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3,142 terms
Photonics Dictionary
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bias frame
A frame taken with a CCD camera over an exposure length of zero seconds with the lens cap on or the shutter closed and no light reaching the sensor. This frame shows the electronic noise in the...
Biberman factor
Mathematical compensation for the nonhydrogenic behavior of recombination radiation levels of gases, based on the quantum effect method.
bilinear interpolation
It is often necessary to estimate the value of what a pixel would be between neighboring pixels. This is accomplished by interpolating (or inserting) the value of a pixel between neighboring pixels....
Billet's split lens
An experimental lens used to produce interference fringes. A positive lens is cut into halves along its center, and the halves are separated. This produces a double image of a slit source set...
bimorph
A type of piezoelectric translator that uses two thin strips of piezoelectric material, one expanding while the other contracts, to produce movement.
bin picking
Bin picking, also known as bin picking automation or bin picking robotics, refers to the automated process of selecting and retrieving individual objects or components from a bin, container, or bulk...
binary on-off
Signal used in optical transmission systems to generate currents in a detector that are decoded with reference to a specified threshold.
binary optics
Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the collected energy as opposed to the more common refracting or reflecting optics....
binary thresholding
An imaging technique that labels all gray pixels as either black or white before processing begins.
binocular microscope
A microscope designed with two eyepieces (oculars), permitting the use of both eyes when viewing through the instrument.
binocular threshold
The absolute luminance threshold for detection by the two eyes.
binoculars
Binoculars are optical instruments used for magnifying distant objects by using two parallel telescopes mounted side by side. They allow users to see distant objects more clearly and in greater...
biocular
A term pertaining to devices (generally optical) designed for use with both eyes viewing through a single exit pupil. The term may be distinguished from binocular in that biocular instruments contain...
bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is the natural phenomenon where living organisms produce light through a chemical reaction. In the context of photonics, bioluminescence has significant implications for both research...
biomarker
A biomarker, short for biological marker, refers to a measurable and quantifiable indicator of a biological condition, process, or response. Biomarkers can be substances or characteristics that are...
biometrics
Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics. These unique attributes are used to verify or identify individuals, often in...
biomimicry
Biomimicry, or biomimetic design, is the practice of emulating natural processes, systems, and structures found in biological organisms to solve human problems or create innovative technologies. It...
biophotonics
The technology that deals with the interaction of organic materials with light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. This includes the emission, detection, absorption,...
biostimulation
The action of a biological system responding to a single or multiple coherent particles of light produced from a laser source. Examples of laser biostimulation include: retinal interaction of light...
biplanar image tube
Also called proximity focus image intensifier. A compact image intensifier that utilizes a microchannel plate intensification stage. This is an in-line device that does not invert the image.
biplanar lens
Electron lens consisting of an homogeneous axial electric field.
birefringence
Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light of different polarizations. In other words, when light passes through a...
bismuth silicon oxide
A photorefractive material used in image processing, holography and optical switching.
bispheric condenser
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dark-field condenser
A condenser that forms a hollow cone-shaped beam of light with its focal point in the plane of the specimen. If it is used with an objective having a numerical aperture lower than the minimum...
bistability
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optical bistability
The phenomenon that can render an optical resonator the equivalent of a semiconductor flip-flop. A bistable device will remain stable in two optical states, one of high transmission and another of...
black hole
A cosmic phenomenon in which the mass and density of a star pass a critical point so that the escape velocity matches the speed of light. For this reason, light and matter are "captured'' by the...
black surface enclosure
An enclosure whose walls are coated to absorb completely all radiation striking them.
blackbody simulator
A source that attempts to create the characteristics of an ideal blackbody. It consists of a cavity, generally spherical, made of an opaque material and insulated from thermal effects, with a small...
blackbody source
A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation incident upon it and emits radiation in a...
blacking
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optical blacking
A light absorbing material applied to ground optical surfaces during the process of making that surface non reflective. Such material should have a refractive index as high as that of the underlying...
bleach (or bleacher)
A chemical used in the developing of positive photographs that incites oxidation and thereby dissolves the negative silver to vary tone, color and intensity.
bleaching
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saturable absorber
A saturable absorber is a type of optical device that exhibits variable absorption properties depending on the intensity of incident light. In essence, it becomes less absorbent as the light...
blind approach beacon system
A ground-based navigation beacon that emits pulsed signals which are picked up by aircraft making an instrument (blind) approach in landing. The signal is transmitted to the aircraft's L-scan...
BLIP
background-limited infrared photoconductor
block
A supporting member used to hold optical parts during grinding and polishing. It also describes the assemblage of optical parts on the supporting member; e.g., a block of lenses or block of prisms.
blocking cement
An adhesive used to hold optical elements to blocking tools. It is usually a thermoplastic substance such as resin, beeswax, pitch or shellac.
blocking material
Pitch, wax, resin or other cement suitable for holding optical parts to a spindle during grinding and polishing processes.
blooming
The loss of focus of a camera sensor because of excessive brightness, characterized by the enlargement of spot size and halation on a cathode-ray tube.
blue diode laser
A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically between 400 and 500 nanometers. Diode lasers are compact,...
blur circle
A blur circle refers to the out-of-focus region in an image captured by an optical system. When an object in a scene is not in perfect focus, its image is spread out into a circular shape on the...
body
In the optical field, a piece of glass to which a lens or prism is cemented. The unit is ground and polished as a whole to obtain a sharp edge on the finished piece.
Bohr's frequency relation
The law given by the formula: that is, the frequency of radiation emitted or absorbed by a system when E2 and E1 are the energies of the states among which transition takes place, and h is...
bolograph
A bolometer that serves to record. The photographic record formed by the bolometer may be called bolograph or bologram.
bolometer
A thermometric instrument used for the detection and measurement of radiant energy. Its essential component is a short narrow strip covered with a dead black absorbing coating and mounted at the...
bore
The central hole running the full length of a laser capillary tube, in which electrical discharge and laser action take place. Also a similar hole in a hollow waveguide or a microchannel plate.
Bose-Einstein condensate
A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that forms at temperatures close to absolute zero. It is named after Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein, who independently predicted the...
boson
A boson is a type of fundamental particle that follows Bose-Einstein statistics, which dictate the statistical distribution of identical particles with integer spin. Bosons are one of the two main...
bound mode
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guided mode
In an optical waveguide, a mode whose field decays monotonically in the transverse direction everywhere external to the core and which does not lose power to radiation. Also called bound mode.
Brace-Lemon spectrophotometer
A spectrophotometer having a pair of identical collimators with two Glan polarizing prisms, one fixed in azimuth and the other rotatable, set in one collimator. A Brace prism serves as the dispersive...
bracketing
In photography, the technique of taking multiple pictures of the same subject at different exposures to compensate for exposure miscalculations. Automatic bracketing is a feature on some cameras.
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Photonics Dictionary
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