Photonics Dictionary

An absorption peak refers to a sharp increase or spike in the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a particular wavelength or energy level. It is a distinctive feature in the absorption...

Absorption spectroscopy is a fundamental analytical technique used to study the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter. It involves measuring the absorption of light by a sample...

An absorption spectrum is a graphical representation of the absorption of light by a material as a function of wavelength, frequency, or energy. It displays the specific wavelengths of light that are...

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...

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...

Analog-to-digital (A/D) is a process that converts continuous analog signals into discrete digital signals. This process coverts analog signals continuously, which vary smoothly over time, into a...

Dispersion that occurs when the medium's index of refraction decreases as the frequency of the propagating light increases. For a given medium, some wavelength ranges may produce anomalous dispersion...

Noise over a specified frequency range, in which the spectral density is proportional to the frequency instead of being independent of it, as in white noise.

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...

A broadband filter is an electronic or electromagnetic device designed to pass a range of frequencies or signals within a specified bandwidth while attenuating or rejecting signals outside of that...

In optics and photonics, ceramics refer to advanced ceramic materials that possess unique optical properties, making them suitable for various applications involving the manipulation and control of...

An acronym for communications intelligence, referring to the collection of communications signals in the VHF and UHF frequency ranges (20 to 1200 MHz).

A data acquisition (DAQ) system is a combination of hardware and software used to collect, process, and analyze data from physical phenomena or processes. data acquisition system suppliers...

Data analysis software is a category of software tools used for the systematic examination of data sets to uncover patterns, trends, relationships, and insights. It supports a range of analytical...

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....

Digital signal processing (DSP) refers to the manipulation and analysis of signals, which are representations of physical quantities that vary over time or space. In the context of DSP, these signals...

An etalon is an optical device that consists of two parallel reflecting surfaces separated by a precise and known distance. It operates based on the principle of optical interference and is used to...

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. EUV radiation has wavelengths between 10 and 124 nanometers, which...

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 sensor is a device that uses optical fibers to detect and measure physical, chemical, biological, or environmental parameters. Unlike traditional electrical sensors, fiber optic sensors...

Fluoride fibers are optical fibers made from fluoride-based materials, typically fluoride glasses or crystalline fluoride compounds. These fibers are characterized by their unique optical properties,...

The frequency space between consecutive transmission peaks in the transmission spectrum of a Fabry-Perot interferometer or etalon. The free-spectral range is inversely proportional to the distance...

A frequency comb is a precise and regular series of equally spaced spectral lines, or frequencies, that are generated with great accuracy. The term "frequency comb" is often associated with the Nobel...

The frequency domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to represent signals and data in terms of their frequency components. In contrast to the time domain, where signals are...

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a compound semiconductor material composed of gallium (Ga) and arsenic (As). It belongs to the III-V group of semiconductors and has a zincblende crystal structure. GaAs is...

Gallium nitride (GaN) is a compound made up of gallium (Ga) and nitrogen (N). It is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material that exhibits unique electrical and optical properties. Gallium nitride is...

The term half bandwidth (HBW) generally refers to the width of a spectral band or frequency range at half of its maximum amplitude. It is commonly used in the context of signal processing, optics,...

Harmonic generation refers to a nonlinear optical process in which incoming photons interact with a material and produce new photons at integer multiples of the frequency of the incoming photons....

A helium-neon (HeNe) laser is a type of gas laser that emits visible red light at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. It operates based on the principle of stimulated emission of photons from excited helium...

High harmonic generation (HHG) refers to a nonlinear optical process in which intense laser light interacts with a gaseous medium, typically an atom or a molecule, to produce harmonics of the...

A graphic representation of a distribution function such as frequency by means of rectangles whose widths represent the intervals into which the observed values' range is divided and whose heights...

A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists of a periodic structure of alternating transparent and opaque regions,...

In semiconductor physics and materials science, the term "III-V materials" refers to compounds composed of elements from group III and group V of the periodic table. More specifically, these...

Indirect time-of-flight (iTOF) is a method used in 3D imaging and depth sensing to measure the distance to an object based on the time delay between the emission of a light pulse and the detection of...

Indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) is a semiconductor compound composed of indium (In), gallium (Ga), and arsenic (As). It belongs to the III-V group of semiconductors and is commonly used in...

The internet of things (IoT) refers to a network of interconnected physical devices, vehicles, appliances, and other objects embedded with sensors, actuators, software, and network connectivity....

A laser diode module is a compact device that incorporates a laser diode, optics, and often other components into a single package. These modules are designed to provide a convenient and efficient...

Linewidth, also known as spectral linewidth or line width, refers to a measure of the width of a frequency spectrum of a signal or a resonance. It indicates the range of frequencies over which the...

Lithium triborate, commonly abbreviated as LBO, is a nonlinear optical crystal widely used in various applications involving frequency conversion of laser light. It is valued for its excellent...

A lock-in amplifier is a specialized electronic instrument used to extract and measure small signals embedded in noise or interference. It is particularly useful in fields such as spectroscopy,...

A maser (microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. It is the microwave analog of a...

Modal bandwidth is a crucial parameter in optical fiber communication systems, particularly in multimode fiber (MMF) systems. It quantifies the ability of a fiber optic link to transmit data at high...

A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor material. Unlike the more common PIN photodiodes, which have a P-type and...

A multiline laser system refers to a type of laser that is capable of emitting multiple discrete wavelengths or spectral lines simultaneously. Unlike single-line lasers, which produce radiation at a...

Nanoplasmonics is a branch of nanophotonics that focuses on the study and manipulation of optical phenomena at the nanoscale using plasmonic materials and structures. Plasmonics deals with the...

Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain medium. This type of laser emits light at a wavelength of 1064 nm in the...

A nonlinear crystal is a type of crystal that exhibits nonlinear optical properties when subjected to intense electromagnetic fields, typically from laser light. Unlike linear optical materials,...