Register
Sign In
Suppliers
Products
Categories
Handbook
Dictionary
Careers
Resources
Photonics Spectra
BioPhotonics
Vision Spectra
Virtual Events & Summits
Educational Institutions
Add/Update Your Listing
Exhibitor Listing Portal
Become an Exhibitor
Buyers' Guide Print Edition
Marketplace Help
Subscribe
Advertise
Suppliers
Products
Categories
Handbook
Dictionary
Careers
Resources
Photonics Spectra
BioPhotonics
Vision Spectra
Virtual Events & Summits
Educational Institutions
Add/Update Your Listing
Exhibitor Listing Portal
Become an Exhibitor
Buyers' Guide Print Edition
Marketplace Help
Register
Sign In
Photonics Marketplace
Suppliers
Products
Handbook
Institutions
Dictionary
Show Filters
Hide Filters
Type
Definitions
Abbreviations/Acronyms
Browse by Letter
#
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
151 terms
Photonics Dictionary: C
Clear All Filters x
optics x
C x
coated optics
Optical elements that have been coated with one or more layers of dielectric, or metallic material. These coatings serve to reduce or increase reflection from the surface, and to protect the surfaces...
crystal optics
The study of the transmission of radiant energy through crystals, especially anisotropic crystals, and their effects on polarization.
custom optic
A custom optic refers to an optical component that is designed, manufactured, and tailored to meet specific requirements or applications. These optics can include lenses, mirrors, prisms, filters, or...
C-mount lens
A C-mount lens refers to a specific type of lens commonly used in machine vision, surveillance, microscopy, and other imaging applications. The "C-mount" designation refers to the standard interface...
cable
->
fiber optic cable
A package for an optical fiber or fibers that may include cladding, buffering, strength members and an outer jacket.
calcite interference microscope
A microscope that allows examination of a small crystal and conveniently provides linearly polarized object and reference beams so that, by suitable orientation of an anisotropic crystal, the optical...
calcium fluoride
An optical material used in place of crown glass to produce lenses with extraordinary correction of chromatic aberrations. Its high coefficient of thermal expansion and its tendency to absorb...
calibrated wedge
An optical wedge in which transmittance or density is a function of the location of the wedge, relative to a specific optical system.
camera tube
The electron beam tube of a television camera that converts an optical image into a pattern of electrostatic charges and then scans the pattern to produce a corresponding electronic signal for...
catastrophic optical damage
The darkening of the laser facet of a semiconductor laser diode. It can be prevented by placing the component in a hermetically sealed enclosure.
cathode-ray tube faceplate
A fiber optic end plate constructed by drawing a bundle of parallel fibers embedded in glass and cutting it into thin slices. These slices are assembled in a plane and heated to produce a...
catoptric system
An optical system in which the only image-forming elements are curved-surface mirrors; e.g., a Cassegrain lens system.
catoptrics
Catoptrics is the field of optics concerned with the reflection of light from reflective surfaces such as mirrors. It encompasses the study and analysis of how light rays interact with these...
cavity
In a laser, the optical resonator formed by two coaxial mirrors, one totally and one partially reflective, positioned so that laser oscillations occur.
CCD image sensor
A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images into electronic signals. It is a key component in digital cameras, camcorders,...
CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory)
An adaptation by Philips and Sony of their audio compact disc technology for optical disc data storage and retrieval. Current capacity of a disc is 0.5 to 0.6 gigabytes of information.
cement
An adhesive used for bonding optical elements or for holding devices.
center thickness
The lens thickness measured at the optical axis.
center, optical
->
optical center
The point on the optical axis of a lens that is the image of the nodal points. For any bundle of rays passing through the optical center of a lens, the incident and emergent rays through this point...
centering
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...
centration
Centration is the precise alignment of the optical center of a lens or optical element with its mechanical center or the axis of the mounting assembly. It is crucial for ensuring that the optical...
ceramics
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...
CGHOE
computer-generated holographic optical element
chalcogenide
Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te). These elements are known as...
channel density
The number of channels per unit bandwidth handled by a single optical fiber.
characteristic angle
The angle at which a given mode propagates down an optical fiber.
chemical sensing
Chemical sensing refers to the detection and measurement of specific chemical compounds or substances in various environments or samples. It involves the use of sensors or analytical techniques to...
chemical vapor deposition equipment
Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor deposition, a technique for depositing thin films of various materials onto...
chief ray
The ray that passes through the center of the aperture stop in an optical system. It often is called the principal ray of an oblique beam.
chip
1. A localized fracture at the end of a cleaved optical fiber or on a glass surface. 2. An integrated circuit.
chirped mirrors
Chirped mirrors are optical devices designed to manipulate the spectral properties of ultrashort laser pulses. They consist of multiple layers of dielectric coatings deposited on a substrate, where...
chirped-pulse amplification laser
A laser whose pulses are expanded, using gratings and optical fibers, before amplification and compressed to increase beam intensity without damage to the optical train.
chirping
A rapid change, as opposed to a long-term drift, of the emission wavelength of an optical source. Chirping is most often observed in pulsed operation of a source.
choledochoscope
A small fiber optic endoscope used in laser surgery.
chopper
->
optical chopper
A mechanical or electrical-electromagnetic device for periodically interrupting or blocking abeam of light for a brief known interval. The three most common chopper types include the tuning fork...
chopping frequency
->
modulation frequency
Rate at which optical radiation or a signal is varied through the use of a mechanical or electronic chopper. Also called chopping frequency.
chromascope
An instrument designed to analyze the optical effects of color.
chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a lens or optical system, leading to a failure to focus all colors to the same...
chromatic difference of magnification
->
chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a lens or optical system, leading to a failure to focus all colors to the same...
chromatic dispersion
->
dispersion
Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing through a medium. This variation in the speed of light for different colors...
chuck
In the optical field, a tube to which a lens is fastened for centering.
cinesextant
An optical instrument used to track and image a test vehicle (target) throughout its flight. The cinesextant frequently includes multiple devices such as high-speed video and film cameras as well as...
circle of confusion
The image of a point source that appears as a circle of finite diameter because of defocusing or the aberrations inherent in an optical system.
circular birefringence
The optical phenomenon in which right circularly polarized light transmitted by an active medium travels at a different velocity than that of left circularly polarized light.
circular dichroism spectroscopy
A type of spectroscopy used extensively in the analysis of biological samples. Because most biologically synthesized molecules, such as proteins, are optically active, circular dichroism spectroscopy...
circular variable filter
An optical interference coating, vacuum-deposited on a circular substrate, whose transmission characteristics may be varied by physical rotation.
circular-ranging optical coherence tomography
Circular-ranging optical coherence tomography (CR-OCT) is a specialized imaging technique used in medical diagnostics and research to obtain high-resolution cross-sectional images of biological...
cladding
The low-refractive-index material that surrounds the core of an optical fiber to contain core light while protecting against surface contaminant scattering. In all-glass fibers, the cladding is...
cladding glass
In fiber optics, the glass that is found around the glass core of the fiber, and that has a lower refractive index than the fiber.
cladding mode
A mode that is confined by virtue of a lower-index medium surrounding the cladding. Cladding modes, in the terminology of mode descriptors, are equivalent to cladding rays in the terminology of...
1
2
3
4
>
Photonics Dictionary
C
Need Help?
Explore Our Content
News
Features
Latest Products
Webinars
White Papers
All Things Photonics Podcast
Videos
Our Summits & Conferences
Industry Events
Bookstore
Join Our Community
Subscribe
Advertise
Become a member
Sign in
Contribute a Feature
Suggest a Webinar
Submit a Press Release
Mobile Apps
About Us
Our Company
Our Publications
Contact Us
Career Opportunities
Teddi C. Laurin Scholarship
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
©2024 Photonics Media
100 West St.
Pittsfield, MA, 01201 USA
[email protected]
We use cookies to improve user experience and analyze our website traffic as stated in our
Privacy Policy
. By using this website, you agree to the use of
cookies
unless you have disabled them.