Photonics Dictionary

An acoustical hologram refers to a three-dimensional representation of sound waves in space, analogous to optical holography but applied to acoustic waves. Unlike visual holography, which creates...

Acoustical holography is a technique used to visualize and analyze sound fields in three-dimensional space. It involves capturing the complex spatial distribution of acoustic waves, much like how...

Acousto-optic diffraction refers to the process where light passing through an optically transparent material is diffracted due to the modulation of its refractive index by an acoustic wave...

Acousto-optic modulation refers to the process of using acoustic waves to modulate the properties of light passing through an optically transparent material. This modulation occurs due to the...

An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the acousto-optic effect to modulate the amplitude, phase, frequency, or polarization of a laser beam or other coherent light source. It...

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...

Irregularities and disturbances in the atmosphere that are of particular interest because they induce random temporal and spatial phase and amplitude fluctuations that destroy the optical quality and...

A fiber optic communications system that works on the principles of homodyning or heterodyning. The transmitting laser produces an optical wave that is modulated in amplitude, phase or frequency by...

The use of computer analysis in the calculation of diffraction patterns for information on the design of optical systems. In this method, the electric field amplitude and phase in the aperture are...

A computer-generated hologram (CGH) is a holographic image produced using computational methods and algorithms, rather than traditional optical techniques. CGHs are generated entirely in digital form...

In optical communication systems, operations in which the amplitude of the pulses, as opposed to their width, determines the distance between repeaters.

Diffractive optical processors are optical devices that utilize diffractive optics principles to perform various computational tasks, such as image processing, pattern recognition, and optical...

Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is an advanced imaging technique that combines holography and digital image processing to capture and reconstruct three-dimensional images of objects. This method...

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 full width at half maximum (FWHM) is a measure used in various fields, particularly in spectroscopy, signal processing, and imaging, to characterize the width or extent of a distribution, peak,...

Holography is a technique used to capture and reconstruct three-dimensional images using the principles of interference and diffraction of light. Unlike conventional photography, which records only...

A device that combines electronic and optical techniques to form a monitored infrared signal between 1 and 14 µm. It contains an internal modulator to amplitude-modulate the output signal, an...

An interferometer is a scientific instrument that utilizes the principle of interference to measure differences in the path length, wavelength, phase, or amplitude of coherent electromagnetic waves....

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...

Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser light. Laser optics play a crucial role in shaping the characteristics of...

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....

A liquid crystal light valve (LCLV), also known as a spatial light modulator (SLM), is an optical device that modulates the intensity, phase, or polarization of light passing through it using liquid...

Meta-optics, also known as metasurface optics or flat optics, is a branch of optics that involves the design, fabrication, and utilization of artificial structures called metasurfaces to control and...

A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light at a subwavelength scale. Unlike traditional lenses made of glass or other...

Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrays of subwavelength-scale artificial structures, often referred to as meta-atoms or meta-elements, arranged in a specific pattern to manipulate the propagation of...

The modulated transfer function (MTF) is a measure used in optical engineering and imaging science to describe the ability of an optical system to transfer the contrast of an object to an image. It...

A modulator is a device or component that modifies a carrier signal in order to encode information for transmission over a communication channel. The process of modulating involves varying one or...

An optical modulator is a device used to control or modify a property of light, such as its amplitude, phase, polarization, or frequency. Optical modulators are essential components in a wide range...

Optical strain sensors are devices that utilize optical principles to measure the deformation or strain experienced by a material under mechanical stress. These sensors convert changes in strain into...

A fundamental law of wave scattering theory that connects the extinction cross section of a scatterer to the real part of the forward-scattering amplitude. It is used in the study of division of...

A technique for detecting and measuring atmospheric pollution, in which an oscillating mirror directs half the incoming light to a transducer that controls amplitude and frequency, and the resulting...

A type of matched filter that responds only to the phase of incoming light; the output has a much greater intensity than that of a classical matched filter, which responds to phase and amplitude. The...

The inherent laser amplitude noise relative to the average optical power produced by the laser; the RIN decreases rapidly as current is increased.

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or stimulus is applied at a specific frequency, causing the system to oscillate...

In photonics, a slot modulator refers to a type of optical modulator that operates based on the principle of modifying the optical properties of a slot waveguide. A slot modulator is an optical...

A spatial light modulator (SLM) is an optical device that modulates or manipulates the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light in two dimensions, typically in the form of an array. SLMs are...