Photonics Dictionary

Amplifier in which the input and output pulse heights are directly proportional.

The additivity of luminance refers to a principle in visual perception and color theory where the perceived brightness of a combination of light sources or colors is the sum of the brightness of each...

In image processing, methods of reducing image defects that result from false data. Techniques include sampling, linear intensity, filtering a high-resolution image to produce a low-resolution image,...

The ratio of the power of the carrier wave to that of unwanted signal distortions, or noise, before any nonlinear signal processing such as detection or amplitude limiting.

A CCD camera, or charge-coupled device camera, is a type of digital camera that utilizes a CCD image sensor to capture and record images. CCD cameras are widely used in various applications,...

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...

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 deliberately nonlinear amplitude modulation that strengthens weak signals and reduces strong signals for transmission.

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...

Deep multiphoton microscopy is an advanced imaging technique used in biological and biomedical research to visualize structures and processes deep within tissues with high resolution. It combines the...

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....

Dichroism refers to the property of certain materials to exhibit different colors or absorbance of light depending on the direction of light propagation or polarization. The term is commonly used in...

A dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) refers to a type of optical fiber designed to minimize the effects of chromatic dispersion, which is the phenomenon where different wavelengths of light travel at...

Double-clad fiber (DCF) is a specialized optical fiber that features two concentric cladding layers surrounding a core. The design of double-clad fibers allows them to be used in various...

Dual-chirped optical parametric amplification (DC-OPA) is an advanced technique in ultrafast laser technology used to amplify femtosecond laser pulses to extremely high energies while maintaining...

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...

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,...

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 hyperspectral imaging camera is a sophisticated imaging device capable of capturing and processing data across a wide range of wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum, typically from...

The Kerr effect, named after the physicist John Kerr who first observed it in 1875, is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where the refractive index of a material changes in response to an applied...

A Kerr soliton refers to a specific type of soliton, a self-reinforcing wave packet, that arises in nonlinear optical systems due to the Kerr effect. The Kerr effect is the phenomenon where the...

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...

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...

Linear optics refers to the study and manipulation of light in a linear and deterministic manner, where the response of optical elements is proportional to the amplitude of the incident light wave....

Linear polarization refers to the polarization state of light where the electric field oscillates in a single plane as the light propagates through space. In other words, the electric field vector of...

Linear receive optics typically refers to the optical components and systems used in the reception (detection) of linearly polarized light signals in various applications, such as optical...

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...

Metaphotonics is an emerging field at the intersection of photonics, metamaterials, and nanotechnology. It involves the design, fabrication, and study of metamaterial-based optical structures and...

Mode-locking is a technique used in lasers to produce ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of picoseconds, femtoseconds, or even attoseconds. This method synchronizes the phases of...

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,...

A class of optical phenomena that can be viewed only with nearly monochromatic, directional beams of light, such as those produced by a laser. Harmonic generation and the stimulated Raman effect are...

Nonlinear optical materials are substances that exhibit optical properties that are not linearly proportional to the intensity of incident light. In other words, these materials produce optical...

Nonlinear optics is a branch of optics that studies the optical phenomena that occur when intense light interacts with a material and induces nonlinear responses. In contrast to linear optics, where...

Direct conversion of a photon from one wavelength to a lower energy photon of another wavelength(s) due to inelastic scattering. In an optical waveguide, nonlinear scattering is usually not important...

Optical parametric amplification (OPA) is a process in nonlinear optics where a weak signal beam is amplified by a much stronger pump beam through the nonlinear interaction in a nonlinear optical...

Optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) is an advanced technique used in ultrafast laser systems to amplify optical pulses to extremely high intensities while maintaining their short...

Optical switching refers to the process of controlling the routing or transmission of optical signals within a network using various techniques to selectively switch or redirect optical paths. This...

Means of amplifying optical waves whereby an intense coherent pump wave is made to interact with a nonlinear optical crystal to produce amplification at two other optical wavelengths. See parametric...

A device using a parametric amplifier inside a resonant optical cavity to generate a frequency-tunable coherent beam of light from an intense laser beam of fixed frequency. This device is tuned by...

Phase distortion refers to a change in the phase relationships between different frequency components of a signal. In the context of signal processing, it occurs when the phase response of a system...

Phase matching is a crucial concept in the field of optics, particularly in nonlinear optics and the generation of coherent light. It refers to the condition where the phases of two or more waves,...

A system having a photoelectric detector for the measurement of three quantities related by linear combination to tristimulus values of a sample.

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...

Polarization refers to the orientation of oscillations in a transverse wave, such as light waves, radio waves, or other electromagnetic waves. In simpler terms, it describes the direction in which...