Photonics Dictionary

A platform mount used to hold sensitive optical instruments immobile.

A type of laser used when a great amount of power is required. Avoiding the bulk of large numbers of optical lenses, this instrument offers high-output intensity and a small emitting region at...

A reticle pattern in a surveying instrument consisting of parallel lines that can be superimposed on a calibrated rod, making possible determination of the distance from the instrument to the rod.

A small instrument containing a picture support and a pair of magnifying lenses so arranged that the left eye sees only the picture taken with the left lens of the stereo camera, and the right eye...

A streak camera is a specialized instrument used to capture and analyze ultrafast phenomena, such as extremely short pulses of light or rapidly changing events. Unlike traditional cameras that...

A measuring instrument used for surface profiling and quantifying the roughness of a material. The stylus is placed on the surface of the material at a given contact force, then is moved laterally...

An instrument consisting essentially of a photoelectric cell filtered to respond to a specified wavelength region, an amplifier of sufficient gain to provide power enough to control movement of a...

A synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that uses magnetic fields to steer charged particles, typically electrons or positrons, in a closed, circular or elliptical path. The name synchrotron...

An instrument designed to measure the rate of rotation of components, such as shafts.

1. The term used to describe any of the many instruments used to remotely record physical dimensions, such as strain, temperature or pressure, and transmit this data to a receiving station. 2. A...

An instrument used to measure the luminance (brightness) of a distant object. The object is viewed through a small telescope, and a mirror in the focal plane reflects an internal illuminated surface...

Teloscopy, while not a commonly used term, could be understood in the context of principles related to telescopes and their applications in observation and measurement. If we interpret teloscopy as...

A terahertz spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to measure and analyze the properties of materials in the terahertz frequency range, typically spanning from about 0.1 to 10 terahertz (THz),...

A telescope that produces an erect image. Erection is achieved either by a lens (for a long instrument) or a prism (for a compact instrument). Very small terrestrial telescopes of low power may be of...

An instrument used to record infrared images of large areas. The recorded data are used to produce maps in false color indicating particular themes such as vegetation, cloud cover, temperature...

An instrument that transforms heat energy into electrical energy.

The instrument used to collect thermal radiation information on an object by scanning. It consists basically of a detector, a photoconductive element that converts incident radiation to an electrical...

A time-to-amplitude converter (TAC) is an electronic circuit that converts a time interval between two events into an amplitude or voltage signal. TACs are commonly used in various scientific and...

Also known as a pyrradiometer. An instrument that is designed to measure heat radiation nonselectively; e.g., the combination of terrestrial and solar radiation.

An instrument or system capable of both transmitting and receiving a signal.

A transducer is a device or component that converts one form of energy into another. It is commonly used in various fields, including electronics, acoustics, and instrumentation, to facilitate the...

A measuring instrument composed of a microscope and reticle, and mounted on a calibrated slide mechanism. May be used accurately to determine the distance between objects being viewed.

A method of measuring distance by recording a single scene from two points of perspective. Surveying instruments can be used; in autofocus systems, rangefinders and three-dimensional imaging systems,...

Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by the presence of suspended particles. These particles can include sediment, silt, clay, plankton, and other microscopic...

An instrument with a fluid that modulates a light beam traversing it because of the effect of ultrasonic waves passing through the fluid.

A vacuum chamber is a sealed enclosure from which air and other gases are removed to create a low-pressure environment, typically close to or at a complete vacuum. These chambers are often...

Any source that emits radiation of wavelengths between 100 and 300 nm. Instruments used to study these sources must be evacuated, as vacuum ultraviolet does not travel freely in air.

The product of the actual base or baseline of a rangefinder or heightfinder, and the power or magnification of the instrument.

1. An instrument used to determine the visual range in an environment. 2. A type of photometer that artificially reduces an object's visibility to threshold limits and records the quantity of...

An instrument that uses an erbium:glass laser to determine cloud height from the ground.

Volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) are specialized optical elements that consist of periodic variations in refractive index throughout the volume of a transparent material, typically a photosensitive glass...

An instrument that measures the wavelengths of an x-ray spectrum by the diffraction of x-rays from a crystal with a given lattice spacing.

An instrument that uses a crystal to diffract x-rays for the measurement of the intensities of the diffracted rays.

An instrument that is used to chart x-ray diffraction patterns, such as an x-ray spectrometer having photographic or other recording implements.

An instrument designed to produce an x-ray spectrum of a material as an aid in identifying it. This technique is particularly useful when the material cannot be broken down physically.

A diagnostic instrument that uses a photocathode design to see a broad range of x-ray radiation by streaking the photographic image continuously in time. It produces time- and space-resolved...

An instrument for eye surgery that directs intense xenon arc light through the transparent cornea lens to the retina where absorption by the pigment epithelium and the choroid produces heat and...

Zerodur is a type of glass ceramic material known for its exceptional thermal and mechanical properties, particularly its low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) close to zero. It was developed by...