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41 terms
Photonics Dictionary: A
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Abbe condenser
An Abbe condenser is a type of optical component used in microscopy to enhance the illumination of the specimen. Named after the German physicist Ernst Abbe, who developed it in the 19th century, the...
Abbe refractometer
An Abbe refractometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the refractive index of liquids and solids. Named after the German physicist Ernst Abbe, this device operates on the principle of...
ablation
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laser ablation
Laser ablation is a process that involves the removal or erosion of material from a target surface using laser energy. This technique is widely used in various scientific, industrial, and medical...
absorbing wedge
An absorbing wedge is an optical device used to control the intensity of light passing through it by absorbing a portion of the light. It is typically used in experiments and optical systems where...
acoustic-optic deflection
Acousto-optic deflection refers to a phenomenon where the trajectory of light is altered by acoustic waves propagating through a material. This effect is utilized in acousto-optic devices, which are...
acousto-optic deflection
The angular change of an incident beam due to vibrational induced refractive index changes within a crystal.
acousto-optic deflector
An acousto-optic deflector (AOD) is a type of device that utilizes the acousto-optic effect to control the direction of light beams. It operates by modulating the refractive index of an optically...
acousto-optic diffraction
Acousto-optic diffraction refers to the process where light passing through an optically transparent material is diffracted due to the modulation of its refractive index by an acoustic wave...
acousto-optic modulation
Acousto-optic modulation refers to the process of using acoustic waves to modulate the properties of light passing through an optically transparent material. This modulation occurs due to the...
acousto-optic modulator
An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the acousto-optic effect to modulate the amplitude, phase, frequency, or polarization of a laser beam or other coherent light source. It...
acousto-optic modulators and deflectors
An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the interaction between sound waves and light waves to modulate or control the intensity, frequency, phase, or direction of laser beams. It...
acousto-optic
Acousto-optic refers to the interaction between sound waves and light waves within a material medium, where acoustic waves (sound waves) influence the optical properties of the material. This...
acousto-optics
Acousto-optics is a branch of physics that deals with the interaction of sound waves (acoustic waves) and light waves (optical waves) within a medium. It primarily focuses on phenomena where acoustic...
acousto-photorefractive effect
The acousto-photorefractive effect refers to a phenomenon in which acoustic waves (sound waves) interact with light waves (photons) within a photorefractive material, resulting in changes in the...
active infrared system
An active infrared (IR) system is a type of technology that uses infrared radiation actively emitted and detected by sensors for various purposes. Here are the key features and applications of active...
active medium
An active medium is a material or substance used in various optical devices and systems, where it plays a critical role in amplifying light or producing laser beams through the process of stimulated...
active region
In the context of a laser diode, the active region is a critical part of the device where the primary light generation occurs. Laser diode active region: The active region in a laser diode is...
adaptive optics
Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of atmospheric distortions. The Earth's atmosphere can cause light passing through it...
additive color process
The additive color process refers to the method of creating color by combining different wavelengths of light. This process is fundamental in various applications, particularly in: ...
additive manufacturing
Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a manufacturing process that involves creating three-dimensional objects by adding material layer by layer. This is in contrast to...
advanced communication technology satellite
The advanced communication technology satellite (ACTS) was a program developed by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in the United States to demonstrate and advance satellite...
advanced photon source
An accelerator at the Argonne National Laboratory, providing powerful x-ray beams for materials research applications.
aiming beam
A visible laser beam generated coaxially with an infrared or other invisible laser beam to aid in its positioning.
alexandrite lasers
An alexandrite laser is a solid-state laser that utilizes a synthetic crystal made from the rare earth element alexandrite (BeAl2O4:Cr3+). This crystal is capable of emitting laser light in the...
allogyric birefringence
Left- and right-hand circularly polarized beams that are produced at different velocities by passing plane-polarized light through an optical substance. When recombined, they exhibit different phases...
ammonia pellets
Charged frozen pellets that are rapidly bombarded with a focused high-power laser to form a dense plasma that can be heated and sustained with neutral beams.
analog stroke
An analog method of moving a cathode-ray tube beam across a display screen face, commonly used in high-performance vector and character generators.
angle of deflection
The angle through which a beam is deflected.
anticathode
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x-ray tube target
Also known as an anticathode. An electrode or electrode section that is focused upon by an electron beam and that emits x-rays.
antiguide
A waveguide that has a core with a lower refractive index than the refractive index of the cladding. This structure can limit the power of the transmitted beam by removing unwanted radiation, for...
AOBD
acousto-optic beam deflector
aperture distortion
A loss of resolution or detail in a television signal caused by the size of the electron scanning beam.
argon-fluoride excimer laser
An argon-fluoride (ArF) excimer laser is a type of ultraviolet laser that operates using a mixture of argon and fluorine gases. Excimer lasers are a class of gas lasers that emit light in the UV...
atmospheric attenuation
The reduction in luminance of a light beam due to absorption and scattering as it passes through the atmosphere.
atmospheric turbulence
Irregularities and disturbances in the atmosphere that are of particular interest because they induce random temporal and spatial phase and amplitude fluctuations that destroy the optical quality and...
attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy
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...
attenuator
An attenuator is an electronic or optical device used to reduce the power or intensity of a signal without significantly affecting its waveform or other characteristics. Attenuators are commonly used...
autocollimating spectrograph
A spectrograph in which the refracted beam returns almost along the path traveled by the incident beam, and is brought to a focus by the lens that collimates the incident beam.
autocollimator
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...
autostigmatic microscope
A microscope to which a beamsplitter and illuminated reticle have been added to measure the radius of curvature of a spherical surface by locating both surface and center and calculating the distance...
axicon
An axicon is a type of optical component characterized by its conical shape and its ability to transform a collimated Gaussian beam of light into a ring-shaped beam with a gradually increasing...
Photonics Dictionary
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