Photonics Dictionary

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...

An ablative wall flashlamp typically refers to a type of flashlamp used in certain high-energy laser systems. Components include: Flashlamp: This is a device that produces an intense pulse...

Powder used to produce a smooth optical surface through abrasive polishing. Compounds may produce a surface finish specified for each.

Absolute colorimetric refers to a color management rendering intent used in color profiles and conversion processes, particularly in the context of printing and digital imaging. Absolute...

The value of the distance of distinct vision, minimum focusing distance or near point, divided by the focal length of the lens. Magnification is produced when the optic is placed at its focal...

Absolute white is a term used in color science and imaging to describe a reference white point that represents the brightest, most neutral white achievable. It serves as a standard for measuring and...

Absorption spectroscopy is a fundamental analytical technique used to study the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter. It involves measuring the absorption of light by a sample...

An absorption spectrum is a graphical representation of the absorption of light by a material as a function of wavelength, frequency, or energy. It displays the specific wavelengths of light that are...

AC thin film electroluminescent (ACTFEL) display devices are a type of flat-panel display technology that uses electroluminescence to produce visible light. Structure: They consist of a thin...

In various scientific fields, the term acceptor has distinct meanings: Chemistry: An acceptor is an atom, ion, or molecule that receives electrons during a chemical reaction. In the context of...

Accessible emission typically refers to the portion of emitted radiation (light, particles, etc.) from a source that can be effectively detected, measured, or utilized by an observer or device. This...

Accessible radiation refers to the portion of radiation from a source that can be reached or detected by humans, instruments, or devices under specific conditions of use. This term is often used in...

Achirality refers to the property of a molecule or object that is superimposable on its mirror image. In other words, an achiral molecule or object does not exhibit chirality, meaning it does not...

An achromat, in the context of optics, refers to a type of lens or lens system designed to reduce chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon where different colors of light...

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...

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...

Actinism refers to the property of radiation, particularly light, that enables it to produce photochemical effects. This term is derived from the Greek word aktinos, meaning ray. Here are the key...

Actinochemistry refers to the branch of chemistry that studies the chemical effects of radiation, particularly light, on substances and chemical reactions. Here are the key aspects of...

In the context of semiconductors and electronics, the active layer is the part of a semiconductor device where the essential electronic activities take place. This includes the movement and...

An active medium is a material or substance used in various optical devices and systems, where it plays a critical role in amplifying light or producing laser beams through the process of stimulated...

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 liquid crystal display (AMLCD) is a type of flat-panel display technology that utilizes an array of thin-film transistors (TFTs) to control the individual pixels on the screen. This...

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)....

Radioactivity refers to the spontaneous emission of radiation from the nucleus of an unstable atom. This emission occurs as the nucleus undergoes radioactive decay, which is a natural and random...

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...

The additive color process refers to the method of creating color by combining different wavelengths of light. This process is fundamental in various applications, particularly in: ...

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a manufacturing process that involves creating three-dimensional objects by adding material layer by layer. This is in contrast to...

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...

Film designed especially for the needs and conditions encountered in aerial photography. It is produced in a variety of widths, lengths and emulsions.

The creation of topographical maps and charts from a stereographic record produced through the overlapping of consecutive aerial photographs by more than 50 percent.

The luminosity that remains in a rarefied gas after an electrodeless discharge has traversed the gas.

Agri-photonics refers to the application of photonics technologies in agriculture. Photonics involves the generation, manipulation, and detection of light and other forms of radiant energy whose...

Left- and right-hand circularly polarized beams that are produced at different velocities by passing plane-polarized light through an optical substance. When recombined, they exhibit different phases...

In computer graphics, a character generator that produces alphabetical and numerical characters with some punctuation and symbols.

Also known as roof prism. A type of prism designed by G.B. Amici. It consists of a roof edge produced upon the long reflecting face of a right-angle prism. Used as an erecting system in elbow and...

An ammonia maser is a device that amplifies microwave radiation using ammonia gas molecules in a process analogous to how lasers amplify visible light through stimulated emission of radiation. The...

A hologram in which diffraction is produced by the silver image, resulting in a dimmer image than in a phase hologram, where diffraction takes place at the gelatin relief image left once the silver...

Analog adaptive resonance theory (AART) is a neural network model within the broader framework of adaptive resonance theory (ART), which was introduced by Stephen Grossberg. ART is a cognitive and...

Analog-to-analog (AA) refers to the process or system that involves the conversion or transmission of analog signals from one form to another, without converting them into digital signals at any...

Analog-to-digital (A/D) is a process that converts continuous analog signals into discrete digital signals. This process coverts analog signals continuously, which vary smoothly over time, into a...

An optical device, such as a Nicol prism, capable of producing plane-polarized light, and used for detecting the effect of the object on plane-polarized light produced by the polarizer.

A lens, usually having one or more cylindrical surfaces, used to produce distorted images and later to restore them to true form.

A system in which a sequence of direct measurements of the target position is fed into a tracking filter that may produce refined estimates of past, present and future target positions.

A laser radar application in which a sequence of direct measurements of target position is fed into a tracking filter to produce refined estimates of both present and future target positions.

A visual defect that produces a disparity in the sizes of the images formed by the two eyes.

Dispersion that occurs when the medium's index of refraction decreases as the frequency of the propagating light increases. For a given medium, some wavelength ranges may produce anomalous dispersion...

In image processing, methods of reducing image defects that result from false data. Techniques include sampling, linear intensity, filtering a high-resolution image to produce a low-resolution image,...