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5,268 terms
Photonics Dictionary
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invar
A material often used in the construction of optical instruments because of its low coefficient of thermal expansion (0.9 x 10-6/ °C).
inverse bremsstrahlung
Collisional absorption of energy that occurs in inertial confinement fusion systems when hydrodynamic expansion of the plasma causes an electron passing through the field of an ion to absorb...
inverse Compton effect
The interaction between a photon and an energetic electron, caused by collision, that transfers energy from the electron to the photon, thus raising the energy of the photon.
inverse photoelectric effect
The changing of the kinetic energy of a mobile electron into radiant energy, as in formation of x-rays.
inverse piezoelectric effect
The resulting contraction or expansion of a piezoelectric crystal along an electric axis when the crystal is under the influence of an electric field in the same direction.
inverse problem
Any problem that requires retrieval of the distribution of some internal properties, such as temperature concentration, etc., from remotely sensed data.
inverse square law
The law stating that the illuminance (or irradiance) from a point source varies as the inverse square of the distance between the source and the receiver.
inversion
See inverted image; population inversion.
inversion prism
->
reversion prism
A prism made of two elements cemented together that, depending on its orientation, inverts or reverts an image. It may be used in converging or diverging light. Sometimes referred to as a K prism.
inverted telephoto lens
->
retrofocus lens
Also known as reversed telephoto lens. A lens consisting of an ordinary objective with a negative component near its front focal point. Thus, the back focus is large, relative to its focal length....
invisibility cloak
An invisibility cloak is technology that would render an object or individual invisible to the observer. In scientific research, efforts to create real-life invisibility cloaks have been...
invisible light filter
A filter that transmits infrared and ultraviolet but is opaque to visible radiation.
INVS
integrated night-vision system
Ioffee bar
A fusion system conductor capable of carrying current in opposite directions in alternating time phases.
ion
An atom that has gained or lost one or more electrons and, as a result, carries a negative or positive charge.
ion emission
The ejecting of ions from the surface of a material.
ion exchange technique
A method of fabricating a graded-index optical waveguide by means of an ion exchange process.
ion laser
A laser in which the transition involved in stimulated emission of radiation takes place between two levels of an ionized gas. The gases are electrically excited in a container called a plasma tube,...
ion pair
Two oppositely charged particles.
ion-assisted deposition
A technique for improving the structure density of thin-film coatings by bombarding the growing film with accelerated ions of oxygen and argon. The kinetic energy then dissipates in the film, causing...
ion-beam sputtering
Ion-beam sputtering (IBS) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique used for depositing thin films onto substrates. It involves bombarding a target material with a beam of energetic ions,...
ionic focusing
Also known as gas focusing. The introduction of an inert gas into a cathode-ray tube for the concentration of the electron beam. The gas molecules are ionized by the electrons, producing a core of...
ionization chamber
A closed vessel with electrodes of different potentials that is used to determine how much ionization took place in a gas after its exposure to x-rays or radioactive emissions.
ionization gauge
A type of radiation detector that depends on the ionization produced in a gas by the passage of a charged particle through it. One of the best known is the Geiger-Müller counter, although cloud...
ionization potential
The amount of energy required for a particular kind of atom to remove an electron to infinite distance. The ionization potential is usually expressed in volts.
ionization spectrometer
Also known as the Bragg spectrometer. A system used for the x-ray analysis of crystal structure. In the instrument, a homogeneous beam of x-rays is directed on the known face of a crystal and the...
ionizing radiation
Generally, any radiation that can form ions, either directly or indirectly, while traveling through a substance.
ionography
An electroradiographic process that uses ionization of air by x-rays as a basis for forming electrostatic images.
ionosphere
The gas of charged particles that begins approximately 50 km above the surface of the Earth and contains a sufficient quantity of electrons and ions to affect the propagation of radio waves.
IPD
image photocounting distribution; interpupillary distance
iridescence
The rainbow exhibition of colors, usually caused by interference of light of different wavelengths reflected from superficial layers in the surface of a material.
iris diaphragm
A mechanical device designed to smoothly vary the effective diameter of a lens, thereby controlling the amount of light allowed through.
irradiation
Application of radiation to an object.
Ishihara test
->
color perception test equipment
Equipment for testing an observer's color vision. Some tests require the identification or ordering of colored samples. The commercially available examples include: the Ishihara plates, on which...
ISO
International Standards Organization
isocandela diagram
Indication of emission brightness with degree of emission from an optical source.
isocon
->
image isocon
A television camera tube that preceded the development of the vidicon tube and incorporated a method to separate reflected and scattered portions of the return beam so that only the scattered...
isodivs
A graphic depiction of the loci of all points in space relative to a laser transmitter at a specific altitude.
isogyric curves
With respect to the effect of crystals on lightwaves, the family of curves having constant direction of polarization.
isolator
In the context of electronics and optics, an isolator refers to a device that allows the transmission of signals in one direction while attenuating or blocking signals in the opposite direction. The...
isopreference curves
Graphic representation of quantified values of image quality whose points all refer to images that are of a constant subjective quality.
isosorbs
Lines of equal atmospheric attenuation in a laser beam.
isotopically selected laser spectroscopy
A spectroscopic technique in which an excitation band absorbs laser energy resulting in an electronic transition. The isotopic species may then be measured using a time of flight mass spectrometer....
isotropic
That property of a material that determines that velocity of propagation within the material is the same for all directions.
ISTM
International Society of Testing and Materials
ITU
International Telecommunications Union
IU
international unit
IUPAC
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
IVPO
inside vapor-phase oxidation
Jacquinot advantage
The higher throughput obtained with an FTIR device compared with traditional spectrometers that need slits to achieve resolution. The advantage differs according to wave number and resolution.
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Photonics Dictionary
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