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5,268 terms
Photonics Dictionary
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spin-spin coupling
Reciprocal magnetic interaction between nuclei in a molecular system facilitated by the binding electrons of the molecule.
spindle
A loose term for a single polishing machine. In a lens factory it is the minimum unit of production.
spinthariscope
A device through which scintillations are observed or counted through a magnifying lens system.
spiral scanning
A scanning process in which the greatest amount of radiation determines part of a spiral motion rotating in one direction.
splay
->
deformation constant
Any of the constants that relate the tendency of the director to remain parallel to restoring torques throughout the media. The three constants of importance in liquid crystal displays are: splay --...
splice loss
->
insertion loss
The total optical power loss caused by the insertion of an optical component such as a connector, splice or coupler into a fiber optic system. See attenuation.
spline function
Potential alternative to the conventional pulse approximation method of digital image processing because of its highly desirable interpolating and approximating characteristics.
split field
The field of view seen through some types of coincidence rangefinders. It is formed by the juxtaposition of opposite halves of the images produced by two objectives, the half-images being separated...
split lens
A close-up lens, semicircular in shape, that is mounted in front of a conventional lens focused at infinity. The result is an image made up of two sections; one focused through the split lens on near...
split Stirling cooler
A cooling system used to attain and maintain desired low temperatures in infrared systems. The Stirling type is a mechanical refrigeration system capable of temperatures from 10 to 77 K.
split-crown triplet lens
A lens derived from the Cooke triplet anastigmat, but with one of the crown elements split in two, resulting in improved speed and correction of aberrations.
split-image microscope
A mask-alignment microscope used to produce and inspect microcircuits in the electronics industry. It provides flat-field, distortion-free images at all magnifications with a high-intensity vertical...
spontaneous emission
Radiation emitted when a quantum mechanical system drops spontaneously from an excited level to a lower level. This radiation is emitted according to the laws of probability without regard to the...
spontaneous transition probability
The probability that an atom in one state will move spontaneously to a lower state within a given unit of time.
spot diagram
A method of evaluating image quality whereby a large number of rays are traced through a lens from a single object point, and their intersections with the focal plane are plotted and analyzed.
spot meter
A telescopic light-sensing meter used to measure illumination levels of small regions at a distance of many feet; it is used in professional motion picture and television production to ensure proper...
spot-to-line converter
->
section converter
An arrangement of optical fibers in a bundle whereby the geometric configuration of the input end differs from that of the output end without changing the total area; for example, a circular bundle...
spread function
The distribution of energy about the image of a point source in the focal plane of an optical system.
spurious resolution
A phenomenon that causes the details in an image to appear at a spatial frequency higher than that at which the contrast first drops to zero. A phase reversal will accompany this phenomenon, often...
sputtering
A vacuum deposition method in which the coating material (target) is removed from the surface of the coating source (cathode) by ion bombardment and deposited upon the substrates.
sputtering equipment
Sputtering equipment is machinery used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering. Sputtering is a method of depositing thin films of material onto a substrate surface...
sputtering target
A sputtering target is a solid material used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering. Sputtering targets are typically made of metals, metal alloys, or compounds...
SR
synchrotron radiation
SREM
scanning reflection electron microscopy
stable multipass Fabry-Perot interferometer
A plane-parallel interferometer that yields extremely high contrast over a wide range of finesse values without significantly reducing transmission.
stacked optical memory
A memory system composed of a stack of holographic plates, a mode-locked laser and a rapid detector array. Ultrashort laser pulses are used to extract information from the stack. In this way, storage...
stacked-diode laser
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...
stadia scale
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.
stadia surveying
->
surveying instruments
Instruments used for measuring angles and occasionally lengths on the ground. The principal surveying instruments are the level, the stadia telescope, the transit and the theodolite. Laser...
stadimetry
The determination of distance based upon the known size of an object and the size of its image at the image plane of an optical system.
stage micrometer
In microscopy, a calibrated scale on a slide that may be viewed to determine the exact magnification factor of the microscope.
standard refraction
The refraction that would take place in an idealized atmosphere where the refractive index is reduced uniformly with height at the rate of 39 x 10-6 per kilometer.
standard thermal profile
In infrared imaging systems used for mass screening of printed circuit boards or other quality control applications, an image of an ideal component that is stored in the system's memory and then...
standing wave
The combination of two waves having the same frequency and amplitude and traveling in opposite directions. Standing waves are indicated by a stationary set of nodes spaced one-half wavelength apart...
star coupler
A passive coupler that distributes signals from one or several inputs among a larger number of output waveguides arranged schematically as a star configuration.
star testing
The visual examination by a trained observer of the image of a point source. Any coloring or departure from the Airy disc rings indicates the presence of aberrations in the lens forming that image.
Stark effect
The splitting or shifting of spectral lines or energy levels caused by the application of a strong transverse electrical field. It often is studied with a canal-ray tube that has a third electrode...
static beam shaping
A technique for creating optimal performance in a system by producing a specific beam irradiance distribution, usually through the use of geometric optics. A common design involves the use of ray...
static electricity
->
electrostatic charge
The effect produced by electrical charges or fields alone, without interaction with magnetic influence.
static fatigue
The application of a constant stress to an optical fiber.
steady-state condition
->
equilibrium mode distribution
The condition in a multimode optical waveguide in which the relative power distribution among the propagating modes is independent of length.
STED microscopy
STED microscopy, or stimulated emission depletion microscopy, is a superresolution imaging technique in fluorescence microscopy that surpasses the diffraction limit, enabling the visualization of...
Stefan-Boltzmann law
The formula that indicates the total radiation at all wavelengths from a perfect blackbody. W Total = 5.67 x 10-12 T 4(W/cm2)
stellar interferometer
->
Michelson stellar interferometer
An interferometer constructed to be positioned on a telescope to measure the angular separation of the components of double stars.
stellar photometry
The utilization of photometric measurement to determine the relative magnitudes of the heavenly bodies.
STEM
scanning transmission electron microscope
stencil CRT image generation
The projection of the image beam by a cathode-ray tube through a mask, where it is deflected through the suitable character position in the mask and then deflected by another system to its suitable...
step response
The observed time dependence of the transmittance of a step of radiation through a given medium.
step-and-repeat camera
A type of camera that has scales or other arrangements by which successive exposures can be lined up and equally spaced on a sheet of film. It is used in the preparation of microfiche copies of...
step-and-repeat printer
A projection printer that is capable of reproducing a multiplicity of images from a master transparency on a single support coated with a photosensitive layer by indexing the receiving material from...
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Photonics Dictionary
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