Photonics Dictionary

Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It encompasses various techniques and instruments used to quantify heat transfer,...

Primary image memory that is built into a digital camera and stores the digital images generated by the camera's image sensor. figure

A forerunner of the modern camera, this instrument had a focusable lens that produced a sharp image on the enclosure opposite the aperture but had no photosensitive material to record it.

An apparatus, designed for use with a camera, that is used to rapidly open the path from lens to film, to maintain the opening throughout exposure and to close the opening in rapid succession. The...

A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material or a detector. The camera generally contains a lens of variable aperture...

An instrument incorporating an infrared detector assembly, used to analyze carbon dioxide gases and in medical applications to monitor air exchange in the lungs of patients on ventilators or under...

A gas laser in which the energy-state transitions between vibrational and rotational states of CO2 molecules give emission at long IR, about 10 µm, wavelengths. The laser can maintain...

Carbon fullerenes are a class of carbon-based molecules composed entirely of carbon atoms arranged in a hollow, closed, cage-like structure. The most well-known fullerenes are spherical and are often...

An analog signal capable of being modulated as to frequency, amplitude or phase to carry information.

Carrier injection refers to the process of introducing charge carriers (either electrons or holes) into a semiconductor material. Semiconductors are materials with electrical conductivity between...

A shower of cosmic rays whereby a high-energy electron produces one or more photons that convert into electron pairs, the secondary electrons producing the same effects as the primary. As the process...

A surface heat-treating process that produces a highly stressed surface. In case-hardening of glass, a plate of glass is heated almost to the softening point and then cooled quickly in a blast of...

The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged conductive surfaces. This force arises from the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the...

A system that uses both reflection and refraction to achieve its focal power. While the relative powers of the lenses and mirrors vary from system to system, the use of the reflective surfaces to...

A type of comparator with a telescope equipped with a cross wire mounted on a vertical sliding column. It is used to measure vertical distances on fairly near objects.

The amplitude modulation through the application of modulating voltage to the cathode circuit.

A cascade amplifier that uses a common cathode resistor to couple energy from stage to stage.

The luminous trace formed on the cathode-ray tube screen by the motion of the electron beam.

Light produced when a metal is bombarded with high-velocity electrons causing small amounts of the metal to vaporize and emit radiation. Also known as electronoluminescence.

A CCD camera, or charge-coupled device camera, is a type of digital camera that utilizes a CCD image sensor to capture and record images. CCD cameras are widely used in various applications,...

A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images into electronic signals. It is a key component in digital cameras, camcorders,...

An adaptation by Philips and Sony of their audio compact disc technology for optical disc data storage and retrieval. Current capacity of a disc is 0.5 to 0.6 gigabytes of information.

1. A single unit in a device for changing radiant energy to electrical energy or for controlling current flow in a circuit. 2. A single unit in a device whose resistance varies with radiant energy....

Cell adhesion refers to the process by which cells interact and attach to neighboring cells or to the extracellular matrix (ECM), a network of proteins and other molecules surrounding cells. This...

Cell migration refers to the process by which cells move from one location to another within tissues or across biological barriers. This fundamental biological process is essential during various...

In an interferogram, an intense portion of the recording that corresponds in size to the amount of infrared radiation incident on the detector.

A lens system in which the centers of curvature of all surfaces fall on a common axis.

1. Mounting a lens or mirror so that its optical axis is coincident with the optical or mechanical axes of other portions of the system. 2. The machining (edging) of the outside diameter of a lens...

In a reflecting telescope, the obstruction of the primary mirror by a secondary mirror which blocks a small amount of the light reflected by the primary mirror and introduces additional diffraction.

The computer module whose circuitry interprets instructions and guides the actions of the peripherals. Also known as the mainframe.

Centration is the precise alignment of the optical center of a lens or optical element with its mechanical center or the axis of the mounting assembly. It is crucial for ensuring that the optical...

In optics and photonics, ceramics refer to advanced ceramic materials that possess unique optical properties, making them suitable for various applications involving the manipulation and control of...

The radiation produced when a charged particle traverses a medium that has a refractive index considerably greater than unity. The moving particle has a velocity that exceeds the velocity of light in...

A photocathode that exhibits maximum sensitivity in the blue and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum. The sensitivity is obtained by the exposure of a thin layer of antimony to cesium vapor at an...

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...

The removal of sharp edges by grinding.

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