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44 terms
Photonics Dictionary: B
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e-beam x
B x
b integral
Calculates the exponential growth of the least stable spatial frequency in a laser beam, and is the numerical equivalent of the nonlinear phase shift along the laser system's optical axis.
backscatter
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...
backward-wave oscillator
An amplifying device with a wide tuning range in which an electron gun sends a beam of electrons into a slow-wave structure. The electron beam and the electromagnetic wave move in opposite directions...
ball lens
A ball lens is a small, spherical optical component typically made of glass or other transparent materials. It is characterized by its spherical shape, with both its front and back surfaces forming...
BDS
beam-delivery system
beam
1. A bundle of light rays that may be parallel, converging or diverging. 2. A concentrated, unidirectional stream of particles. 3. A concentrated, unidirectional flow of electromagnetic waves.
beam attenuator
A device designed to decrease flux density or power per unit area of a light beam through absorption and scattering of the beam.
beam bender
A mirror used to manipulate the beam in a laser system.
beam candlepower
With relation to the equivalent beam candlepower of a searchlight, the candlepower of a bare source that would produce the same illumination at the respective point if located the same distance away.
beam converter
A device used to alter the shape of or energy distribution within a beam of radiation.
beam deflection tube
An electron-beam tube in which the current to an output electrode is regulated by the transverse motion of the tube's electron beam.
beam diameter
1. Calculated distance between two exactly opposed points on a beam at a chosen fraction of peak power (typically 1/e2). 2. The diameter of a circular aperture that will pass a specified percentage...
beam divergence
Increase in the diameter of an initially collimated beam, as measured in milliradians (mrad) at specified points; i.e., where irradiance is a given fraction (often 1/e2) of peak irradiance.
beam divider
->
beamsplitter
A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....
beam expander
A system of optical components designed to increase the diameter of a radiation beam. Usually an afocal system.
beam matrix
1. A geometrical arrangement of two or more light beams for use in laser shows, object detection or other applications requiring arrayed multiple beams. 2. A mathematical 2 X 2 or 3 X 3 matrix for...
beam noise
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noise current
Any noise or current fluctuation that prevents precise measurement of the signal current. Both dark current and signal current have random fluctuations that affect the arrival of pulses. Thermal...
beam optics
->
Gaussian beam optics
The area of optics that deals with the propagation of Gaussian laser beams in free space, or any general medium - i.e. lenses- under the paraxial (small divergence angle) approximations. Gaussian...
beam position
In computer graphics, the point on the display screen where the electron beam is located before the display instruction is executed. On directed beam display points, vectors and other graphic...
beam positioner
A device (e.g., prisms, lenses, tubes) used to align a beam in a system.
beam profiler
A device that measures the spatial distribution of energy perpendicular to the propagation path of a radiant beam. An energy or power meter is typically used to monitor the amount of light passing...
beam profiling
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...
beam shaper
A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser or light beam. The goal is to transform the incoming beam into a desired shape...
beam shuttle
A set of mirrors mounted on solenoids to move them into and out of the path of a laser beam, making it possible for multiple workstations to alternate using the single laser source.
beam spread
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divergence
1. In optics, the bending of rays away from each other. 2. In lasers, the spreading of a laser beam with increased distance from the exit aperture. Also called beam spread. 3. In a binocular...
beam table
Laser light show effects equipment including optics and mechanical devices that reflect, position or distort the laser beam, but not including the laser itself.
beam waist
That point in a Gaussian beam where the wavefront has a curvature of zero and the beam diameter is a minimum.
beam-addressable technology
The application of reversible writing with a laser beam on particular storage materials. In one method, an amorphous film is heated and then crystallized for writing. Bubble writing involves the...
beamsplitter
A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....
beamsplitting block
A glass block that produces stationary fringes in the region crossed by incident light beams.
beamwidth
The angular width of a radiation beam. With respect to a conical beam of light, it is the vertex angle of the cone. The beamwidth is a measure of the rate of divergence or convergence of a light...
beta fluorography
The use of a short-duration electron beam to record high-speed events that occur in microscopic objects made of materials that emit visible fluorescence during electron bombardment. The method is...
bidirectional reflectance distribution function
Unified notation for specification of reflectance in terms of both incident- and reflected-beam geometry; i.e., the ratio of reflected radiance in direction toward the viewer to the irradiance in...
Billet's split lens
An experimental lens used to produce interference fringes. A positive lens is cut into halves along its center, and the halves are separated. This produces a double image of a slit source set...
bispheric condenser
->
dark-field condenser
A condenser that forms a hollow cone-shaped beam of light with its focal point in the plane of the specimen. If it is used with an objective having a numerical aperture lower than the minimum...
bistability
->
optical bistability
The phenomenon that can render an optical resonator the equivalent of a semiconductor flip-flop. A bistable device will remain stable in two optical states, one of high transmission and another of...
blanking
The process by which the raster beam in a video tube is cut off during the retracing and sync periods.
Bragg cell
->
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...
Bragg method of crystal analysis
A technique in which a beam of x-rays is directed against a crystal, the atoms of which, because of their lattice arrangement, reflect the ray in the same way as a series of plane surfaces. If the...
Bragg spectrometer
->
ionization spectrometer
Also known as the Bragg spectrometer. A system used for the x-ray analysis of crystal structure. In the instrument, a homogeneous beam of x-rays is directed on the known face of a crystal and the...
Bragg's law
The law expressing the condition under which a crystal will reflect a beam of x-rays with the greatest amount of distinction or resolution and, at the same time, denoting the angle at which the...
Brillouin microscopy
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...
bubble writing
->
beam-addressable technology
The application of reversible writing with a laser beam on particular storage materials. In one method, an amorphous film is heated and then crystallized for writing. Bubble writing involves the...
BUF
beam utilization factor
Photonics Dictionary
B
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