Definitions

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...

Autofluorescence refers to the natural emission of fluorescence exhibited by certain biological structures or molecules when exposed to light. Unlike fluorescence that results from the application of...

In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed. It represents the energy difference between the valence band, which is the...

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....

A ground-based navigation beacon that emits pulsed signals which are picked up by aircraft making an instrument (blind) approach in landing. The signal is transmitted to the aircraft's L-scan...

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 colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides objective and standardized color information, typically expressed in terms...

A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel grooves or rulings. These rulings act as an array of closely spaced slits...

A weapon launched from a ground-based platform and controlled by a two-way fiber optic data link. The fiber is payed out from a bobbin in the back of the missile.

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is a powerful analytical technique used to study the dynamics and interactions of fluorescently labeled molecules in solution at the single-molecule level....

Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is an advanced imaging technique that provides information about the lifetime of fluorescence emissions from fluorophores within a sample. Unlike traditional...

A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to capture 3D holographic images of objects or scenes. Unlike conventional...

Image segmentation is a fundamental process in computer vision and image processing that involves partitioning an image into multiple segments or regions based on certain criteria, such as color,...

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...

Laser active elements typically refers to the substances or materials within a laser system that play a critical role in the amplification of light through the process of stimulated emission. These...

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...

A meniscus lens is an optical lens that has one side that is concave (curved inward) and the other side that is convex (curved outward). It can be categorized into two types based on its optical...

A photon-counting instrument for use in both space-borne and ground-based photometric and spectroscopic instrumentation. This style of detector is composed of opaque photocathodes for photon to...

Multimodal vision-language models (MVLMs) are advanced AI systems designed to understand and process information that combines both visual and textual data. These models are capable of interpreting...

A ring laser gyroscope (RLG) is a type of gyroscope that uses laser light to detect and measure changes in orientation. It operates based on the Sagnac effect, which is a fundamental principle of...

Sagnac interferometry is a technique used to measure rotation or angular velocity based on the principle of interference. It relies on the Sagnac effect, named after the French physicist Georges...

A scintillation crystal, also known simply as a scintillator, is a material that emits light when it interacts with ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, x-rays, or charged particles. The emitted...

Single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is a specialized technique in biophysics and molecular biology used to study the distances and dynamic interactions between two...

A wide-angle lens is a type of camera lens that has a shorter focal length than a standard or normal lens, allowing it to capture a broader field of view. Wide-angle lenses are characterized by their...