Photonics Dictionary: P

An optical instrument designed to displace the line of sight in a vertical direction. For submarines and other military uses the periscope is a long tube containing prisms at both ends and...

An instrument used to detect and measure radiant energy by the formation of a chemical reaction.

An optical medical instrument that uses an intense, precisely focused beam of light to stop weakened blood vessels from hemorrhaging. The thermal effect of the beam strengthens the weakened vessels...

A photodetector, also known as a photosensor or photodiode, is a device that detects and converts light into an electrical signal. Photodetectors are widely used in various applications, ranging from...

Photoelastic equipment and supplies refer to instruments and materials used in photoelasticity, a technique used to analyze stress distribution and behavior in materials. photoelastic equipment...

A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is a highly sensitive vacuum tube that detects and amplifies low levels of light. It is widely used in various applications where high sensitivity, fast response times,...

An instrument in which visible light beyond the critical angle from a metallurgical microscope is focused on a reference surface. A certain fraction of the incident light tunnels through air to the...

The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The science includes light emission, transmission, deflection, amplification and...

A camera equipped with angular scales in altitude and azimuth. The scale readings are imprinted on the film when an exposure is made. The exact point indicated by the scale readings is shown by...

A PIN photodiode is a type of photodetector or semiconductor device used to convert light signals into electrical signals. The name "PIN" is derived from the arrangement of the three semiconductor...

The arrangement of two Porro prisms so that the inverted image formed by certain types of optical instruments is the same as the object. The first prism, which is set at 90° to the second, inverts...

Injecting a gas (usually nitrogen) with a very low moisture content into the body of an optical instrument to create a positive internal pressure. This prevents the entrance of moisture, which could...

A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent object with at least two flat surfaces that are inclined relative to each...

An assembly of prototype instruments, equipment and/or software designed to perform all the functions of a concept or idea which, when operated as a system, produce evidence, results or data...

The instrument used to analyze a pulsed electromagnetic wave to determine its time, amplitude, duration and shape, and to display this information in some appropriate form, either visually or...

An instrument designed for laser technology that is used to extract single pulses from the laser and transmit a portion of the pulses, thereby reducing the pulse rate to a desirable frequency.

An instrument for measuring the diameter of the human eye pupil.

An instrument for measuring the intensity of solar radiation.