Photonics Dictionary: S

Referred to as SWCNTs, these cylindrical nanostructures composed of a folded sheet of graphene can be used as near-infrared markers for small animal multiplex imaging. Emitting at different...

Sisyphus cooling is a technique used in atomic physics to achieve ultracold temperatures of atoms or molecules by exploiting the periodic motion of particles in optical traps or lattices. The name...

The angle at which photoelectric sensors are aligned to prevent light from being reflected back to the sensor from the object during retroreflective sensing; also, the angle a measured part is...

Any ray through an optical system that is not a meridional ray. The plane created by a refracted skew ray does not contain the optical axis.

A system employing a dark trace tube in which the opacity of the screen is varied as a function of the power of the beam.

Streaks of dense seeds with accompanying small bubbles.

A filter designed to decrease the luminosity of the sky without decreasing that of the landscape in the foreground. A filter that has a depth of tint that decreases from top to bottom is used in...

Variations in signal detected on a bolometer that are caused by instabilities in the temperature of the sky.

A skyrmion is a topologically stable, vortex-like configuration of spins in a magnetic material. These configurations are characterized by a swirling pattern where the direction of the magnetic...

The method for measuring the index profile of an optical fiber by preparing a thin sample that has its faces perpendicular to the axis of the fiber, and measuring its index profile by interferometry.

Solid-state laser geometry in which the standard rod is replaced by a slab of laser material. Often called total-internal-reflection face-pumped laser (TIR-FPL).

A waveguide with a rectangular cross section that is composed entirely of dielectric materials.

The process of making an abrupt break in a spherical surface on a spectacle lens so that a new center of curvature is set for a portion of the lens. This has the effect of adding a prism to that...

A polishing scratch having no visible conchoidal breaking of the edges.

A crystal, glass, or quartz slicing and cutting machine is a specialized piece of equipment used in the manufacturing process to precisely cut and slice materials such as crystals, glass, and quartz...

A lens designed for projection of color transparencies.

An optical projection device designed to project positive color transparencies onto a screen for viewing.

An aperture, usually rectangular in shape, with a large length-to-width ratio, and a fixed or adjustable shape through which radiation enters or leaves an instrument. The aperture is generally small...

The error inherent in spectral energy or spectrophotometric quantity due to the finite dimension of the entrance and exit slits.

A television system that uses a slow rate of horizontal scanning to increase its reproduction and transmittance accuracy of printed matter, photographs and illustrations.

The name of the mixture of liquid and grinding or polishing compounds used in processing optical materials.

The fiber optic connector developed and manufactured by Amphenol Fiber Optic Products.

The investigation of microstructures by an instrument that generates a narrow, highly collimated beam of x-rays.

A bomb guided to its target by some form of electro-optical system.

An array of active optical devices (modulators, laser diodes and/or detectors), each of whose electrical inputs or outputs are directly connected to electronic logic circuits, which also are a part...

Structural surfaces that incorporate an embedded sensor network capable of detecting flaws within the structure.

A lack of resolution in a television image as a result of smear ghosts or an insufficiently high video-frequency response. The distortion appears to be extended horizontally and blurred.