 180° by the direction of maximum radiation.

A passive device, having three or more ports, in which input light from one port is coupled only to the next sequential port in a given direction and is prevented from traveling in any other...

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...