Photonics Dictionary

A lenticular screen having the lenticules tipped about 20° to compensate for off-normal projection.

A television camera tube in which a low-velocity electron beam scans a photoactive mosaic that has been created by an optical image. Once scanned by the electron beam, the electrical storage capacity...

Black and white film that is sensitive to green, blue and violet light but not to red light.

A camera designed with a telecentric optical system and a narrow field of view; the telecentric optical system (placement of the system's stop at its focal point) ensures that the principal image...

Corrected for distortion.

A telescopic eyepiece that produces a field of view between 40° and 50°. The eyepiece consists of a single element eyelens that is normally plano convex, and a cemented triplet that is...

A record formed when the luminous trace or image produced by an oscilloscope is photographed.

An instrument used to record rapidly varying currents or voltages. An oscillograph may consist of a cathode-ray tube oscilloscope with a camera attachment, or a mirror galvanometer with a lamp and...

The graphic recording of physical changes vs. time, in electrical quantities, using an oscilloscope.

A system in which a supplied signal causes the deflection of the electron beam in a cathode-ray tube, thus forming a visible trace on the phosphor screen of the tube and providing for examination of...

Opsins are a group of light-sensitive proteins found primarily in the retinas of vertebrate and invertebrate eyes, as well as in other light-sensitive tissues. These proteins play a crucial role in...

The system of color classification and description produced by Wilhelm Ostwald.

An otoscope is a medical device used by healthcare professionals, particularly ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists, primary care physicians, and pediatricians, to examine the ear canal and...

The approximate dimension of the refractive-index correlation length in a given medium.

The emission of gas or de-aeration due to thermal variations and often occurring in a vacuum. In a cleanroom, contamination from the spontaneous emission of absorbed particles.

The partially reflective mirror at the end of the laser cavity that is the source of the beam. It controls the coupling percentage for high output power and maintains correct mode structure in the...

The direct computation of the Fourier transform of the space variant system output of an optical processor with a single spherical lens. The one-dimensional output spectrum appears along a 45°...

A process for the production of optical fibers. A glass bait is rotated in a traversing flame of a reaction burner. Reactants passed through the flame react with oxygen at the high temperatures to...

The physical distance, measured along the optical axis, from the object to the image. Also called overall length.

A layer of material applied to a coated surface to protect it from physical or chemical action.

The improper exposure of a radiation-sensitive medium that results when there is too much radiation exposing the medium, or when the exposure time is too long. The resulting image, in negative form,...

The condition of the numerical aperture or beam diameter of the laser, LED, or other optical source being larger than the optical fiber core or other driven source. Also called overfilled launch...

A projector used to project transparencies. A horizontal 8 x 10-in. stage for writing or laying down preformed transparencies is provided with either an elliptical mirror or a plastic Fresnel lens...

A hologram facet illumination technique in which the illuminating beam is twice the size of the hologram facet so that full hologram resolution capability can be realized and scanning dead time is...

In a cathode-ray tube, the deflection of the beam of the tube over an angle that surpasses the angle that subtends the suitable area of the screen.

A device that uses a photoelectric cell to determine the level of oxygenation in the blood.

Oxytosis refers to a form of cell death that is induced by oxidative stress. It is characterized by the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within cells, leading to oxidative damage and...

In a semiconductor, the state created by the addition of a dopant that creates excess holes.

A semiconductor material in which the dopants create holes as the majority charge carrier. It is formed by doping with acceptor atoms.

The finite amount of electrical charge generated in response to incident radiation and transferred from one storage element to the next in a charge-coupled device. Each packet corresponds to a pixel...

The transmission of data in groups (packets) of information~comma~ each handled as an aggregate.

1. In a photonic interconnect, the number of detectors in a given area. Detectors spaced too closely may give rise to crosstalk. 2. In the cross section of a fiber optic bundle, the ratio of fiber...

The ratio of the active core area of a fiber bundle to the total area at its light-emitting or receiving end.

The production of a positron-electron pair by a photon having energy greater than one mega-electron-volt, whereby some of the photon energy is converted to the rest mass of the pair.

In interlaced television scanning, an effect in which the lines of one field fail to fall exactly within the lines of the following field, both fields comprising one frame of the picture. The lines...

Black and white film that has a wavelength sensitivity similar to that of the eye.