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5,268 terms
Photonics Dictionary
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structural character recognition
An approach to character recognition based on the structure of the character to be identified (number of straight lines, bays, holes, etc.); used where simple matching is not viable, as in...
structural color
Structural color refers to coloration in materials that is not caused by pigments or dyes but is instead a result of the physical structure of the material. In structural color, the interaction of...
structure function
The mean square difference in a spatial parameter at points spaced a given distance.
structured illumination microscopy
Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is an advanced optical imaging technique used in microscopy to enhance the resolution of images beyond the diffraction limit imposed by traditional light...
structured light
The projection of a plane or grid pattern of light onto an object. It can be used for the determination of three-dimensional characteristics of the object from the observed deflections that result.
stylus indicator alignment
A method used in surface quality testing for accurate positioning and rotation of metal spheres about an axis or fixed point in space that involves a sliding contact between the indicator and tip and...
stylus profilometer
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...
styrene acrylonitrile
A copolymer of styrene and acrylic used in molded optical components; it has a high refractive index and a low coefficient of thermal expansion.
subscriber loop
That portion of the telecommunications network that runs from a local central telephone to the subscriber premises.
substrate
A substrate refers to a material or surface upon which another material or process is applied or deposited. In various fields, such as electronics, biology, chemistry, and manufacturing, the term...
subtractive colors
Cyan, magenta and yellow. They are called subtractive because they each subtract one color by absorbtion and reflect the two others of the red, green, blue color primaries. Cyan absorbs red, magenta...
Suits' model
Family of deterministic models of plant canopy reflectance that provides deterministic formulation for each necessary parameter and a method to calculate reflectance as a function of sun and observer...
sun synchronous
Characterizes an Earth-orbiting satellite whose orbit plane is near polar and positioned at an altitude that allows it to pass over every spot on the Earth at identical local sun time twice a day.
sun-tracking concentrator
Controlled beam technology that introduces beams of sunlight through holes in a roof that are relayed throughout the building by a series of mirrors and lenses. Ideally, cool lighting is obtained by...
sunlight recorder
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...
superchromatic correction
Correction of an optical system at four separate wavelengths. This correction, longitudinal and lateral, is possible with the help of three selected special glasses.
superconductor
A metal, alloy or compound that loses its electrical resistance at temperatures below a certain transition temperature referred to as Tc. High-temperature superconductors occur near 130 K, while...
supercontinuum
Supercontinuum refers to a broad spectrum of light that spans a wide range of wavelengths, typically from the visible to the near-infrared or even mid-infrared regions of the electromagnetic...
superelastic collision
Observed phenomenon in laser pulses in which a large number of excited electrons are created and in which multiphoton processes have produced seed electrons, and excited neutral atoms are...
superfluorescence
The process in which the normal rate of fluorescent emission from a substance is enhanced by virtue of the optical gain of the medium; i.e., energy is lost not only by spontaneous emission but also...
superior mirage
An image of an object that appears above the object's true position as the result of abnormal refraction of the image rays by the atmosphere.
superluminal transmission
Superluminal transmission refers to the hypothetical process of transmitting information faster than the speed of light, which is commonly denoted as superluminal or faster-than-light (FTL)...
superluminescent light-emitting diode
An emitter based on stimulated emission with amplification but insufficient feedback for oscillation to build up.
superradiance
Directional and coherent radiation pulses that result from an ensemble of coherently prepared states in an optical medium.
superresolution
Superresolution refers to the enhancement or improvement of the spatial resolution beyond the conventional limits imposed by the diffraction of light. In the context of imaging, it is a set of...
suprathermal ion detector
A mass spectrometer used to detect ions formed by photo- and charge-exchange ionization of gases, such as those in the lunar atmosphere.
surface analysis by laser ionization
(SALI) A type of spectroscopy in which neutral atoms or molecules are ionized by an excimer laser beam and then measured by a time-of-flight mass spectrometer.
surface electromagnetic waves
Waves that propagate along the interface between two different media without radiation with exponentially decaying evanescent fields on both sides.
surface profile
A representation of the shape of a surface, including any roughness or other irregularities. The profile can be generated by direct measurements, as by a stylus, or by remote measurement, as by an...
surface quality
The specification of allowable flaws in a surface by comparison to reference standards of quality. Two graded sets of surface quality standards are employed. The first denotes defects of a long...
surface reflection
Also known as Fresnel reflection. That portion of the incident radiation that is reflected from the surface of a refractive material. It is a function of the refractive index of the material. At...
surface wave
A wave that is guided by the interface between two different media or by a refractive index gradient in the medium. The field components of the wave may exist (in principle) throughout space, even to...
surface-emitting laser diode
A semiconductor laser diode that emits light perpendicular to the active region. The output radiation is taken through the surface as opposed to through a cleaved mirror.
surface-enhanced Raman optical data storage
A technique of optical storage whereby information is encoded by molecular alterations in the interaction between the optical layer and the substrate.
surface-enhanced Raman scattering
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful analytical technique that enhances the Raman scattering signal of molecules adsorbed on or near certain nanostructured surfaces. Raman...
surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an analytical technique that combines the principles of Raman spectroscopy with the enhancement provided by nanostructured metallic surfaces. Raman...
surface-mount device
A surface-mount device (SMD) is an electronic component that is mounted directly onto the surface of a printed circuit board (PCB) rather than being inserted into holes drilled in the board (as with...
surface-mount LEDs
Surface-mount LEDs (SMD LEDs) are light-emitting diodes designed for mounting directly onto the surface of printed circuit boards (PCBs) without the need for leads or wires. Unlike traditional...
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...
surveyor's level
A small telescope mounted on a tripod and free to rotate about a vertical axis. A spirit level is mounted over the telescope and adjusted so that when the bubble is central, the telescope axis is...
swept source optical coherence tomography
Swept-source optical coherence tomography is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics, particularly in ophthalmology, to visualize and analyze the internal structures of biological tissues,...
swept-source laser
A swept-source laser, also known as a wavelength-swept laser, is a type of laser that rapidly and continuously changes its emission wavelength over time. This continuous wavelength tuning is achieved...
swept-source Raman spectroscopy
swept-source Raman spectroscopy is an advanced analytical technique that combines the principles of Raman spectroscopy with a swept-source laser system. It enables rapid and sensitive chemical...
swing
The length of the oscillation of a grinding or polishing lap.
SWR
short-wave radiation
symmetrical lens
A lens system made up of two sets of similar lenses, each of which compensates for many of the aberrations produced by the other. The lens sets are arranged symmetrically on either side of the...
symmetry operation
Any systemic process that ultimately reassembles all the system's components into their initial alignment, or an arrangement that exactly reproduces the initial relative alignment.
synapse
A synapse is a specialized junction between two neurons (nerve cells) or between a neuron and a target cell (such as a muscle or gland cell). It is the fundamental functional unit of communication in...
sync
Abbreviation of "synchronization.'' In television, the timing signals used to drive the scanning process. Horizontal sync triggers the retracing of the raster line beginning at the left-hand...
synchronous optical network
A standard for fiber optic telecommunications interfaces, with a 1300-nm data link operating over single-mode fiber at data rates of 52, 155 and 622 Mb/s.
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Photonics Dictionary
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