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...

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 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,...

An absorption hologram is a type of hologram in which the image is formed by variations in the absorption of light within the recording medium. Unlike traditional holograms that rely primarily on...

An accelerometer is a sensor or transducer that measures the rate of change of velocity of an object, or in simpler terms, it measures acceleration. Accelerometers are widely used in various...

An acoustical hologram refers to a three-dimensional representation of sound waves in space, analogous to optical holography but applied to acoustic waves. Unlike visual holography, which creates...

Acoustical holography is a technique used to visualize and analyze sound fields in three-dimensional space. It involves capturing the complex spatial distribution of acoustic waves, much like how...

Active transport is a biological process by which cells move molecules or ions across their cell membrane against their concentration gradient, meaning from a region of lower concentration to a...

The term acute bisectrix is used in mineralogy and crystallography to describe a specific optical property of minerals, particularly in relation to their crystal structure and light behavior. ...

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...

In aerial photography, the geometric method of indicating the three-dimensional location of ground points from a pair of aerial photographs.

An image that can be studied three-dimensionally through a pair of complementary color filters composed of two superimposed views.

Color vision whereby abnormal proportions of three colors are needed for color matching.

An apochromat, often referred to as an apochromatic lens or apochromatic objective, is a type of optical system designed to minimize chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration occurs when different...

An optical system that is corrected chromatically for three colors simultaneously.

An axicon is a type of optical component characterized by its conical shape and its ability to transform a collimated Gaussian beam of light into a ring-shaped beam with a gradually increasing...

Bathymetric lidar is a remote sensing technique used to measure the depth of water bodies and map underwater terrain features. It employs lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) technology, which uses...

The three lines in the spectrum of cadmium that have the purest radiations and that were first used by Michelson to calculate the standard meter.

Carrier injection refers to the process of introducing charge carriers (either electrons or holes) into a semiconductor material. Semiconductors are materials with electrical conductivity between...

Chirality is a property of certain molecules and objects in which they are non-superimposable on their mirror images. In other words, a chiral object or molecule cannot be exactly superimposed onto...

The plane diagram produced by plotting one of the three chromaticity coordinates (X,Y,Z) against another. The most common diagram is the CIE (X,Y) diagram, which is plotted in rectangular coordinates.

A passive device, having three or more ports, in which input light from one port is coupled only to the next sequential port in a given direction and is prevented from traveling in any other...

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are nanometer-sized semiconductor particles that are dispersed in a colloidal solution. These quantum dots have unique optical and electronic properties due to their...

The transmission of a color photograph by separating the colors into varying intensities of red, blue and green, and then sending separate transmissions of the three color signals to a receiving...

The recording of three or more separate holograms having a different color on a medium, so that illumination with a tricolor beam yields three separate wavefronts, each representing one of the...

Film that produces color negatives or transparencies by the use of three emulsions, one coated over the other, that are each sensitive to one of the colors red, blue or green.

An instrument that uses a beam of light to scan a color transparency, and three differently filtered photosensors to record the transmitted beam, as a means of producing three exposed separation...

The entire range of colors a specific color model can produce, represented as a three-dimensional solid.

A television system that is capable of producing an image whose colors approximate the colors of the original, by the use of additive color mixing of the three primary colors.

Color vision refers to the ability of organisms to perceive and distinguish different wavelengths of light as different colors. It is a sensory ability that allows humans and many other animals to...

Situation in which the observer requires fewer than three independent stimuli to make color matches. Dichromats require only two stimuli and are classified as protanopes and deuteranopes (both...

A type of compound microscope that uses three visible wavelengths to translate details produced by invisible radiation.

A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides objective and standardized color information, typically expressed in terms...

A semiconductor made up of two or more elements, in contrast to those composed of a single element such as germanium or silicon. In a III-V semiconductor, for example, one or more elements having...

Computer numerically controlled (CNC) grinding is a manufacturing process that utilizes computerized controls and precision machining tools to remove material from a workpiece. In CNC grinding, a...

Computer vision enables computers to interpret and make decisions based on visual data, such as images and videos. It involves the development of algorithms, techniques, and systems that enable...

Also known as real holographic image. The indistinct, highly distorted image produced on the side of the hologram closest to the observer, in addition to the primary image. When the location of the...

The generation, usually by a cathode-ray oscilloscope, of a two-dimensional image having a three-dimensional appearance.

1. In optics, the bending of light rays toward each other, as by a convex or positive lens. 2. Turning in the eyes to view a near object. 3. In a television picture tube, the crossing of the...

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...