Definitions

The prefix denoting 10-15. (f).

A femtosecond laser is a type of laser that emits ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of femtoseconds, where one femtosecond is equal to 10-15 seconds. These lasers are capable of...

In microscopy, the measured distance between theoretical parallel lines that are drawn tangent to the particle profile and perpendicular to the ocular scale.

The principle that a light ray extending from one point to another will, after any number of reflections and refractions, follow the path requiring the least transit time. This is also known as the...

The Fermi liquid state refers to a specific state of matter in quantum mechanics, particularly describing the behavior of interacting fermions (particles with half-integer spin, such as electrons) at...

The mathematical expression of the probability of any given state of energy being occupied when a semiconductor is in thermal equilibrium.

A crystal capable of being polarized in the reverse direction when an electric field is applied.

The region of a ferroelectric crystal where spontaneous polarization is uniformly directed.

Film in which electric polarization is reversible when influenced by an electric field.

Ferroelectric materials are a type of dielectric materials that exhibit spontaneous electric polarization, meaning they possess a permanent electric dipole moment even in the absence of an external...

The phenomenon whereby certain crystals exhibit spontaneous electric polarization. It is analogous with ferromagnetism.

The properties of certain materials that cause them to have relative permeabilities that exceed unity. This permeability permits the materials to exhibit hysteresis.

A mechanical fixture, generally a rigid tube, used to confine the stripped end of a fiber or a fiber bundle.

The law stating that the critical fusion frequency is approximately proportional to the logarithm of the luminance and the area.

A prism with curved faces that collimates, reflects and refracts incident light. Often used in the production of spectrographs.

The mechanical centerline through the core of an optical fiber.

The lowest frequency at which the magnitude of the fiber transfer function decreases to a specified fraction of the zero frequency value. Often, the specified value is one-half the optical power at...

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of optical filter that is inscribed or "written" into the core of an optical fiber. It consists of a periodic modulation of the refractive index along the length...

A rigid or flexible, concentrated assembly of glass or plastic fibers used to transmit optical images or light. See aligned bundle; incoherent bundle.

A property of optical fiber that results from thermal stresses during manufacturing and is defined as the amount of curvature over any specified length of fiber.

A standard for fiber optic data transmission systems being developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and associated working groups that will make fiber optic components from...

A phenomenon in which high optical power, encountering an imperfection in an optical fiber, destroys the fiber's core and causes damage to back-propagate down the fiber. It is caused by classic...

Fiber joints, also known as fiber optic splices, refer to the connection points where two optical fibers are permanently joined together to form a continuous optical transmission path. These joints...

A method of optical fiber coupling in which the fibers are ground down to expose their cores and placed together to allow light pulses to transfer from one to the other.

A fiber laser is a type of laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth ions such as erbium, ytterbium, or neodymium. Fiber lasers generate coherent light through...

A fiber optic cable assembly refers to a complete unit consisting of optical fibers, connectors, protective jackets, and other components that are assembled together to facilitate the transmission of...

A package for an optical fiber or fibers that may include cladding, buffering, strength members and an outer jacket.

A device used to prepare optical fiber end faces; a scribe line made by the cleaver's blade propagates across the fiber, resulting in a clean break.

A plate made up of thousands of glass fibers arranged parallel to one another, i.e., in a coherent bundle, and fused together so that it is hermetically tight. It transfers an image from one plane to...

A plate consisting of fused optical fibers with both surfaces ground and polished, and having the entrance surface curved to match the image curvature of the input lens system. The plate transmits to...

A weapon launched from a ground-based platform and controlled by a two-way fiber optic data link. The fiber is payed out from a bobbin in the back of the missile.

A fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) is a type of gyroscope that uses the interference of light waves to detect changes in orientation or rotation. It operates based on the principle of the Sagnac effect,...

A fiber optic imaging bundle is a specialized optical device composed of multiple optical fibers bundled together. Each fiber optic strand within the bundle acts as a conduit for transmitting light....

A bundle of optical fibers arranged randomly for the purpose of transmitting energy, not an image.

A fiber optic preform is a cylindrical glass rod or tube used as the starting material for manufacturing optical fibers. It serves as the precursor from which optical fibers are drawn. The process of...

A flexible single- or multifiber cable having a bundle of glass fibers arranged to transmit an image.

A coherent optical fiber bundle in which the configuration is flat rather than round, giving an output in a line.

A scanner in which a fiber optic assembly replaces a lens system.

A device used for coding messages and having a fiber bundle that is aligned at both ends and scrambled in the middle, potted and cut. The resulting halves of the bundles serve as encoders or decoders...

A fiber optic sensor is a device that uses optical fibers to detect and measure physical, chemical, biological, or environmental parameters. Unlike traditional electrical sensors, fiber optic sensors...

A fiber optic spectrometer is a device used for measuring the spectral content of light. It utilizes optical fibers to transmit light from a source to a spectrometer unit, where the light is...

A coherent fiber optic bundle made from fibers whose diameter changes gradually along its length. Used to magnify or reduce the input image.

A fiber optic transceiver, often simply referred to as an "optical transceiver," is a device used in fiber optic communications to transmit and receive data over optical fibers. It integrates both a...