Optics / Photonics 101

Comatic Aberration – What is Comatic Aberration?

Comatic aberration is an optical aberration which mainly occurs with off-axis light fluxes. Comatic aberration is most serious when a microscope is out of alignment.

10 Dec 2007

Optical Aberration - Astigmatism Aberration

Astigmatism aberration is a result of an off-axis image of a point of specimen which appears as an ellipse of a line rather than a point.

7 Dec 2007

Field Curvature Aberration – What is Field Curvature Aberration?

In optical microscopy, field curvature is an optical aberration that most of the experienced microscopists are familiar with. Field curvature occurs when lenses that have curved surfaces are used.

7 Dec 2007

Spherical Aberration - What is Spherical Aberration?

Spherical Aberration is a condition that occurs in lenses with spherical surfaces, such as the lenses used in small microscopes. Spherical aberration is caused by the failure of light rays to converge to the same point when the light rays are parallel to the optic axis but at different lengths from the optic axis.

6 Dec 2007

Chromatic Aberration – The Definition of Chromatic Aberration

Chromatic aberration is also referred to as color fringing. Chromatic aberration occurs when a lens system is creating different focal lengths for different wavelengths of light. In other words, it is not creating identical focal plane for different light rays when the light rays are brought into focus.

2 Dec 2007

Liquid Lens - An Introduction to Liquid Lens

The theory behind liquid lens is based on the properties of one or more fluids to create magnifications within a small amount of space. Liquid lens can be considered as "infinitely variables" lens with variable focus, and the focus is controlled without using any moving parts.

21 Nov 2007

Anti-Reflective Coatings - What is Anti-Reflective Coating and How Do They Work?

Anti-reflective coatings significantly reduce the loss of light. Anti-reflective coatings also reduce the amount of glare from lights. Anti-reflective coatings are made possible by using techniques such as changes in phases and the dependence of reflectivity on refraction index.

17 Nov 2007

Converting Light into Electricity - How Does a Photovoltaic Cell Work

Photovoltaic cells, more commonly known as solar cells, are found in applications such as calculator and satellites. First used almost exclusively in space, photovoltaic cells are used in more common applications.

17 Nov 2007

Polarizer - Basic Definition and Types of Polarizers

A polarizer is a device that converts a beam of electromagnetic waves such as light which is unpolarized or mixed-polarization into a beam with a single linear polarization state.

From CODIXX AG 21 Oct 2007

Liquid Crystals - What are Liquid Crystals and How They Are Used to Construct LCDs

A liquid crystal display, commonly abbreviated as LCD, is a thin, flat display device made up of any number of color or monochrome pixels arrayed in front of a light source or reflector. It is often utilized in battery-powered electronic devices because it uses very small amounts of electric power.

20 Oct 2007