Photonics Dictionary: I

A thermal infrared imaging procedure developed for quality control of printed circuit boards. The thermogram of each board under test is compared with a standard thermal profile and then with a...

In semiconductor physics and materials science, the term "III-V materials" refers to compounds composed of elements from group III and group V of the periodic table. More specifically, these...

An electro-optic system using, in general form, an evacuated glass envelope with a semitransparent photocathode at one end and a luminescent screen at the other for the amplification of an optical...

An electron tube that employs electromagnetic radiation to produce a visual replica of an image produced on its cathode. Electrons ejected from the cathode by the incident radiation are accelerated...

In computer graphics, the coordinated two-dimensional or three-dimensional area of increased resolution where graphics entities may be defined. The screen represents a viewing window for this area,...

An image intensifier, also known as an image intensification tube or image intensification device, is a specialized electronic device used to amplify low-light-level images to make them visible to...

A camera tube widely used in television broadcasting. It consists of three sections within a single vacuum envelope. 1. A photosensitive film sometimes called the photocathode. The scene to be...

A plane in which an image is formed. A real image formed by a positive lens would be visible upon a screen located in this plane.

A type of electroluminescent display that will record and maintain an irradiated image on its phosphor screen, provided a DC potential is applied to the screen. Used to record x-ray images, the...

A camera system in which the image formed on the fluorescent screen of an image converter tube in the system is recorded by photography or direct contact printing from the face of the tube.

Generally, a rotatable table with scales marked in degrees. The fiducial marking also may be a vernier scale. The same scheme is applied to linear movement. Such devices are often applied to...

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are ordinary cells that are genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell-like state to allow the human cells to be used for therapeutic purposes....

A device used to accelerate the electrons in a free-electron laser by supplying electrical energy to the electron beam through a series of transformers.

Photographic recording that uses infrared radiation as the light source to form an image of a microscopic object and a system of lenses and objectives that are transparent to the radiation. The image...

Infrared (IR) refers to the region of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths longer than those of visible light, but shorter than those of microwaves. The infrared spectrum spans wavelengths...

Injection locking, also known as injection-phase locking or injection-phase control, is a phenomenon in which a weak signal is synchronized with a stronger signal due to the injection of energy or...

I/O stands for input/output. In computing, it refers to the communication between a computer system or program and its external environment, including peripherals, storage devices, networks, and...

Instantaneous field of view (iFOV) is a term commonly used in the context of remote sensing, imaging systems, and optical instruments. It refers to the specific portion of a scene that an optical...

A reflection hologram using multiple color lasers that integrates various graphical techniques to allow the display of three-dimensional images of live objects in motion, as well as outdoor scenes,...

Integration time, in the context of optics, imaging systems, and sensor technology, refers to the duration over which a sensor collects and accumulates incoming light or signal. It is a crucial...

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...

A device, consisting of a diode activated by an interference pulse, that is designed to minimize the white spots on a television screen that are intensified by interference.

The creation of free electrons within a solid by the absorption of a sufficient amount of photons. The effect produces an increase in the conductivity of the solid.

Indication of emission brightness with degree of emission from an optical source.

Free of coma.