Photonics Dictionary

A 2D profile sensor is a type of sensor used in various industrial and technological applications to measure and capture detailed information about the shape, contour, or profile of an object in two...

An accelerometer is a sensor or transducer that measures the rate of change of velocity of an object, or in simpler terms, it measures acceleration. Accelerometers are widely used in various...

Accessible radiation refers to the portion of radiation from a source that can be reached or detected by humans, instruments, or devices under specific conditions of use. This term is often used in...

An acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) is a device that utilizes the acousto-optic effect to selectively filter and transmit light based on its wavelength or frequency. It operates by applying an...

An acquisition control processor typically refers to a specialized computer or electronic system component used in industrial automation, data acquisition systems, or scientific instrumentation. Its...

In various fields of science and technology, an active element typically refers to a component or substance that actively participates in or facilitates a process, operation, or reaction. Here are...

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...

An actuator is a mechanical or electromechanical device that is responsible for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It converts various forms of energy (such as electrical, hydraulic,...

Additive color mixing refers to the process of creating colors by combining different wavelengths of light. In this system, red, green, and blue (RGB) are considered primary colors. By mixing varying...

The use of optical or electronic recording systems to extract information from the terrain, while aloft, for reconnaissance applications.

Alternating current (AC) is an electrical current in which the direction of flow of electric charge periodically reverses. This reversal occurs at regular intervals, typically in a sinusoidal...

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...

Attenuation refers to the gradual loss or reduction of intensity, force, or magnitude of a particular property as it propagates through a medium or travels over a distance. This concept is prevalent...

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...

An attoampere (aA) is a unit of electric current in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one quintillionth (10-18) of an ampere. The ampere, symbolized as "A," is the base unit of...

Attosecond photonics sources refer to devices or systems that generate extremely short pulses of light on the order of attoseconds (1 attosecond = 10-18 seconds). These ultrafast light pulses are in...

Attosecond-pump attosecond-probe spectroscopy (APAP) is an advanced technique in ultrafast spectroscopy that allows scientists to study the dynamics of electronic processes occurring on extremely...

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...

Automatic current control (ACC) refers to a system or mechanism designed to regulate and maintain a desired level of electric current in a circuit or device without manual intervention. This control...

Bin picking, also known as bin picking automation or bin picking robotics, refers to the automated process of selecting and retrieving individual objects or components from a bin, container, or bulk...

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...

A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material or a detector. The camera generally contains a lens of variable aperture...

Carbon fullerenes are a class of carbon-based molecules composed entirely of carbon atoms arranged in a hollow, closed, cage-like structure. The most well-known fullerenes are spherical and are often...

A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images into electronic signals. It is a key component in digital cameras, camcorders,...

A CMOS image sensor, short for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor, is a type of semiconductor device used to capture visual information and convert it into electrical signals for...

Category inclusive of all radiation that is incited electronically, except laser radiation, as a function of the application of laser power to a system.

A laser warning and countermeasure system containing a sensor that indicates the direction of a laser beam, and analytical instruments to determine pulse code, repetition frequency and wavelength.

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) refers to a technology used in the fabrication of integrated circuits, particularly semiconductor devices like microprocessors, memory chips, and image...

Continuous wave (CW) refers to a type of signal or transmission where the signal is constant and does not vary with time. In various contexts, the term is used to describe continuous, uninterrupted...

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....

Diffractive optical processors are optical devices that utilize diffractive optics principles to perform various computational tasks, such as image processing, pattern recognition, and optical...

A linear computation or algorithm performed on a selected series in the form of an input signal that produces a new series as output. The computational device may be a specifically designed...

Direct time-of-flight (dTOF) is a technique used in 3D imaging and depth sensing to measure the time taken for light or electromagnetic waves to travel from a source to a target object and back to a...

Directed energy refers to a type of energy that is emitted and transferred in a controlled direction. The term is often associated with military and technological applications where energy, typically...

An electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a device used to modulate the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light waves using an external electrical signal. Electro-optic modulation is a fundamental...

An EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge-coupled device) camera is a type of scientific camera specifically designed for low-light imaging applications that require high sensitivity and fast readout...

An electron-beam lithography (EBL) system is a sophisticated nanofabrication tool used in the semiconductor industry and research laboratories to pattern extremely fine features with sub-micrometer...

Embedded vision refers to the integration of computer vision technologies into various embedded systems, devices, or machines. Computer vision involves teaching machines to interpret and understand...

Epitaxial equipment refers to a set of specialized tools and systems used in the process of epitaxy, which is the growth of crystalline layers on a substrate material. Epitaxial growth is a critical...

A femtosecond laser is a type of laser that emits ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of femtoseconds, where one femtosecond is equal to 10-15 seconds. These lasers are capable of...

A fiber optic attenuator is a passive optical component designed to attenuate or decrease the intensity of an optical signal traveling through a fiber optic link. It achieves this by introducing a...

A fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) is a type of gyroscope that uses the interference of light waves to detect changes in orientation or rotation. It operates based on the principle of the Sagnac effect,...

A fiber optic transceiver, often simply referred to as an "optical transceiver," is a device used in fiber optic communications to transmit and receive data over optical fibers. It integrates both a...

A fiber-coupled photoconductive antenna (FCPA) is a type of optoelectronic device that combines a photoconductive antenna with optical fibers for the purpose of generating or detecting terahertz...

Floquet-Bloch oscillations refer to a phenomenon in condensed matter physics, specifically in the context of periodic potential systems subjected to an oscillating external field or periodic...

Flow cytometry is a powerful technique used in biology and medicine for the quantitative analysis of the physical and chemical characteristics of cells and particles suspended in a fluid. The method...