Photonics Dictionary: C

A technique for polishing silicon in which an alkaline suspension containing silicon dioxide particles creates a soft layer of silicon hydroxide, which is then removed, leaving a surface with the...

The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged conductive surfaces. This force arises from the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the...

1. Mounting a lens or mirror so that its optical axis is coincident with the optical or mechanical axes of other portions of the system. 2. The machining (edging) of the outside diameter of a lens...

In a perfectly centered lens, the mechanical axis (defined by the ground outside the diameter of the lens) is made to be exactly coincident with the optical axis (defined by a line through the...

In a visual optical system, the axial distance from the last mechanical surface of the eyepiece to the exit pupil.

Cold atoms refer to atoms that have been cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically in the microkelvin (µK) to nanokelvin (nK) range, close to absolute zero (0 Kelvin or -273.15°C). At...

Deformation of a material caused by mechanical factors, especially constant pressure, and not attributable to thermal effects.

1. The process of aligning the optical axes of optical systems to the reference mechanical axes or surfaces of an instrument. 2. The adjustment of two or more optical axes with respect to each other....

An optical element that measures the phase difference between two components of elliptically polarized light to correct for mechanical or optical displacement.

A large-scale, precise drawing of the contours of a perfect mechanical part, often with plus and minus tolerances drawn or indicated. For quality control decisions, enlarged images of mechanically...

An inspection device in which the profile of a mechanical part is projected onto a ground-glass screen at a precisely known magnification so that the shape of the part can be compared with a scale...

The mechanical modification of the shape of the cornea to correct a vision defect.

The spectrographic analysis of matter that is in a cooled state. Generally, a mechanical refrigerator is used to lower the temperature of the sample, allowing isolation and study of the sample and...

A solid with a structure that exhibits a basically symmetrical and geometrical arrangement. A crystal may already possess this structure, or it may acquire it through mechanical means. More than 50...