Photonics Dictionary

Line scan refers to a method of capturing images or data by scanning a single line at a time, as opposed to capturing the entire image simultaneously. This technique is commonly used in various...

A method that uses electronic means to move the scanning spot along the scanning line.

A line-scan camera, also known as a line-scan image sensor or linear array camera, is a type of digital camera designed to capture images one line or row of pixels at a time, rather than a full...

A type of recording in which the recording line remains fixed and the recording medium is fed past the recording device.

Area scan, in the context of imaging and cameras, refers to a method of capturing an entire two-dimensional image in a single snapshot or exposure. Unlike line scan, which captures images one line at...

An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a high-resolution imaging and measurement instrument used in nanotechnology, materials science, and biology. It is a type of scanning probe microscope that...

Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It encompasses various techniques and instruments used to quantify heat transfer,...

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) is a powerful technique used in spectroscopy to probe molecular vibrations in a sample. It is based on the Raman effect, which involves the inelastic...

A method in optical character recognition in which a mobile light beam scans the outlines of characters for subsequent reading of these outlines.

A cylindrical lens is an optical component that has different curvatures along its two orthogonal axes, resulting in a shape resembling a cylinder. Unlike spherical lenses, which have the same...

Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) is an international standard for medical imaging created by both the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and the American...

A measurement of the spatial resolution of a line or area array in an optical character recognition scanning device.

An image-processing device that scans in a straight line parallel to the axis of a rotating cylinder to which the material to be recorded is affixed.

An f-theta lens, also known as an f-theta scan lens or simply an f-theta lens system, is a specialized optical component used in laser scanning systems, particularly in laser marking, engraving, and...

A device used to transmit and receive images that have been converted to electrical signals over regular telephone lines; it includes a scanner, a transmitter, a receiver and a printer.

The maintenance of the same scanning relationship between the transmitting scanning spot and receiving scanning spot for each scanning line transmitted in a facsimile system.

A device that permits the adjustment of facsimile transmitters and recorders so that their scanning lines stop and start at the same place in relation to the subject copy.

In television, the number of individual pixels that can be distinguished in a horizontal scanning line; also called horizontal definition.

A camera tube widely used in television broadcasting. It consists of three sections within a single vacuum envelope. 1. A photosensitive film sometimes called the photocathode. The scene to be...

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,...

An optical system used to collect infrared energy from a scene using scanning optics with a point or line detector, as compared with a fixed optical system with a full two-dimensional detector array.

Describing the standard television method of raster scanning in which the image is the product of two fields, each of which is a series of successively scanned lines separated by the equivalent of...

In an interlaced scanning electro-optical system such as television, the system resolution will be less than the number of active scan lines because of the random phase nature of the object being...

Technique using functional optical microscope with the addition of a coherent source collinear with the image path. The laser light is intended to scan the sampled plane and acquire information from...

The intensity distribution seen when scanning the image of a line, in the direction perpendicular to that line.

A linear image sensor is a type of solid-state electronic device used to capture and convert light into electrical signals. Unlike area image sensors (such as CCD or CMOS sensors), which capture an...

The resulting interference pattern generated from moiré deflectometry, the moiré pattern is a pattern developed from interference or light blocking, when gratings, screens or regularly...

A strip or annulus of glass coated with a semitransparent material such as inconel. The coating thickness, and as a result its transmission, varies linearly as a function of distance. The neutral...

An optical barcode reader, commonly known as a barcode scanner, is a device that uses optical technology to capture and interpret data encoded in barcode symbols. Barcodes are typically printed on...

In interlaced television scanning, an effect in which the lines of one field fail to fall exactly within the lines of the following field, both fields comprising one frame of the picture. The lines...

An erasable data recording and storage medium that uses a laser to heat the crystalline surface of the disc to a certain temperature, at which it becomes amorphous and records a bit of information;...

Monolithic self-scanning linear image sensor array for multichannel spectroscopy with a spectral range of from 200 to 1000 nm.

A point cloud is a set of data points in a three-dimensional coordinate system, where each point represents a specific location in space. These points are typically obtained through various sensing...

Points per profile in imaging refers to the density or resolution of data points sampled along a line or profile within an image. It indicates the number of pixels or measurement points captured...

Pushbroom scanning is a technique used in remote sensing and imaging systems, particularly in satellite and aerial sensors, to capture images of the Earth's surface or other objects. In pushbroom...

The pattern of lines traced by rectilinear scanning in display systems.

In imaging technology, a device that converts raster or line-scan data to pixel form for further processing.

A display in which regeneration takes place serially at a fixed speed in a set pattern through the scan lines.

The scanning of a region in a given sequence of slender, straight parallel strips.

Rolling shutter artifacts are distortions or visual anomalies that can occur in images or videos captured by cameras with rolling shutter sensors. A rolling shutter is a type of image sensor that...

1. A device used to trace out an object and build up an image. One of the most common of these types is video scanning. The scanning takes place inside the television tube as electrons, guided by...

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a powerful imaging instrument used in scientific research, materials characterization, and various industrial applications. Unlike traditional optical...

1. The continuous thin strip marked by the scanning beam. Generally, during return of the scan, the line is blanked out. 2. The thin strip marked by the scanning process and composed of the...

Raster scanning process like that of television: each line is scanned successively.

Smart microscopy refers to the integration of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and machine learning, into conventional microscopy techniques to enhance imaging...

An instrument in which an image of the sun is scanned by the entrance slit of a monochromator, the exit slit simultaneously scanning a photographic plate for analysis of the solar spectral lines. If...

Abbreviation of "synchronization.'' In television, the timing signals used to drive the scanning process. Horizontal sync triggers the retracing of the raster line beginning at the left-hand...

A method of scanning in which a frame transfer device produces a continuous video image of a moving object by means of a stack of linear arrays aligned with and synchronized to the movement of the...

A device that changes the number of lines per frame of a video image to adapt to a lower resolution format, either by deleting lines, compressing lines or by imaging only a part of the original...