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8,726 terms

Photonics Dictionary

free-abrasive machining

The process whereby a rotating wheel carries grains of an abrasive, suspended in a vehicle, across the surface of the optical glass to be ground. The workpieces are forced downward by pneumatic...

free-carrier absorption

The phenomenon whereby an electron within a band absorbs radiation by transferring from a low-energy level to an empty high-energy level.

free-carrier photoconductivity

Photoconductivity that may be extended as far as the microwave region because of the absorption of photons by electrons.

free-electron laser

A free-electron laser (FEL) is a type of laser that generates coherent, high-intensity electromagnetic radiation by using a beam of accelerated electrons as the lasing medium. Unlike traditional...

free-space optical interconnect

A type of internal photonic connection in an integrated circuit in which a holographic grating is used to focus light at points on a silicon chip, maximizing the speed of signal propagation.

free-space optics

Free-space optics (FSO), also known as optical wireless communication or optical wireless networking, refers to the transmission of data using modulated beams of light through free space (air or a...

free-spectral range

The frequency space between consecutive transmission peaks in the transmission spectrum of a Fabry-Perot interferometer or etalon. The free-spectral range is inversely proportional to the distance...

freeform mirrors

Freeform mirrors refer to reflective optical components that deviate from traditional symmetric or rotationally symmetric shapes, such as spheres or paraboloids. Unlike conventional mirrors, which...

freeform optics

Freeform optics refers to the design and fabrication of optical surfaces that do not follow traditional symmetric shapes, such as spheres or aspheres. Unlike standard optical components with...

Frenkel defect

A crystal defect that is a combination of a vacancy and an interstitial created by the removal of an ion from a lattice and its placement in an interstitial position.

freq

frequency

frequency comb

A frequency comb is a precise and regular series of equally spaced spectral lines, or frequencies, that are generated with great accuracy. The term "frequency comb" is often associated with the Nobel...

frequency division multiplexing -> wavelength division multiplexing

A system that allows the transmission of more than one signal over a common path, by assigning each signal a different frequency band. Also known as frequency division multiplexing.

frequency domain

The frequency domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to represent signals and data in terms of their frequency components. In contrast to the time domain, where signals are...

frequency doubling

A nonlinear optical process in which the frequency of an optical beam is doubled coherently.

frequency multiplication -> harmonic generation

Harmonic generation refers to a nonlinear optical process in which incoming photons interact with a material and produce new photons at integer multiples of the frequency of the incoming photons....

frequency response -> transfer function

The complex function, H(f), equal to the ratio of the output to input of the device as a function of frequency. The amplitude and phase responses are, respectively, the magnitude of H(f) and the...

frequency shift keying

In digital data transmission, the separation of the two binary states into output at two frequencies.

frequency summing

A technique used in holography that involves the mixing of lasers of different wavelengths to produce a beam of shorter wavelength.

frequency

With reference to electromagnetic radiation, the number of crests of waves that pass a fixed point in a given unit of time, in light or other wave motion. Expressed in hertz or cycles per second.

fresnel

A unit of frequency equivalent to 1012 cps. Named for Augustin Jean Fresnel, a French physicist known for his work in light and optics.

Fresnel diffraction

1. Also known as near-field diffraction. The field of radiation sent through an aperture in an absorbing screen at large distances as compared with the wavelength and the dimensions of the aperture,...

Fresnel fringe

A single band in a group of light and dark bands that can be viewed in the periphery of Fresnel diffraction shadow.

Fresnel hologram

A hologram formed with an object located close to the recording medium.

Fresnel lens

A Fresnel lens is a type of optical lens that consists of a series of concentric grooves or steps carved into a flat, thin piece of transparent material, typically plastic or glass. This design...

Fresnel loss -> Fresnel reflection loss

Reflection losses incurred at input and output of optical elements because of the difference in refractive index between glass and the immersion medium.

Fresnel mirrors

Two plane mirrors that are not wholly located in the same plane. When light from a point source or slit reflects from the two mirrors, interference bands are revealed in the region where the light...

Fresnel number

In a lens, the square of the radius of its aperture divided by the product of the focal length and the wavelength. It measures the importance of diffraction in the image formed by the lens. A small...

Fresnel reflection

Fresnel reflection refers to the reflection of light at the interface between two different media with different refractive indices. This phenomenon was named after the French engineer and physicist...

Fresnel reflection loss

Reflection losses incurred at input and output of optical elements because of the difference in refractive index between glass and the immersion medium.

Fresnel reflection method

A method for measuring the index profile of an optical fiber by measuring the reflectance as a function of position on the end face.

Fresnel rhomb

A type of quarter-wave retarder in the form of a glass rhomb; light entering the retarder undergoes two total internal reflections, producing a change in phase.

Fresnel zone plate

A zone plate in which the zones are alternately transparent and opaque to specific radiation, and coarse enough so that no appreciable diffraction or focusing takes place. The Fresnel zone plate is...

FRET

Förster resonance energy transfer

friability

The resistance of individual grains of an abrasive to breaking down under pressure. If the grains break down under relatively low pressure, the abrasive is said to be more friable.

Fried length

The length of the small space within which the atmosphere exhibits coherence, particularly in relation to an observer on Earth viewing celestial objects. The turbulence of the Earth's atmosphere...

Fried's seeing parameter

A calculated function that can be achieved experimentally with interferometric analysis of complex atmospheric altitude; expressed as a relation to the turbulence integrated over the entire...

fringe

An interference band such as Newton's ring.

fringes of superposition

The multiple beam form of Brewster's fringes formed when the two plane-parallel plates have high-reflecting surfaces.

front focal length -> focal length

The focal length of a lens is the distance between the lens's optical center (or principal point) and the image sensor or film when the lens is focused at infinity. In simple terms, it is the...

front operating aperture

The restricting aperture located at the front of the lens. It is usually defined as the maximum diameter of the entrance cone at the front vertex, for the specified field of view at infinity focus.

front porch

In communcations and video signals, the portion of a composite signal between the leading edge of the horizontal blanking pulse and the leading edge of the horizontal synchronization pulse.

front vertex focal distance

The distance between the front focal point and the vertex of the front surface.

front-cell focusing

A method of focusing an optical system by moving the front component (the lens closest to the subject) to change the distances between components. Also known as front-element focusing.

front-surface mirror

An optical reflector with the reflective coating applied to the front surface of the substrate. This eliminates the ghost image formed with second-surface mirrors.

frustrated total reflection

Light leakage at a total reflecting interface when another highly refractive medium is brought close to it.

femtosecond

FSDO

free-space digital optical

FSK

frequency shift keying

FSM

fast steering mirror

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