Photonics Dictionary

3D profiling, also known as three-dimensional profiling, refers to the process of capturing, analyzing, and visualizing the three-dimensional shape, geometry, and surface characteristics of objects...

3D scanners are devices used to capture the three-dimensional shape and characteristics of physical objects or environments. They utilize various technologies to gather data about the geometry,...

An absorption band is a range of wavelengths, frequencies, or energies in the electromagnetic spectrum within which a substance absorbs radiation. It appears as a dark band in a spectrum where the...

An absorption line is a dark line in a spectrum that occurs when a specific wavelength of light is absorbed by atoms or molecules in a medium (such as a gas or a solid) as light passes through it....

An absorption peak refers to a sharp increase or spike in the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a particular wavelength or energy level. It is a distinctive feature in the absorption...

Absorption spectroscopy is a fundamental analytical technique used to study the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter. It involves measuring the absorption of light by a sample...

An absorption spectrum is a graphical representation of the absorption of light by a material as a function of wavelength, frequency, or energy. It displays the specific wavelengths of light that are...

An acoustical hologram refers to a three-dimensional representation of sound waves in space, analogous to optical holography but applied to acoustic waves. Unlike visual holography, which creates...

Acoustical holography is a technique used to visualize and analyze sound fields in three-dimensional space. It involves capturing the complex spatial distribution of acoustic waves, much like how...

Adiabatic laser colorimetry is a technique used to measure the color of materials based on the principle of adiabatic demagnetization. Principle: Adiabatic laser colorimetry relies on the...

An optical device, such as a Nicol prism, capable of producing plane-polarized light, and used for detecting the effect of the object on plane-polarized light produced by the polarizer.

The angular spectrum approach is a mathematical and computational technique used in the field of optics to analyze and simulate the propagation of optical waves, particularly in the context of wave...

An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical elements in a sample by measuring the absorption of light at...

Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry to obtain IR spectra of samples. It is particularly useful for analyzing solid and liquid samples without...

An autocollimator is an optical instrument used for measuring small angular deviations with high precision. It operates on the principle of autocollimation, where a light source is directed onto a...

Automated optical inspection (AOI) is a technology used in manufacturing processes, particularly in electronics, to automatically inspect and detect defects or anomalies in products. AOI systems use...

Backscatter refers to the phenomenon in which radiation or waves are scattered backward, opposite to the direction of the incident beam. This occurs when the incident radiation encounters a target or...

Beam profiling is a technique used to characterize and analyze the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam. It involves measuring and visualizing how the optical power or intensity is...

A double block formed by placing two adjoining, equally thick sections of quartz, one being dextrorotary, the other levorotary, over the analyzer of a polariscope. In this way, polarization tints may...

Bioelectricity refers to the electrical potentials and currents generated by biological processes within living organisms. These electrical phenomena arise from the movement of ions across cell...

Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics. These unique attributes are used to verify or identify individuals, often in...

An instrument for detecting and analyzing repetitive signals. Using a fixed time delay or "gate," the input signal is sampled numerous times and averaged to increase the ratio of the...

Brillouin microscopy is a non-invasive imaging technique that utilizes Brillouin scattering to measure the mechanical properties of materials at the microscale. This advanced optical technique...

Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It encompasses various techniques and instruments used to quantify heat transfer,...

An instrument incorporating an infrared detector assembly, used to analyze carbon dioxide gases and in medical applications to monitor air exchange in the lungs of patients on ventilators or under...

An instrument designed to analyze the optical effects of color.

Circular dichroism (CD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the structural characteristics of chiral (asymmetric) molecules, particularly biomolecules like proteins, nucleic acids, and certain...

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) is a powerful technique used in spectroscopy to probe molecular vibrations in a sample. It is based on the Raman effect, which involves the inelastic...

A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides objective and standardized color information, typically expressed in terms...

A device used to project a reference spectrum next to a spectrum to be analyzed to provide visual comparison.

A small mass spectrometer, with a limited mass range, equipped with an analyzer to generate a cycloidal-path beam of the sample.

A data acquisition (DAQ) system is a combination of hardware and software used to collect, process, and analyze data from physical phenomena or processes. data acquisition system suppliers...

Data analysis software is a category of software tools used for the systematic examination of data sets to uncover patterns, trends, relationships, and insights. It supports a range of analytical...

A deep-ultraviolet (DUV) laser is a type of laser that emits light in the deep ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with wavelengths ranging from about 200 nm down to 10 nm....

A detector array refers to a collection of individual detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional grid or matrix format. Each element within the array is capable of detecting electromagnetic...

Diffraction is a fundamental wave phenomenon that occurs when a wave encounters an obstacle or aperture, causing the wave to bend around the edges and spread out. This effect is most commonly...

A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel grooves or rulings. These rulings act as an array of closely spaced slits...

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a nondestructive analytical technique used to investigate the optical properties of materials, particularly in the field of spectroscopy. Unlike traditional...

Digital signal processing (DSP) refers to the manipulation and analysis of signals, which are representations of physical quantities that vary over time or space. In the context of DSP, these signals...

A step-by-step method of reducing the amount of data in a digital video signal to transmit or store a high-quality image. The digitized picture is analyzed, and fine detail and redundant pixels,...

An imaging process, similar to specific Doppler mapping radar techniques, that utilizes a laser, an optical imaging system, and a line array of photodetectors and spectrum analyzers. The laser...

A mass spectrometer utilizing both radial electrostatic and magnetic field analyzers to improve the focusing and increase resolution.

Edge AI, also known as edge artificial intelligence, refers to the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and models directly on edge devices, such as smartphones, sensors, IoT...

The use of a krypton laser system for the measurement of small molecules aligned by an electric field, by analyzing the absorption of linearly polarized light.

A device consisting of an airtight quartz tube that holds the material to be analyzed. When a high-frequency electrostatic field, generated by microwaves, is applied to the tube, it emits energy of a...

A device that permits only electrons within a narrow velocity range to pass through it, while rejecting those above and below.