Photonics Dictionary: D

A very hard, highly transparent coating based on forms of carbon, used to protect optical components from abrasion and chemical damage.

A type of photographic film, often used in microfilming, that is processed by heat treatment, needing no liquid application.

The formation of a dark-colored film on a metal surface by chemical activity.

A chart, either printed on paper or prepared photographically on glass plates or film, that consists of 3-bar resolution test objects, sine-wave test objects for modulation transfer function...

A spatial light modulator consisting of a metallized polymer film stretched over an array of metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Each mirror element in the film can be...

1. An instrument used to measure the opacity or density of dyes, pigments or dispersed particles that form an image in or on a medium, such as a photographic film. 2. A device used to measure the...

A chemical solution that changes the silver salts (latent image) of exposed photographic film into black metallic silver (visual image).

Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of breaking up and forming isolated droplets on a substrate. This occurs due...

A dichroic coating, also known as a dichroic filter or dichroic mirror, is an optical coating designed to selectively transmit or reflect certain wavelengths of light while simultaneously absorbing...

A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that selectively reflects or transmits light based on its wavelength. Dichroic...

A high-reflectance coating consisting of alternating layers of quarter-wave film of a higher refractive index and lower refractive index than the substrate. Such coatings can be made very specific to...

An optical diffuser is an optical component or material designed to scatter or diffuse light that passes through it. It is used to create a more even or uniform illumination, reduce glare, or soften...

A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film cameras, which use photographic film to capture and store images, digital...

A form of photography in which an electronic camera converts an image to an electronic signal that is stored in digital format on magnetic media or film.

Medical diagnostic (x-ray) imaging using laser printers to produce high-resolution digital hard copy instead of film exposed by phosphor-intensifying screens, thus providing radiologists with greater...

In a camera, the focusing of an image on the screen located at the camera's film plane. Once the image is in complete focus, the recording medium is inserted in place of the screen.

A type of streak camera that uses film wrapped around a drum, which moves at a constant speed to record the changing shape of a short-lived event, such as a lightning flash.