Photonics Dictionary

The acceptance pattern, often used in the context of antennas and optical systems, refers to the spatial distribution of the sensitivity or responsiveness of a device to incoming signals or light....

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...

Acousto-optics is a branch of physics that deals with the interaction of sound waves (acoustic waves) and light waves (optical waves) within a medium. It primarily focuses on phenomena where acoustic...

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...

Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of atmospheric distortions. The Earth's atmosphere can cause light passing through it...

The adjacency effect refers to a phenomenon in remote sensing and image analysis where the characteristics of an object or area are influenced by its proximity to other objects or features within the...

Agri-photonics refers to the application of photonics technologies in agriculture. Photonics involves the generation, manipulation, and detection of light and other forms of radiant energy whose...

The Atmospheric Correction Now software (ACORN) is a tool used in remote sensing and satellite imagery processing. Its primary function is to correct satellite imagery for atmospheric effects that...

A ball lens is a small, spherical optical component typically made of glass or other transparent materials. It is characterized by its spherical shape, with both its front and back surfaces forming...

Bathymetric lidar is a remote sensing technique used to measure the depth of water bodies and map underwater terrain features. It employs lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) technology, which uses...

Bioluminescence is the natural phenomenon where living organisms produce light through a chemical reaction. In the context of photonics, bioluminescence has significant implications for both research...

The spot on the retina where the optic nerve is attached; it is incapable of sensing light because of the absence of light receptors.

Brillouin scattering is a phenomenon in physics where an incident electromagnetic wave (usually light) interacts with acoustic phonons (quantized lattice vibrations) in a material, resulting in the...

A system that generally uses a photodetector to decode punched cards for information, or for input to a computer, by sensing the light transmitted through the punched holes.

Chemical sensing refers to the detection and measurement of specific chemical compounds or substances in various environments or samples. It involves the use of sensors or analytical techniques to...

This type of miniaturized system, referred to as CMOS qPCR, combines microfluidic technology with an ultralow-light CMOS bio-optical sensor with LEDs as the optical excitation source to achieve...

A coherent fiber bundle (CFB), also known as a coherent fiber optic bundle, is an assembly of multiple optical fibers arranged in a specific geometric pattern to maintain the spatial coherence of...

A color center, in the context of materials science and condensed matter physics, refers to a specific type of crystallographic defect in a crystalline structure that introduces color to the...

Computational imaging refers to the use of computational techniques, algorithms, and hardware to enhance or enable imaging capabilities beyond what traditional optical systems can achieve. It...

A type of photoelectric proximity mode sensing incorporating a lens system to focus the light from the emitter in a small, concentrated spot at a specific point in front of the sensor. Also referred...

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...

Dark current density refers to the electric current that flows through a semiconductor device in the absence of any external illumination. It is primarily caused by thermal generation of charge...

A CCD device for sensing longer wavelengths, such as NIR and IR, that has a deeper depletion region than would be necessary for sensing in the visible wavelength range. Because the depth of charge...

Use of a photoelectric receiver to sense an object's presence by detecting a small amount of the emitter's light that is diffusely reflected by the object.

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...

The degree to which a vision system is capable of sensing differences in light intensity between two regions.

A distributed feedback laser (DFB laser) is a type of semiconductor laser diode designed to emit coherent, narrow-bandwidth light with precise control over the wavelength. It achieves this through a...

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...

The term "embedded laser" typically refers to a laser device that is integrated or embedded into a larger system or structure. In this context, "embedded" implies that the laser is an integral part...

An erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) is a type of laser that uses an optical fiber doped with erbium ions (Er³+) as the gain medium. These lasers are widely used in telecommunications, medical...

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of optical filter that is inscribed or "written" into the core of an optical fiber. It consists of a periodic modulation of the refractive index along the length...

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 imaging bundle is a specialized optical device composed of multiple optical fibers bundled together. Each fiber optic strand within the bundle acts as a conduit for transmitting light....

A fiber optic preform is a cylindrical glass rod or tube used as the starting material for manufacturing optical fibers. It serves as the precursor from which optical fibers are drawn. The process 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...

A fiber-coupled LED (light-emitting diode) refers to an LED device that is optically coupled to an optical fiber for the purpose of efficient light transmission. In this configuration, the LED serves...

A frame taken with a CCD camera of a surface that is evenly illuminated by diffuse light. This frame shows irregularities in the light-sensing ability of the CCD, such as electronic defects and dust...

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...

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,...

FMCW lidar stands for frequency-modulated continuous wave lidar. It is a type of lidar (light detection and ranging) technology used for remote sensing, distance measurement, and 3D mapping. FMCW...

1. The sector of the Earth's surface registered upon a remote sensing device in a satellite. 2. The amount of space occupied by a component on the surface upon which it is mounted. 3. The space on an...

Freeform optics refers to the design and fabrication of optical surfaces that do not follow traditional symmetric shapes, such as spheres or aspheres. Unlike standard optical components with...

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 global ecosystem dynamics investigation (GEDI) lidar is a state-of-the-art spaceborne instrument designed to study Earth's forests and ecosystems in three dimensions. Developed by NASA, GEDI is...