Photonics Dictionary

A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....

A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that selectively reflects or transmits light based on its wavelength. Dichroic...

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 grating beamsplitter is an optical device that utilizes the principles of diffraction to split a beam of light into multiple beams, often redirecting them at specific angles. It is based on the...

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....

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...

A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of light. It is named after the physicists Ludwig Mach and Ludwig Zehnder, who...

An electro-optical infrared tracker consisting of a beamsplitter, an illuminating source, an image dissector tube and an electronics unit, that automatically acquires and tracks particular eye...

An instrument used to test lenses by utilizing the optical transfer function. It consists of a HeNe laser, a beamsplitter and two mirrors.

An optical combiner, in the context of optics and display technologies, refers to a device or component that combines multiple optical signals or images into a single output. The purpose of an...

One or more optical elements – typically cemented together - in an optical system that are treated as a single group; e.g., a beamsplitter, or a cemented doublet or triplet.

Sagnac interferometry is a technique used to measure rotation or angular velocity based on the principle of interference. It relies on the Sagnac effect, named after the French physicist Georges...

Twyman-Green interferometry is a technique used in optics to measure the flatness or surface profile of optical components with high precision. It is based on the principles of interference of light...