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Photonics Dictionary: M
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mmeter;mass;milli- m is the standard unit symbol for length in the International System of Units (SI). 1 meter is equivalent to 3.28 feet. m is also the standard symbol for mass; m is also the standard SI metric unit prefix milli- which represents one thousandth i.e. 10-3, of a given unit.
mAmilliampere (or milliamp in English) which represents one thousandth, i.e. 10-3, of the SI unit for electric current that is the ampere (also commonly referred to as amp).
Mach-Zehnder interferometerA Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of light. It is named after the physicists Ludwig Mach and Ludwig Zehnder, who...
machine learningMachine learning (ML) is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on the development of algorithms and statistical models that enable computers to improve their performance on a specific...
machine vision lensA machine vision lens is a specialized optical lens designed for use in machine vision systems, which are used for automated inspection, measurement, and quality control in industrial applications....
machine vision lightingMachine vision lighting refers to the use of specific lighting techniques and equipment in the field of machine vision, which is a technology that enables machines to capture and interpret visual...
machine vision systemA machine vision system is an integrated combination of hardware and software components designed to capture, process, and analyze images to perform automated inspection, measurement, and quality...
macro lensA camera lens, used in macrophotography, that is designed and corrected to produce optimum definition of a nearby object when it is photographed at a magnification of approximately1:1.
macrophotographThe photographic recordformed in macrophotography in which the size of the small nearby object at theimage plane is the same size or greater than the actual life size of theobject.
macrophotographythe photography of very close, and typically small objects with a magnification of approximately 1:1
Maddox rodLenslike composition of stacked glass cylinders through which a spot of light appears as a streak perpendicular to the cylinder's axes in attempt to measure heterophoria in the human eye.
magnesium fluorideA colorless, crystalline compound whose low refractive index (n = 1.38) makes it effective as a lens antireflection coating when deposited by thermal evaporation in a near vacuum. This process...
magnethorheologicalMagnetorheological (MR) materials, often referred to as MR fluids, are smart materials that undergo significant changes in their rheological behavior (flow and deformation characteristics) in the...
magnetic bubble filmAn amorphous film in which cylindrical bubbles of reverse magnetization can be formed to follow circuit paths usually made by depositing magnetic metal strips on the film surface. It is used in...
magnetic resonance imagingAn imaging technique used in radiology that is based on the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to produce high-quality images of the inside of the human body by imaging the nuclei of...
magnetic resonance spectroscopyA method of studying the chemical and physical properties of atoms and molecules (typically living tissue and chemical samples) by exploiting the magnetic properties of their atomic nuclei when an...
magnetically focused image tubeA vacuum tube in which a magnetic field is superimposed onto the tube's electrical field. When the two fields are aligned, electrons from the photocathode are accelerated through the tube in a spiral...
magneto-optic readout deviceA device using the Kerr effect to read back the signals from mechanically recorded tapes and discs. It consists of a light source, optical lenses to focus and direct the light beam, a pair of...
magneto-optic shutterA type of high-speed photographic shutter that uses Faraday rotation to produce exposure times as fast as 1 microsecond. It consists of two polarizers, set with their planes of polarization at right...
magneto-optical photonic crystalA photonic crystal that comprises magneto-optical material such that the optical response of the device depends on the magnetization of the magneto-optical material. The magneto-optical effect can be...
magneto-opticsMagneto-optics refers to the study and manipulation of the interaction between magnetic fields and light (electromagnetic radiation). This field of physics explores how the properties of light, such...
magnonA magnon is a quasiparticle representing a quantized spin wave in a magnetic material. In other words, it is a collective excitation of the spins of electrons in a magnetic solid, analogous to the...
Maksutov correctorA thick meniscus lens arranged concentric with the center of curvature of a spherical mirror to produce an image free of spherical aberration.
Malus's lawA law that uses the square of the cosine between the plane of polarization of a beam of plane-polarized light and the plane of polarization of a polarizing element to calculate the intensity of the...
mandrelA shaft, spindle or any object generally passed through a workpiece to hold, support or shape a particular piece during its machining process or its practical use. In fiber optics, optical fibers are...
Mangin mirrorA double-surfaced catadioptric spherical mirror whose spherical first surface consists of a negative meniscus (concave) lens and second rear surface is a spherical mirror. This combination utilizes...
manometerA device used to measure the pressure of gases and vapors, without regard to atmospheric pressure.
Manufacturing Automation ProtocolA computerized token-passing local area network (LAN) configuration adopted by General Motors for real time control over the mediation of interconnected devices from multiple manufacturers over the...
mapping functionIn image processing, the mathematical relationships that link pixel brightnesses of input images to those of output images in point processes. Mapping functions are commonly used to apply...
marhic methodNondestructive measurement of the delta and alpha of clad optical fibers that involves interferometry with the fiber immersed in an index-matching oil and illuminated perpendicular to the fiber axis.
Martin's diameterA specific method for measuring the diameter of irregular shaped particles, Martin's diameter is the measured distance between opposite sides of a particle, and is measured transverse to the particle...
Marx effectThe decrease in the energy of a photoelectric emission as a result of the simultaneous incidence of radiation having lower frequency than that forming the emission.
mAsmilliamperes-second - unit measure of electric charge acquired when multiplying the electric current in milliamperes (one thousandth or 10-3 of the standard unit for electric current the ampere) by the time in seconds. It is commonly used to describe the length of time that electrons are produced or passed through a given circuitry.
maserAn acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Predecessor to the laser, the maser or 'microwave laser' was the first device to produce coherent electromagnetic waves,...
mask1. A framelike structure that serves to restrict the viewing area of the screen when placed before a television picture tube.
2. In photolithography, a photomask (or mask) is typically a patterned...
mask proximity correctionA technique used in photolithography of computer chips to compensate for errors caused by the proximity effect, which results in variations in size between areas of the mask that have many small...
mask spectrometerInstrument that uses absorption spectroscopy to detect gases in planetary atmospheres. Dispersed incoming radiation is transmitted to one or more sampling elements, or masks, before reaching the...
masks for evaporation/depositionIn the context of thin film deposition processes such as evaporation or sputtering, masks are used to selectively deposit material onto substrates, creating patterns or structures with precise...
mass spectrographA device that uses electromagnetic fields to separate electrically charged particles according to their masses. As a beam of charged particles is passed through a mass spectrograph, the result is a...
master oscillation -> injection seedingThe use of a small ultrastable master oscillator (a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser) to achieve single-frequency operation of a large pulsed Nd:YAG host laser, providing improved bandwidth and temporal...
matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionizationProcess of analysis in which the analyte substance is distributed in a matrix before laser desorption. This method avoids the mass limitations associated with laser desorption and possibly enhances...
maximum permissable exposureThe maximum level of laser radiation that a person may be exposed to without adverse biological effects.
Maxwell's equationsThe mathematical set of equations showing the relationship between oscillating electric and magnetic fields that are generated by an oscillating electric charge. Intrinsic to Maxwell's equations is...
mcdmillicandela — The millicandela is equivalent to one thousandth (or 10-3) of the standard unit of luminous intensity that is the candela, which is the power emitted by a given light source in a particular direction.
MCTmercury cadmium telluride — Mercury cadmium teluride (HgCdTe) is a specific alloy combination that allows one to obtain any optical absorption bandgap of the material between 0 and 1.5 electron volts (eV) making it completely transparent at photon energies and wavelengths below the energy gap in the infrared.
mean dispersion -> dispersive powerA measure of the dispersive properties of a glass. The relative dispersion is defined as:
where C, D, and F refer to the material's index of refraction at the three chief Fraunhofer lines in the...
mean solar timeOne of two types of solar time - the other being apparent solar time - the mean solar time is the time measured by the average hour angle position of the sun in the sky compiled over a period of one...
measuring eyepieceAlso known as an eyepiece micrometer. A microscope eyepiece that has a finely divided scale ruled or photographed on a section of transparent glass, and located in the focal plane. The dimensions of...
median filteringIn image processing, a method of local smoothing by replacing each pixel with the median gray level of neighboring pixels.
medical lasersMedical lasers are devices that produce intense beams of light with specific characteristics and properties, which are used for various medical applications. These lasers emit light in the form of...
Photonics DictionaryM