Glossary

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1000Base LX
The name for Gigabit Ethernet that is transmitted over fiber using long wave transmitters.
1000Base SX
The name for Gigabit Ethernet that is transmitted over fiber using short wave laser transmitters.
1000Base T
The name for Gigabit Ethernet transmitted over a twisted pair.
100Base FX
A 100 Mbps Ethernet system based on 4B/5B signal encoding that is transmitted over fiber optic cable.
100Base T
A term used for the entire 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet system, including both twisted-pair and fiber optic media types....
10Base F
A 10 Mbps Ethernet system based on Manchester signal encoding transmitted over fiber optic cable.
10Base T
A 10 Mbps Ethernet system based on Manchester signal encoding transmitted over Category 3 or higher twisted-pair cable.
10Base2
A 10 Mbps Ethernet system based on Manchester signal encoding transmitted over thin coaxial cable; also known as thinwire...
10Base5
A 10 Mbps Ethernet system based on Manchester signal encoding transmitted over thick coaxial cable; also known as thicknet....
10Gig Fiber Optic Patch Cord
A laser optimized fiber that supports 10 Gigabit per second transmission for distances of 300 meters or more and...
802.1
An IEEE working group for high-level interfaces, network management, inter-networking and other issues common across LAN technologies.
802.3
An IEEE working group for carrier-sense multiple access/carrier detect Local Area Networks.
802.3 Network
A 10 Mb/s CSMA/CD bus-based network; is commonly referred to as Ethernet.
802.5 Network
A token-passing ring network that operates at 4 Mb/s or 16 Mb/s.
8B10B Encoding
A signal modulation scheme in which eight bits are encoded in a 10-bit word to ensure that too many...
Abaxial Spherical Aberration
This type of aberration occurs when a patch of light is formed on points outside of the lens axis....
Abbe Condenser
This condenser consists of two lenses that collect and direct light onto a predetermined object. It can achieve high...
Abbe Constant
The ratio of an optical medium's refractivity to its dispersion. It is the reciprocal of dispersive power.
Abbe Illumination
A form of illumination where the source is imaged directly onto the object being viewed or projected. This requires...
Abbe Prism
A type of roof prism with perpendicular end faces that can invert an image when inserted between the object...
Abbe Refractometer
An optical instrument used to measure the of index of refraction of an unknown sample of optical glass. Designed...
Abbe Sine Condition
A condition that must be met by any spherically corrected lens if it is to be free from coma...
Abbe-Porro Prism
A compact version of the traditional Porro prism used in binoculars.
ABCD Matrix
Also known as a ray transfer matrix, this is a 2-by-2 matrix describing the effect of an optical element...
Aberration
A deviation from what is normal or expected. In optics, this could be a defect in a lens system...
Aberration Sensor
An optical instrument that can detect and measure aberrations via a knife-edge technique.
Ablation Threshold
An energy input level at which absorbed laser energy can break the bonds between molecules.
Ablative Photodecomposition
The process of pulsed ultraviolet radiation being absorbed by a material, leading to excitation within and between molecules. This...
Ablative Wall Flashlamp
A bright, short-lived source that occurs when low-pressure gas vaporizes material from the tube wall and leads to a...
Abney Effect
The hue shift that results when purity and saturation are varied.
Abrasion Mark
A mark on an optical surface produced by surfaces sliding against each other.
Abridged Spectrophotometer
An instrument that uses bandpass filters to measure transmission and reflection as a function of wavelength.
Absolute Refractive Index
The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in the medium.
Absorb
The mechanism by which materials transform incident energy into internal energy (typically heat).
Absorbance
A measure of a medium's ability to absorb radiation, often expressed as the reciprocal logarithm of transmittance.
Absorbing Wedge
A strip of glass with transmission that varies linearly with distance, due to varying absorption.
Absorptance
Ratio of the absorbed radiant flux to the incident flux.
Absorption
The portion of energy (light) that is attenuated during propagation via energy exchange in the material.
Absorption Band
A region of the spectrum in which the absorption coefficient reaches a maximum. Also a range of electromagnetic radiation...
Absorption Coefficient
The measure of how far a wavelength's light can travel before being absorbed. Also the measure of a gas's...
Absorption Hologram
A hologram that results from the light of an illuminating beam being absorbed in correspondence with recording exposure.
Absorption Index
The measure of attenuation caused by absorbed energy per unit of distance in an electromagnetic wave.
Absorption Lens
A lens that inhibits certain wavelengths from passing through it by absorbing them.
Absorption Line
The most narrow range of radiant energy wavelengths that can be absorbed.
Absorption Meter
An instrument that uses a light-sensitive detector to measure how much light is transmitted by a material.
Absorption Peak
In the field of spectroscopy, the maximum wavelength of radiation that can be absorbed by a sample.
Absorption Spectrophotometer
An optical instrument that measures the absorption spectra of different specimens.
Absorption Spectroscopy
The study of energy and wavelengths of radiation that atoms and molecules absorb under varying physical conditions.
Absorption Spectrum
Also referred to as the spectral window of absorption, this spectrum is formed by radiation that has been filtered...
Accelerated Aging
The operation of a sample population of the lasers for an extended period of time under harsher conditions then...
Acceptance Angle
The largest launch angle of incident light that can propogate down the fiber optic
Acceptance Cone
The largest launch angle of incident light that can propogate down the fiber optic. The 3D view of the...
Acceptance Pattern
A curve expressing an optical fiber's total transmitted power as a function of its launch angle at the input.
Acousto Optic Modulators
A device that uses an electrical drive signal to control the power, frequency, and spatial direction of a laser...
Acousto Optic Tunable Filter
AOTF is an optical filter that can be tuned by altering the refractive index using acoustic waves in the...
Acousto Optics
The study of interactions between sound waves and light waves. Sound waves can be made to modulate, deflect and...
Acoustophotorefractive Effect
A semipermanent change in the Index of Refraction that results from the interaction between high-intensity, short-lived lase pulses and...
Acrylate
A polymer material, made of salt from acrylic acid, used in optical fibers as a buffer coating or cladding,...
Active Area
The area of a detector, relative to the total area of the detector, that generates signal.
Active Branching Device
A device that converts an optical input into two or more optical outputs with gain or generation.
Active Device
A device that requires an energy source to operate and has an output of present and past input signals....
Active Port Diameter
The diameter of the area on a detector where light can be coupled to or from an optical fiber....
Adjustable Attenuator
An attenuator in which the level of attenuation can be changed using an internal adjustment. Also known as a...
Aging
The operation of a sample population of lasers for an extended period of time under specified conditions.
Aligned Bundle
An assembly of fibers that have the same coordinates at both ends of the bundle. Also called a coherent...
Alignment Laser
A laser, usually employing helium-neon or other gases as the active medium, used for alignment in industrial applications.
Alignment Sensitivity
A laser's sensitivity in regards to misalignment.
All Dieletric Cable
A cable made of dielectric materials that doesn't contain metal conductors, armor, or strength members.
All Silica Fiber
A fiber, also known as all-glass fiber, with a silica core and silica cladding.
All Solid State Lasers
A laser with a solid gain medium and pump source.
Alpha
A positive number that indicates the Core Refractive Index shape and ranges from one to infinity.
Ambient Temperature
The average temperature of the air that comes in contact with testing instruments.
Angle of Incidence
The angle between an incident ray and the line perpendicular to it.
Angle of Refraction
The angle composed of a refracted ray and surface line.
Angled Physical Contact
A fiber optic connector with the minimum possible back reflection due to a 5°-15° angle on the connector tip.
Angstrom
A unit of length in optical measurements where 1Ã = 10-10 meters, or 10-4 micrometers, or = 10-1 nanometers....
Angular Misalignment
The difference of a shaft's slope compared to the other shaft's slope. Sometimes referred to as gap or face.
Angular Misalignment Loss
Optical power loss caused by angular deviation from the optimum alignment of source to fiber, fiber to fiber, or...
Angular Tilt
The angle formed by the axes of two fibers to be joined.
Annealing
The process of heating a cooling a solid material, such as glass, to stabilize thermal or electrical properties and...
Annealing Furnace
An oven designed to anneal glass for the optical industry.
Anti Reflection Coatings
A layer applies to the back of laser output mirrors to reduce unwanted reflections that interrupt power.
Antiguide
A waveguide with a core that has a lower refractive index than the cladding. This object can remove unwanted...
Aperature
The area of a fiber core that will accept light, also known as light acceptance.
Apertometer
An instrument that measures the numerical aperture of a lens
Aramid Yarn
The part of optical fiber cable that provides support, protection and tensile strength. Commonly referred to as Kevlar, which...
Architecture
The way that hardware or software is structured. Network architecture defines the functions and description of data formats and...
Argon Ion Lasers
Powerful gas lasers that generate multiple watts of optical power in an output beam.
ARINC
Aeronautical Radio Incorporated
Armadillo Cable Assembly
A ruggedized duplex fiber optic cable assembly featuring a rigid plastic connector shell and integrated strain relief boot.
Armadillo Loopback
A ruggedized fiber optic test adapter designed to loop a signal from the Tx side of a port to...
Armor
A component on a communication cable that is intended to protect internal components, including buffer tubes and electrical conductors,...
Artificial Intelligence
The ability of a machine to perform certain functions normally associated with human intelligence, such as judgment, pattern recognition,...
Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer
An instrument used to analyze the sharp resonance line of a sample that, in a flame, emits an atomic...
Attenuation
Power loss in an electrical or telecommunications system.
Attenuation Coefficient
The measure that determines how permeable a material is.
Attenuation Constant
The real part of the axial propagation constant for a particular mode.
Attenuation Limited Operation
The condition that occurs in a fiber optic link when the power of the received signal limits operation.
Attenuation Limited Power
The limitation on performance due to the amplitude of a received signal rather than a distortion.
Attenuation Meter
A device that measures power loss in fiber optic connectors, cables, or systems.