Photonics Dictionary

Injection molding is a manufacturing process used to produce parts by injecting molten material into a mold. It is widely used for creating a variety of plastic products, but it can also be used with...

Inline inspection involves performing quality checks, measurements, or tests on products or materials while they are being produced or processed, rather than inspecting them separately in a dedicated...

Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers, modulators, detectors, and waveguides, on a single chip or substrate. The...

A hollow sphere coated internally with a white diffusing material and provided with openings for incident beam, specimen and detector used for measuring the diffuse reflectance or transmittance of...

An interband cascade laser (ICL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on interband transitions between energy bands in a semiconductor material. Unlike traditional semiconductor...

An interferometer is a scientific instrument that utilizes the principle of interference to measure differences in the path length, wavelength, phase, or amplitude of coherent electromagnetic waves....

Heat measurement method in which the sample is made part of the interferometer and the temperature increase is determined by measuring the change in optical pathlength through the material. By moving...

Interlayer attraction refers to the attractive forces between adjacent layers of atoms or molecules in a material, particularly in layered structures such as van der Waals solids, graphene, and...

A material that is present or added to a sample undergoing spectroscopic analysis, to serve as an intensity reference for spectral measurements.

A photodetector composed of a photoconductive material that, when exposed to radiation, conducts without the aid of added impurities and does not have to be cooled to the level of extrinsic material....

A material often used in the construction of optical instruments because of its low coefficient of thermal expansion (0.9 x 10-6/ °C).

The ejecting of ions from the surface of a material.

Ion-beam sputtering (IBS) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique used for depositing thin films onto substrates. It involves bombarding a target material with a beam of energetic ions,...

The rainbow exhibition of colors, usually caused by interference of light of different wavelengths reflected from superficial layers in the surface of a material.

A thermosetting material used in the jacket of fiber optic cables.

1. Lines of the same color. 2. A term used in photoelastic stress analysis to refer to the interference fringes produced in birefringent materials.

That property of a material that determines that velocity of propagation within the material is the same for all directions.

The outer material that surrounds and protects the buffered and unbuffered fibers in an optical cable.

A semiconductor device with the property of conducting current more easily in one direction than the other. It has two terminals containing a single crystal of semiconducting material that ranges...

The material lost during a laser cutting or machining operation.

A cell filled with a transparent material that, when placed in a strong electrical field, exhibits double refraction. Since the two polarized elements of an incident light beam travel at different...

The Kerr effect, named after the physicist John Kerr who first observed it in 1875, is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where the refractive index of a material changes in response to an applied...

A Kerr soliton refers to a specific type of soliton, a self-reinforcing wave packet, that arises in nonlinear optical systems due to the Kerr effect. The Kerr effect is the phenomenon where the...

A measurement of the hardness of a material as determined by the penetration depth of a diamond stylus under a specified amount of pressure.

A two-flux theory in which the radiation is assumed to be composed of two oppositely directed radiation fluxes through a continuous medium. The theory has been widely used to relate the total diffuse...

Pennwalt's trade name for polyvinylidene fluoride, a material used in the jacket of fiber optic cables where low smoke emission is deemed more important than flexibility.

A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a miniaturized device that integrates various laboratory functions and capabilities onto a single, compact chip. Also known as microfluidic devices, lab-on-a-chip systems are...

Flux per unit solid angle leaving a surface in any direction is proportional to the cosine of the angle between that direction and the normal to the surface. A material that obeys Lambert's cosine...

1. The process of wearing down the surface of a softer material by rubbing it under pressure against the surface of a harder material that has been formed in the shape opposite to that desired on the...

Lapping and polishing services involve specialized processes used to improve the surface finish and dimensional accuracy of components to meet specific requirements or standards. These services are...

Laser ablation is a process that involves the removal or erosion of material from a target surface using laser energy. This technique is widely used in various scientific, industrial, and medical...

An experimental research technique by which absorbed or unabsorbed radiation is analyzed in order to characterize and determine material properties, concentration as well as behavior under the...

Laser active elements typically refers to the substances or materials within a laser system that play a critical role in the amplification of light through the process of stimulated emission. These...

Laser annealing is a process that involves using a laser beam to heat and modify the microstructure of a material, typically a thin film or surface layer, with the objective of improving its...

A laser cavity, also known as an optical cavity or resonator, is a fundamental component of a laser system. It is a confined region or space where light undergoes multiple reflections, leading to the...

A surgical device used to deliver laser light. Specifically,contact tips are made with artificially grown sapphire which is precisely cut to an orientation which permits efficient light transmission....

Laser cooling is a technique used to reduce the temperature of a material or a collection of atoms or molecules by using laser light. It is based on the principle of selective absorption and emission...

A laser crystal, also known as an active medium or gain medium, is a solid-state material used in the construction of lasers. The primary function of the laser crystal is to amplify light by...

A natural or mechanical system adversely affected by the influence of laser radiation. During laser damage the common effect of the radiation on the surface of interest is heat accumulation due to...

The laser damage threshold refers to the maximum level of laser intensity that a material can withstand without experiencing damage. It is a critical parameter in laser applications and is...

Device that operates by interaction of incident radiation with semiconductor based material in order to produce an electrical signal or by other means, to interact with calorimetric devices which...

A laser diode module is a compact device that incorporates a laser diode, optics, and often other components into a single package. These modules are designed to provide a convenient and efficient...

Laser kiss cutting is a technique used in manufacturing and fabrication processes, particularly in industries like packaging, textiles, and electronics. Laser kiss cutting involves using a laser...

A laser device intended for crushing urinary tract stones so they can be flushed from the body. Light is introduced via fiber optic delivery. A common wavelength used is 2.1 microns produced by...

Laser marking is a process in which a laser beam is used to mark or engrave a surface by altering its properties or appearance. This technique is widely used for labeling, identification, and...

Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser light. Laser optics play a crucial role in shaping the characteristics of...