Photonics Dictionary

An alternative term for incandescence.

The production of an image on a magnetic film that is exposed to infrared radiation and heated to a point above Curie temperature in regions of the image. The image is contacted with paramagnetic...

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) refers to a technology that converts heat energy into electricity using the principles of thermophotovoltaics. In a thermophotovoltaic system, thermal radiation from a heat...

An adhesive whose viscosity decreases as the temperature is increased to a limit. Canada balsam, resin and pitch are examples of thermoplastic cements.

A material used in the jacket of fiber optic cables.

A type of holographic film widely used for industrial applications because it is inexpensive and erasable.

A display device having a thermoplastic film as the control layer medium. The film, moving from a playoff reel, is scanned by an electron gun and melted by an RF heating unit. Deformation of the film...

A thin layer of a substance deposited on an insulating base in a vacuum by a microelectronic process. Thin films are most commonly used for antireflection, achromatic beamsplitters, color filters,...

Thin-film coatings are layers of material applied to the surface of an object or substrate, typically to modify its optical, electrical, or mechanical properties. These coatings are composed of thin...

Thin-film deposition equipment refers to machinery and tools used in the process of depositing thin layers of material onto a substrate surface. This technique is commonly employed in various...

Thin-film deposition is a process used to deposit a thin layer of material onto a substrate surface, typically ranging from nanometers to micrometers in thickness. These thin films are utilized in...

A memory device consisting of thin disks of a magnetic substance deposited on a nonmagnetic substrate for use in a computer.

Thomson scattering is a phenomenon in physics where electromagnetic radiation, such as light, is scattered by charged particles. It is named after the British physicist J.J. Thomson, who first...

A three-axis stage, also known as a three-axis positioning stage, is a precision mechanical device designed to control the position of an object in three perpendicular directions: typically X, Y, and...

Referring to compound semiconductor materials combining one element that has three valence electrons with one or more that have five. Examples include gallium arsenide and indium antimonide. (III-V).

Three-photon microscopy is an advanced imaging technique that belongs to the family of multi-photon microscopy methods. It is used in biological and medical research to capture high-resolution images...

An arc discharge tube having a grid that is used to start the discharge through an atmosphere of inert gas or vapor at low pressure.

A family of semiconductor switching devices of which the silicon-controlled rectifier and the triac are most commonly used. They are fabricated from four positive and negative alternating layers.

The amount of time needed for a detector signal or electronic circuit to reach 63 percent of its final value after a fixed incident power is first applied.

A method of scanning in which a frame transfer device produces a continuous video image of a moving object by means of a stack of linear arrays aligned with and synchronized to the movement of the...

The process or device by which more than one signal can be sent over a single channel by using different time intervals for the different signals. This may be done by varying the pulse duration,...

The time domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to describe signals in terms of their behavior over time. In the time domain, signals are represented as functions of time, showing...

Time-lapse optical coherence tomography (OCT) refers to a medical imaging technique that captures a series of sequential OCT scans over time, allowing for the dynamic observation and monitoring of...

Time-resolved ultraviolet photodissociation mass spectrometry (TR-UV-PDMS) is a specialized analytical technique used in mass spectrometry to study the dynamics of chemical reactions, molecular...

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 spectroscopic technique that combines the high chemical specificity of Raman scattering and signal sensitivity provided by surface plasmon resonance enhancement, with the nanoscale spatial...

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...

Technique that defocuses activity from surrounding planes by means of the relative motions at the point of interest.

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 lens having one or more toric surfaces. A toric surface is one having a maximum power in one meridian and a minimum power in a perpendicular meridian. In ophthalmic optics, toric lenses are used to...

A unit of pressure of 1 mm Hg, equivalent to 133 P. One atmosphere = 760 torr. (t).

Effect whereby two electrons lose synchronism with the accelerating field and are lost during synchronous radiation. The effect is produced by the scattering of the electrons that are oscillating in...

1. The process of following an object's movement; accomplished by focusing a radar beam on the reticle of an optical system on the object and plotting its bearing and distance at specific intervals....

Measurement of a translation stage's deviation from absolute straightness, that is, its angular motion in both the vertical and the horizontal planes.

A controlled motion system that may use a telescope, camera or antenna to follow accurately a satellite, missile, vehicle or other device in response to radar, radio or computer signals.

A transducer is a device or component that converts one form of energy into another. It is commonly used in various fields, including electronics, acoustics, and instrumentation, to facilitate the...

A method of measuring total hemispherical emissivity of the plane surface of a solid that consists of thermally isolating a specimen of the material inside a vacuum, preheating it slightly above the...

An electronic device consisting of a semiconductor material, generally germanium or silicon, and used for rectification, amplification and switching. Its mode of operation utilizes transmission...

Measure of the amount of light that is transmitted, relative to the amount lost by absorption or reflection.

A transmission electron microscope (TEM) is a powerful microscopy technique that uses a beam of electrons to create high-resolution images of extremely thin samples. In a TEM, electrons are...