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Technical Notes
Fundamentals of Spatial Filtering
Spatial filters provide a convenient way to remove random fluctuations from the intensity profile of a laser beam. This greatly improves resolution — which is especially critical for ...
Technical Notes
Thermopile Sensor Physics
Thermopile sensors are based on thermocouples. A thermocouple consists of two dissimilar metals connected in series. To detect radiation, one metal junction is typically blackened to ...
Technical Notes
Pyroelectric Sensor Physics
A pyroelectric crystalline material has electric polarization even in the absence of an applied voltage. On heating, the material expands and produces a change in the polarization which ...
Technical Notes
Photodiode Sensor Physics
A photodiode sensor consists of a semiconductor p-n junction. Light falling on the junction causes the formation of electron-hole pairs. In photovoltaic mode, the electron-hole pairs ...
Technical Notes
Polarization Control with Optics
Precise control of polarization behavior is necessary to obtain optimal performance from optical components and systems. Characteristics such as reflectivity, insertion loss, and beamsplitter ...
Technical Notes
UAV Imaging Systems
When equipped with high-performance thermal imaging systems, UAVs, also known as drones, lend themselves to a wide range of defense, government, and commercial applications.
Technical Notes
Variable Laser Attenuators
Variable laser attenuators consist of essentially two optical components, a half waveplate, and a polarizer with a good extinction ratio, and allow for continuous power control for ...
Technical Notes
Types of Lasers
Lasers are typically identified by their gain medium and are often classified by the radiating species that give rise to stimulated emission. These radiating species can include ...
Technical Notes
Optical Emission in Semiconductor Materials
Electron-hole recombination processes give rise to spontaneous emission in an LED and stimulated emission in a laser diode.
Technical Notes
Radiometric Measurement
Radiometry is the measurement of energy or power in electromagnetic radiation fields or light. The average output power is the most common radiometric measurement since many light sources, ...
Technical Notes
Photoreceiver Characteristics
The characteristics of such high-speed photoreceivers as well as their associated applications are the subjects of this technical note.
Technical Notes
Types of Photoreceivers
The main types of photoreceivers are those that can detect optical signals with fast temporal responses or those containing high frequency components.
Technical Notes
Optical Mirror Physics
Optical mirrors consist of metallic or dielectric films deposited directly on a substrate such as glass, differing from common mirrors, which are coated on the back surface of the ...
Technical Notes
Optical Coatings
Optical coatings typically consist of thin films made up of single or multiple layers of either metallic or dielectric materials. When properly designed and fabricated, these coatings ...
Technical Notes
Optical Filter Characteristics
In addition to being deposited on the surface of an optical component, optical coatings can also be incorporated into a single element through deposition on one or many substrates followed ...
Technical Notes
Optical Lens Physics
Lenses are essentially light-controlling elements and so are exploited for light gathering and image formation.
Technical Notes
Optical Table System Design
The term optical table system typically refers to a vibration-isolation system, that is, the tabletop plus the support system.
Technical Notes
Optical Transceiver Physics
OE converters typically employ photodiodes to absorb incoming photons and convert them into electrical current. Photodiodes are devices in which p-type, n-type, and intrinsic semiconductors ...
Technical Notes
Optical Fiber Alignment
Good fiber alignment produces the highest coupling efficiency and therefore the least signal loss before assembly or packaging of an optical system.
Technical Notes
Solar Light Simulation
The surface temperature of the sun is approximately 5800 K; this means that the electromagnetic spectrum of radiation from the sun is similar to that of a 5800 K blackbody with the ...
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