Photonics Dictionary: C

The breakdown of the bonds in polymer chains caused by illumination.

Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te). These elements are known as...

Proprietary name for a low-light-level TV pickup tube.

The removal of sharp edges by grinding.

The number of channels per unit bandwidth handled by a single optical fiber.

A photoelectric detector consisting of a glass tube internally coated with a low conductance material. Voltage applied along the tube causes photoemission from the photocathode at the end of the tube...

The parallel resistance and capacitance appearing between the active guard ring junctions in a silicon photodiode.

The creation of a diode laser structure by liquid-phase epitaxy over a grooved substrate.

A cathode-ray tube that generates symbols for use in other displays. The tube operates by scanning specific characters on the target and generating them as video signals to other cathode-ray systems.

Computer hardware or firmware that accesses character patterns stored in read-only memory and displays them at specific coordinates on a screen.

A photoelectrically controlled, alphanumeric reading device that converts characters to audible or sorting signals which can be fed to a computer, electric typewriter, tapepunch or other machine.

The angle at which a given mode propagates down an optical fiber.

A graph used in photography to portray the increase of a film's density as its time of exposure increases.

In a charge-coupled device, the disappearance of some of the accumulated charge into the silicon during readout.

A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a type of electronic image sensor used in various imaging devices, including digital cameras, camcorders, and scientific instruments. It consists of an integrated...

A charge-injection device (CID) refers to a class of devices that manipulate and detect electrical charge within a semiconductor material. Charge-coupled devices are a specific implementation of this...

See charge-coupled device; charge-injection device.

In a charge-coupled device, the percentage of each charge packet that is carried over to the next stage of the transport shift register.

A laser having a rare-earth chelate within a plastic host as the lasing material. The chelate laser is easily pumped and has a high quantum efficiency and narrow emission lines.

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

A light-sensitive detector having a chemical compound that reacts when exposed to light. It is used in photochemistry and relies on the chemical reaction to determine the amount of incident radiation.

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

The field of microscopy as applied to chemical problems and analysis.

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...

A chemical reaction involving the production of light. The reaction of ethylene with ozone is chemiluminescent.

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...

Description of a particle that cannot be superimposed on its mirror image.

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...