Definitions

A method used to approximate the values of the homogeneous second derivatives at each iteration in the course of lens design and that excels the rate of convergence of the damped least squares method...

In image processing, generating a color image from monochrome data by assigning a color to each of the gray levels.

Coded image obtained optically with a nonredundant pinhole array imaging aperture.

An image that is reversed contour or inside-out.

A type of solar eclipse that occurs when the sun is at perihelion and the moon is at apogee. Because the apparent size of the moon is insufficient to cover the sun, the outer edge of the solar disc...

A light-harvesting protein found in the purple membrane of a micro-organism called Halobacterium halobium. The protein undergoes a photocycle that involves several binary photochemical reactions that...

A spectrometer equipped with polarizing prisms and retardation plates that is used in the analysis of elliptically polarized light, mostly in the study of thin, evaporated films.

Ellipsometry is an optical technique used to characterize the properties of thin films and surfaces. It is based on the measurement of changes in the polarization state of light reflected or...

A prism resembling a Nicol prism but having faces normal to the axis and the two parts divided by a glycerine film. Also known as Glan prism.

A direct method of measuring refractive index that works best with flat-surfaced samples (i.e., those that are not dependent on special prism shapes) and produces data that are uniquely sensitive to...

Laser lithotripsy is a medical procedure that uses laser energy to break down or fragment stones in various parts of the body, particularly in the urinary and biliary systems. The term "lithotripsy"...

A method used to detect internal or residual microstresses in a material by using a laser beam to locate changes in polarization caused by the stress.

Off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirrors are specialized optical components used in various optical systems, particularly in applications requiring precise focusing, collimation, or imaging of...

The perception of depth due to binocular vision.

A synapse is a specialized junction between two neurons (nerve cells) or between a neuron and a target cell (such as a muscle or gland cell). It is the fundamental functional unit of communication in...

Formulas designating the relationships between image distance, object distance, focal length, refractive index, etc., of a thin lens.

A cine camera that exposes a series of individual frames to record the changes in a subject that slowly alters with time. This results in the eventual showing of an event that happened over an...

Time-lapse optical coherence tomography (OCT) refers to a medical imaging technique that captures a series of sequential OCT scans over time, allowing for the dynamic observation and monitoring of...

A device that enlarges and strengthens a signal's output without significantly distorting its original waveshape. There are amplifiers for acoustical, optical and electronic signals.

A coverslip, also known as a cover glass or cover slip, is a thin and flat piece of transparent material typically made of glass or plastic. It is used in microscopy to cover a specimen mounted on a...

A type of phase-shift keying using a one-bit delay line.

A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into a solid gain medium, resulting in the generation of coherent light. This...

Frame rate refers to the frequency at which consecutive images, or frames, are displayed in a video sequence. It is typically measured in frames per second (fps) and determines the smoothness and...

The number of separate images exposed by a cine camera in a second or the number illuminated by a cine projector in a second. By varying the number of images recorded per second, films can be created...

A technique used to create an achromatic phase shift based on the principle of geometric phase. The phase shift is experienced by a light beam as a result of a cyclic change in its state of...

Also known as the Wiener spectrum or the noise power spectrum, the optical power spectrum is a fundamental quantity in film-screen image quality evaluation. It is a means of describing image content...

A method of coding information in a communications system where the shift in the phase of an electromagnetic wave represents a particular bit or character.

The point spread function (PSF) is a fundamental concept in imaging that describes the response of an imaging system to a point source or point object. It characterizes how a single point of light is...

A filtering method that restores a blurred image by setting its power spectrum equal to that of the original image.

A 2D profile sensor is a type of sensor used in various industrial and technological applications to measure and capture detailed information about the shape, contour, or profile of an object in two...

A 3D profile sensor, also known as a 3D profiling sensor or 3D depth sensor, is a technology that is used to capture and measure the three-dimensional shape or profile of an object or a scene. These...

3D Laser Triangulation - A technology that allows sensors to probe the surroundings. Laser triangulation systems have an ideal operating point, or the standoff distance, where its reflected spot is...

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), is a manufacturing process that builds three-dimensional objects layer by layer from a digital model. This technology allows the creation of...

3D scanners are devices used to capture the three-dimensional shape and characteristics of physical objects or environments. They utilize various technologies to gather data about the geometry,...

Ray oriented and assumed to propagate orthogonal to the optical axis

A two-lens arrangement intended to image light into a microscope slide sample. The primary aberrations present are red and blue rings observed around the image focus.

A dispersion relation defined in order to value the reciprocal amount of dispersion. It is defined as the refractivity over the difference in index values of the shortest and longest visible...

Image of a uniform source through the sample of a microscope image system. Light from the sample plane is reimaged by the objective into the image plane.

A form of roof prism used to invert an image. The prism has faces cut normal to the optical axis; therefore, the prism may be placed within the optical path of a system and invert the image without...

Device which measures the index of refraction of glass as well as the dispersion over visible range.

A reflecting prism that inverts the image. The image is reflected four times internally and emitted laterally. The prism is cut normal to the optical axis while the image is internally reflected from...

A departure from ideal paraxial imaging behavior. The distortion of an optical field wavefront as it is propagated through the elements of an optical system. The field distortion is due to the...

Designed for the function of optical wavefront analysis. Shack-Hartmann camera aberration sensors use a lens array to image the wavefront to the CCD image plane. Live feedback may be applied through...

The minimum energy required to induce atomic and molecular separation or displacement due to incident intense laser irradiation.

Ablation applied to polymers and chemical solids. Process of material removal that minimizes edge damage but will not heat the surrounding portion of the sample.