optical properties of devices (original) (raw)
Author: the photonics expert (RP)
general optics- optical properties of devices
Related: optical properties of materials
DOI: 10.61835/arf Cite the article: BibTex BibLaTex plain textHTML Link to this page! LinkedIn
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Optical devices can have a range of properties describing their effects on light. This article presents a brief overview:
| Property | Symbol | Units | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absorbance | ($A$) | 1 | the logarithm with base 10 of the inverse transmittance |
| Absorptance | ($A$) | 1 | the fraction of incoming radiant flux which is absorbed by an object |
| Astigmatism | a kind of optical aberration; alternatively, a defect of optical lenses or a property of laser beams | ||
| Cardinal points | a set of points which characterize the function of an optical element or a group of elements in Gaussian optics | ||
| Group delay | ($T_\textrm{g}$) | s | a measure of the time delay experienced by narrow-band light pulses in an optical device |
| Group delay dispersion | ($D_2$) | s2 | the frequency dependence of the group delay, or (quantitatively) the corresponding derivative with respect to angular frequency |
| Insertion loss | IL | dB, % | power losses due to insertion of a device |
| Optical aberrations | degradations of optical images caused in imaging instruments | ||
| Optical density | OD | 1 | a logarithmic measure of the power attenuation, or the refractive index |
| Optical thickness | m, or 1 | a measure either for the absorption, or the effective optical path length of a sample | |
| Reflectance, reflectivity | ($R$) | %, 1 | the ratio of reflected optical power to the incident optical power at some reflecting object |
| Retardance | ($\Gamma$) | rad, λ | the difference in optical phase shifts between two polarization directions, e.g. for light transmitted through a sample or reflected at a surface |
| Return loss | RL | dB | a measure of how much reflected light is attenuated |
| Transmittance | ($T$) | 1 | the ratio of transmitted optical power to the incident optical power at some partially transparent object |
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