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Photonics Dictionary

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quantum optics

The area of optics in which quantum theory is used to describe light in discrete units or "quanta" of energy known as photons. First observed by Albert Einstein's photoelectric effect, this particle...

quantum photodetector -> photodetector

A photodetector, also known as a photosensor or photodiode, is a device that detects and converts light into an electrical signal. Photodetectors are widely used in various applications, ranging from...

quantum repeater

A quantum repeater is a crucial component in quantum communication networks, designed to extend the range over which quantum information can be transmitted. Quantum information, typically carried by...

quantum sensing

Quantum sensing refers to a class of sensing technologies that leverage principles from quantum mechanics to enhance the precision and sensitivity of measurements. Traditional sensors operate based...

quantum well

A quantum well is a structure in quantum mechanics that confines particles, such as electrons or holes, in one spatial dimension. This confinement leads to quantized energy levels, creating a...

quantum wire

A narrow channel created by cleaving a crystal made of alternating layers of gallium arsenide and aluminum gallium arsenide, and adding additional layers on the cleaved end face, at right angles to...

quantum-ehanced metrology

Quantum-enhanced metrology refers to the use of quantum mechanics principles and techniques to enhance the precision and sensitivity of measurements in metrology—the science of measurement....

quantum-limited operation

Operation in which the minimum detectable signal is set because of variations in the average signal current; e.g., quantum noise.

quarter video graphics array

The quarter video graphics array (QVGA) is a display resolution standard used in video graphics, particularly in LCD displays, digital cameras, mobile phones, and other portable electronic devices....

quartz light source

A lamp with a quartz envelope that transmits radiation generally rich in the ultraviolet.

quartz plate

A crystalline-quartz plate designed according to specifications but having its two major faces parallel.

quartz spectrograph

A spectrograph used to detect radiation in the range of the ultraviolet in the electromagnetic spectrum. It is made up of quartz because that material, unlike regular glass, is not opaque to the...

quasar

A contraction of quasi stellar. An astronomical object that appears to be a star but has a different, larger redshift.

quasi-CW laser

A laser that generates a succession of pulses at a high enough repetition rate to appear continuous. The pump source is switched on for short intervals, nominally equal to the lifetime of the...

quasi-Fourier transform

The transform defining that, if a reference beam is a divergent spherical wavefront, then the reconstructed image will be the equivalent of the near-field diffraction pattern of the object. Also...

quasi-linear theory

The first nonlinear theory in plasma physics that details the time and space evolution of plasma wave instability from a microscopic vantage point and provides an outline of the plasma in terms of...

quasi-optical

Having properties resembling those of light- waves; e.g., the propagation of waves in the television spectrum.

quasiparticle

A quasiparticle is an emergent phenomenon that occurs in many-body systems, particularly in condensed matter physics, where the collective behavior of a large number of interacting particles can be...

qubit

A qubit, short for quantum bit, is the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing and quantum information processing. Unlike classical bits, which can exist in one of two states (0 or 1),...

quencher molecule

In the dye laser, the molecule that takes out energy from the triplet state during collisions between the dye and quencher to achieve long-pulse emission.

quenching

The inhibition or elimination of one process by another process. The stimulated emission of a laser oscillator can be quenched by a pulse of radiation of the same frequency traversing the oscillator...

quick-flashing light -> stroboscope

A device that produces brief flashes of light for observing the behavior of an object during a short interval. One of the most effective means for accomplishing this is a gaseous tube energized by...

quiescent period

The time interval of no activity occurring between each pulse during transmission.

RACE

research into advanced communications in Europe

racemic

Inactive optically, but having the capacity for resolution into forms of opposed optical activity. The term is derived from racemic acid, an optically inactive, tartaric acid.

rad

A unit of energy absorbed from ionizing radiation, equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material.

radar

radio detection and ranging

radar display

The spontaneous visual presentation of radar information by electronic traces on a cathode-ray tube.

radiac

An acronym for radioactive detection, identification and computation. The term refers to the detection and measurement of the intensity of emitted nuclear radiation.

radial distortion

An alteration in magnification from the center of the field to any point in the field, measured in a radial direction from the center of the field. Some radial distortion is inherent in most optical...

radial distribution method

A statistical analysis of facts obtained when the intensity of x-ray diffraction is calculated at different angles. In this way, the interatomic distances of gases and liquids can be deduced, with...

radial gradient

In gradient index optics, a gradient profile in which the index varies in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis. Radial gradient lenses can focus light even when the lens surfaces are flat,...

radial runoff

The deviation from the ideal case where a circular variable filter is located at a given wavelength along a radial line (or constant angle of rotation) regardless of the distance from the center of...

radially variable reflectivity optic

A reflecting optic whose reflectivity is a function of the radial distance from the optic axis; can be used to convert a Gaussian beam to one of uniform cross section.

radiant

Pertaining to electromagnetic radiation, with the contributions at all wavelengths of interest weighted equally.

radiant energy

The energy passed on as electromagnetic radiation; e.g., radio, heat or light waves.

radiant heat

Infrared radiation emitted from a source that is not heated sufficiently to give off visible radiation.

radiation

The emission and/or propagation of energy through space or through a medium in the form of either waves or corpuscular emission.

radiation angle

Half the vertex angle of the cone of light emitted by a fiber.

radiation counter

An instrument used to recognize and identify incident radiation by the ionizing or stimulating properties of the radiation.

radiation detector

Any of the many devices used to detect the presence of radiation from a specific region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

radiation dosimetry

The detection and measurement of nuclear and x-ray radiation.

radiation length

The average length in a specific material in which a relativistic charged particle will lose 67 percent of its energy by bremsstrahlung.

radiation mode

A mode in an optical waveguide whose fields are transversely oscillatory everywhere external to the waveguide. It exists even in the limit of zero wavelength.

radiation pattern

Relative power distribution as a function of position or angle.

radiation pressure

The force exerted on a surface by radiation.

radiation pyrometer

Also known as radiation thermometer. A pyrometer in which the radiant intensity from the source to be measured is used to calculate its temperature. The usual detector is a thermocouple, thermopile...

radiation temperature

The temperature of a complete radiator that has a total radiant emittance identical to that of an unknown resource.

radiation thermocouple

A thermocouple that is used in infrared spectroscopy to detect a sample's infrared emittance. See thermocouple.

radiation trapping

That process by which radiation spontaneously emitted by a volume of optical materials is resonantly reabsorbed within the same volume before it escapes. This effect is manifested in a reduction in...

Photonics Dictionary

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