Photonics Dictionary

3D profiling, also known as three-dimensional profiling, refers to the process of capturing, analyzing, and visualizing the three-dimensional shape, geometry, and surface characteristics of objects...

An absorbing wedge is an optical device used to control the intensity of light passing through it by absorbing a portion of the light. It is typically used in experiments and optical systems where...

Achromatism refers to the optical property of a lens, prism, or optical system that minimizes or eliminates chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration is the phenomenon where different wavelengths...

Acousto-optic deflection refers to a phenomenon where the trajectory of light is altered by acoustic waves propagating through a material. This effect is utilized in acousto-optic devices, which are...

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...

An acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) is a device that utilizes the acousto-optic effect to selectively filter and transmit light based on its wavelength or frequency. It operates by applying an...

Acousto-optics is a branch of physics that deals with the interaction of sound waves (acoustic waves) and light waves (optical waves) within a medium. It primarily focuses on phenomena where acoustic...

Actinic focus refers to the point or plane within an optical system where ultraviolet (UV) light or other actinic radiation converges to form the sharpest possible image. Here are the key aspects: ...

An active infrared (IR) system is a type of technology that uses infrared radiation actively emitted and detected by sensors for various purposes. Here are the key features and applications of active...

Active optics refers to a technology used in telescopes and other optical instruments to improve the quality of images by dynamically adjusting the shape of optical components, such as mirrors, in...

An active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display is a type of flat-panel display technology that combines the active matrix addressing scheme with organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs)....

Optical addressability refers to the capability to control or manipulate individual elements that emit or modulate light (such as pixels in a display or light sources in an optical network) using...

Adiabatic laser colorimetry is a technique used to measure the color of materials based on the principle of adiabatic demagnetization. Principle: Adiabatic laser colorimetry relies on the...

An optical tooling instrument consisting of an objective lens, a focusing lens, an optical micrometer, a reticle and an eyepiece. The alignment telescope projects a precise line of sight to which a...

An argon-fluoride (ArF) excimer laser is a type of ultraviolet laser that operates using a mixture of argon and fluorine gases. Excimer lasers are a class of gas lasers that emit light in the UV...

The Atmospheric Correction Now software (ACORN) is a tool used in remote sensing and satellite imagery processing. Its primary function is to correct satellite imagery for atmospheric effects that...

An atomic clock is a highly precise timekeeping device that uses the vibrations or oscillations of atoms as a reference for measuring time. The most common type of atomic clock uses the vibrations of...

A ball lens is a small, spherical optical component typically made of glass or other transparent materials. It is characterized by its spherical shape, with both its front and back surfaces forming...

A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically between 400 and 500 nanometers. Diode lasers are compact,...

Brillouin microscopy is a non-invasive imaging technique that utilizes Brillouin scattering to measure the mechanical properties of materials at the microscale. This advanced optical technique...

A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material or a detector. The camera generally contains a lens of variable aperture...

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...

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...

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...

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...

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...

A cryogenically cooled long-wave infrared (LWIR) camera is a specialized thermal imaging device designed to detect infrared radiation in the long-wave infrared spectrum, typically ranging from 8 to...

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....

A detector-Dewar assembly typically refers to a combination of a detector and a Dewar flask used in scientific instruments, particularly in the field of infrared spectroscopy or other applications...

Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce high-quality optical surfaces and components with extremely tight tolerances. It...

Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and mirrors, from materials such as metals, plastics, and crystalline materials...

A dichroic coating, also known as a dichroic filter or dichroic mirror, is an optical coating designed to selectively transmit or reflect certain wavelengths of light while simultaneously absorbing...

A shallow, fine-pitch diffraction grating having a precise dielectric overcoating that experimentally has absorbed wavelength-specific incident light that is polarized in the P-plane.

Diffraction efficiency is a measure of how effectively a diffractive optical element (DOE) or diffraction grating directs light into specific diffraction orders or achieves a desired optical effect....

Direct time-of-flight (dTOF) is a technique used in 3D imaging and depth sensing to measure the time taken for light or electromagnetic waves to travel from a source to a target object and back to a...

A distributed feedback laser (DFB laser) is a type of semiconductor laser diode designed to emit coherent, narrow-bandwidth light with precise control over the wavelength. It achieves this through a...

An EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge-coupled device) camera is a type of scientific camera specifically designed for low-light imaging applications that require high sensitivity and fast readout...

An electron-beam lithography (EBL) system is a sophisticated nanofabrication tool used in the semiconductor industry and research laboratories to pattern extremely fine features with sub-micrometer...

An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or confined spaces within the body. It consists of a flexible or rigid tube equipped...

An Er:YAG laser is a type of solid-state laser that uses a crystal made of erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:Y3Al5O12) as the gain medium. The erbium (Er) ions are introduced into the crystal...

An erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) is a type of laser that uses an optical fiber doped with erbium ions (Er³+) as the gain medium. These lasers are widely used in telecommunications, medical...

An etalon is an optical device that consists of two parallel reflecting surfaces separated by a precise and known distance. It operates based on the principle of optical interference and is used to...