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.
Attenuator A device that induces loss in a fiber optic link, thus reducing signal power.
Automatic Optical Inspection A system used to control or measure automatic industrial processes. It is composed of an optical module, a segmentation...
Average Power The average amount of work done or energy transferred per unit time.
Average Wavelength The mean of two wavelengths caused by the peak optical power dropping by half.
Axial Misalignment Loss Optical power loss that is caused by two parallel fiber axes that are not on the same central axis.
Back Mounted Connector Also referred to as rear mounted, a connector that mounts to the panel inside of a panel or box....
Back Reflection – Optical Return Loss The loss that occurs (measured in - dB) when light changes direction in fiber and returns toward the source,...
Backbone The main portion of a telecommunication network and the link between routers, switches, and bridges.
Backbone Cabling Inter-building and intra-building cable connections located between entrance facilities, equipment rooms and telecom closets. This cabling consists of transmission...
Backbone System A type of transmission network that carries high-speed telecom signals between regions. It can be used to describe the...
Backscattering Light in fiber that has scattered toward the source. It is used to make OTDR measurements.
Balun An adapter used to connect unbalanced coaxial transmission lines to a balanced two-wire system.
Band Marking Also called ring marking, this is the practice of applying a colored mark to a conductor at regular intervals...
Band Spectral An interval in the Electromagnetic Spectrum defined by two wavelengths, frequencies, or wave numbers. With Landsat, bands designate the...
Banding An uncorrected radiometric artifact caused by forward and reverse scans that are radiometrically different.
Bandpass Also referred to as passband, a range of frequencies that a bandpass filter permits to pass through.
Bandpass Filter A filter that allows a certain range of frequencies through and prevents unwanted signals from getting through.
Bandwidth (BW) The information carrying capacity of a system; the capacity of a telecom line to carry signals.
Bandwidth Distance Product The value, equal to the product of the fiber's length and the 3-dB bandwidth of the optical signal, that...
Bandwidth Limited Operation In fiber optics, the limitation on performance imposed by the system bandwidth rather than the amplitude of the signal.
Bandwidth Limited Pulses Pulses with a duration as short as possible with their optical spectrum.
Banner Advertisement A typically rectangular advertisement on a web site placed above, below, or on the sides of the sites main...
Barrier Layer In the fabrication of an optical fiber, a layer that can be used to create a boundary against OH-ion...
Baseband The simplest method of transmission on a local area network. The entire bandwidth of the cable is used to...
Baud The number of signal level transitions per second in digital data. The term is often confused with bits per...
Baud Rate The speed in which computers can transfer data through a modem using communications software.
Bayonet Coupling A quick coupling mechanism for mating a plug onto a receptacle utilizing three equally spaced pins protruding from the...
Beam Attenuator A device designed to decrease flux density or power per unit area of a light beam through absorption and...
Beam Bender A mirror used to manipulate the beam in a laser system.
Beam Combining A class of techniques for power scaling of laser sources by combining the outputs of multiple devices.
Beam Diameter Also referred to as beam width, the length of any perpendicular line that intersects the beam axis. The...
Beam Divergence The increase in beam diameter with increase of distance from the source.
Beam Expander A system of optical components designed to increase the diameter of a radiation beam.
Beam Optics A discipline within the broad study of optics that is specifically oriented toward the investigation of waves with small...
Beam Parameter Product The product of beam radius and the beam divergence half-angle. The usual units are mm mrad (millimeters times milliradians). The...
Beam Pointing Fluctuations Fluctuations of the propagation direction of a laser beam.
Beam Profilers Devices for measuring the intensity profile of a laser beam.
Beam Quality A measure for how well a laser beam can be focused.
Beam Radius A measure of the transverse extension of a light beam.
Beam Waist Location with minimum beam radius.
Beat The signal formed when two signals, such as light waves, of different frequencies are present simultaneously in a nonlinear...
Beat Length A characteristic of optical fiber used to calculate the fiber's ability to maintain polarization. The beat length describes the...
Beat Note An oscillation of the optical intensity arising from the superposition of light with different optical frequencies.
Beauty Defect A defect on or in an optical element that does not appreciably impair the function of the surface.
Bend Loss 1. A form of increased attenuation in a fiber that results from bending a fiber around a restrictive
curvature (a...
Bend Radius The radius of curvature that an optical fiber can bend without sustaining damage.
Bending of Light The action occurring when light passes through an optical interface at other than normal incidence, i.e., refraction.
BER Floor A limiting of the bit-error ratio (BER) in a digital fiber optic system as a function of received power...
Biconic A connector type which has a taper sleeve which would be fixed to the fiber optic cable. When this...
Biconic Connector A type of fiber optic connector consisting of two cone-shaped ferrules aligned by a mating sleeve.
Bidirectional The ability for light to transmit in both directions through a fiber.
Bidirectional Reflectance A unitless measure of the ratio of incoming to outgoing radiation created from converting a radiometrically calibrated image to...
Bifurcated Fiber A branched fiber optic lightguide that performs both receiving and transmitting functions.
BIN Code Basic identification number - color bands on the wire barrel end of a contact to identify contact part number....
Bit Error Rate (BER) Bit Error Rate. The number of bit errors that occur within the space of one second. This measurement is...
Bit Period (T) The amount of time required to transmit a logical one or a logical zero.
Bit Rate (1) The number of bits of data transmitted over a phone line per second. You can usually figure how...
Block A collection of transmitted information which is seen as a discrete entity. Usually has its own address, control, routing...
BNC Popular coax bayonet style connector, often used for baseband video.
Boot A form placed onto the boot adapter used to environmentally seal and/or strain-relieve a cable assembly.
Boot Adapter A mechanical device with one side threaded onto the accessory thread of a connector (plug or receptacle) and the...
Bound Mode In an optical fiber, a mode that (a) has a field intensity that decays monotonically in the transverse direction...
BPS Bits per second. Term used by telecommunication engineers to describe bandwidth. Bytes per second is the term used by...
Bragg Grating A filter that separates light into many colors via Bragg's law. Generally refers to a fiber Bragg grating used...
Bragg Scattering Scattering of light caused by a change in refractive index, as used in Fiber Bragg Gratings and Distributed Bragg...
Braid An essential part of many fiber-optic cable designs, consisting of a layer of woven yarn. Note: In the case...
Break Out Cable Same as a Fan Out cable. This is a multiple fiber optic cables constructed in the tight buffered design....
Break Out Kit Used to build up the outer diameter of fiber cable for connecting.
Breakdown Voltage In avalanche photodiodes, the point at which an increase in the reverse bias voltage causes the current gain to...
Buffer A protective coating applied directly on the fiber. Primary buffers encompass the 125 um cadding up to 250 um....
Buffer Coating A protective layer, such as an acrylic polymer, applied over the fiber cladding for protective purposes.
Buffer Tube A hard plastic tube, having an inside diameter several times that of a fiber, that holds one or more...
Buffered Fiber Fiber optic cable protected with an additional material, usually hytrel or nylon, to provide ease in handling, connectorization and...
Buffering It is used in two contexts: First, it refers to a protective material extruded directly on the fiber optic...
Bundle (1) A group of optical fibers or electrical conductors, such as wires and coaxial cables, usually in a single...
Bundle of Fibers A rigid or flexible group of fibers assembled in a unit. Coherent fiber bundles have fibers arranged in the...
Burn A surface imperfection caused by a polisher running dry too long. It occurs with felt or plastic polishers, and...
Butt Splice A joining of two fibers without optical connectors arranged end-to-end by means of a coupling. Fusion splicing is an...
C Band A term coined by the IEEE to represent frequency range from 4 to 8 GHz that requires a large...
Cable A single or multiple fibers enclosed within a protective covering.
Cable Assembly A group of cables that has connectors located on one or both ends.
Cable Bend Radius The measure of the smallest radius that a cable can bend without experiencing damage.
Cable Clamp A mechanical device used to support a cable, provide strain relief and absorb vibration that may transmit from the...
Cable Signal Leakage Excessive levels of radio frequency (RF) energy that leak from cable television systems can cause interference to communications users,...
Cables One or more fibers surrounded by a protective casing.
Calibration The adjustment of a measuring instrument or sensor that results in standardized measurements.
Calibration Data Measurements related to the spectral or geometric characteristics of a sensor or radiation source. Calibration data is obtained through...
Calibration Parameter File Computer files of fixed parameters used in the ground processing system to convert raw uncalibrated bits from a spacecraft...
Carrier Frequency The carrier of a frequency wave selected to transmit information.
Catastrophic Failure A failure in which device characteristics change quickly, typically in less than a second.
Center Wavelength – Laser The nominal value of a central operating wavelength defined by a peak mode measurement where the effective optical power...
Center Wavelength – LED The average of two wavelengths measured at the half amplitude points of the power spectrum lengths corresponding to the...
Centro Symmetrical Reflective Optics An optical technique in which a concave mirror is used to control the coupling of light from one fiber...
Certificate of Compliance (C of C) A certificate showing that the product being shipped meets customers' specifications.
Chalcogenide Glass An infrared-transmitting material used in optical fibers for applications in the wavelength region from 2 to 11 µm.
Channel A communication path or signal sent over an optical channel.
Channel Capacity The maximum number of channels that a cable system can carry simultaneously.
Channel Coding Data encoding and error correction techniques used to protect the integrity of data. Typically used in channels with high...
Channel Density The number of channels per unit bandwidth that can be handled by a single optical fiber.
Channel Markers A/B markers that easily identify the TX and RX Connector on each end of a fiber optic cable assembly....
Chromatic Bandwidth The inverse of the Chromatic Dispersion.
Chromatic Dispersion The temporary spreading of a pulse in an optical waveguide caused by the wavelength's dependence on the velocities of...
Cladding In fiber optics, the material that surrounds the core of an optical fiber to contain core light while protecting...
Cladding Diameter In the cross section of a realizable optical fiber, the average of the diameters of the smallest circle that...
Cladding Glass Glass found around the core of a fiber that has a lower refractive index than the fiber.
Cladding Mode In fiber optics, an undesired region that is confined to the cladding of an optical fiber due to the...
Cladding Mode Stripper A device designed to remove modes that are propagating through the cladding by allowing them to radiate out of...
Cladding Ray A ray that is reflected into the core of an optical fiber from the outer surface of the cladding.
Cleave The process of scoring and breaking an optical fiber end so that it is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis...
Coated Optics Optical elements with refracting or reflecting surfaces that have been coated with protective layers of dielectric/metallic material to reduce...
Coating A material put on a fiber during the drawing process to protect it from the surrounding environment.
Coherence A term describing light as waves that are in phase in both time and space.
Coherence Length With respect to a laser, the greatest distance between two arms of an interferometric system that can obtain sufficient...
Coherence Time The time over which the field correlation decays.
Coherent Bundle of Fibers Fibers packaged together in a bundle in order to retain a fixed arrangement at the two ends and can...
Coherent Communications In fiber optics, a communication system where the output of a local laser oscillator is mixed optically with a...
Coherent Light This is light with parameters that are predictable and correlated at any point into time or space, particularly over...
Coherent Noise Systematic periodic noise in image or calibration data, which can be characterized in terms of frequency, phase and amplitude....
Collimate To align the axes of instruments so that they have the same spatial orientation along a common line.
Collimated Beams Laser beams with a low beam divergence, which prevents the beam radius from experiencing significant changes within moderate propagation...
Collimation The process of aligning an optical system's optical axes to an instrument's reference mechanical axes or surfaces.
Collimator An optical instrument, consisting of a well-corrected objective lens with an illuminated slit or reticle at its focal plane,...
Combiner A passive device that combines optical power from several input fibers at a common point.
Concentricity The measurement in a cable or wire based on the location of the conductor's center, with respect to the...
Concentricity Error In an optical fiber, the distance between the center of the two concentric circles that specify the cladding diameter...
Conduit Pipe or tubing that houses and protects electrical cables.
Connecting Hardware Hardware that terminates optical fiber cables with connectors and adapters. It provides a point for cross-connecting between cabling segments...
Connector A plug or a receptacle used to terminate or connect the electrical conductors of a cable and its individual...
Connector Body The main portion of a connector to which other components are attached.
Connector Induced Fiber Loss Part of the conductor insertion loss, expressed in dB, that results from impurities or structural changes to the fiber...
Connector Insertion Loss Total optical power loss caused by insertion of an optical component such as a connector, splice or couple into...
Connector Loss Energy loss encountered at connectors in optical fiber transmission systems, typically caused by mutual core displacement and fiber axis...
Connector Panel The rear surface of a computer or peripheral device, which includes the connectors for peripheral devices or for the...
Connector Panel Module A module designed for use with patch panels that contains 6, 8 or 12 connectorized fibers spliced to backbone...
Connector Plug A device used to terminate an optical conductor cable.
Connector Receptacle The fixed or stationary half of a connection that is mounted on a panel/bulkhead. Receptacles mate with plugs.
Connector Return Loss The amount of power that is reflected from a connector to its interface, expressed as dB.
Connector Variation Also known as optical connector variation, this is the maximum value in dB of the difference in insertion loss...
Constructive Interference Any interference that increases the resultant signal's amplitude.
Contact Pin or socket — the conductive element of a connector which actually makes contact for the purpose of conducting...
Contact Area The actual area in contact (touching) between two conductors (pin and socket) permitting the flow of electrical current.
Contact Arrangement The number of contacts, their size and spacing in a connector.
Contact Engagement Separation Force The amount of force that is needed to engage or separate pin and socket contacts.
Contact Size The number that indicates the size (or gauge) of the engaging end of the contact (e.g., size 20, size...
Convergence Light rays bending toward each other, which allows communication system providers to deliver products and services that compete with...
Convergent Beam Sensing Mode A type of photoelectric proximity mode sensing incorporating a lens system to focus the light from the emitter in...
Core The center of an optical fiber that has a high refractive index and carries the light signal that has...
Core Area The part of an optical fiber's cross-sectional area with a refractive index that is greater than that of the...
Core Diameter The average of the diameters of the smallest circle of an optical fiber that can be circumscribed about the...
Core Eccentricity A measure of the displacement of the center of the core in relation to the center of the cladding.
Core Ellipticity A measure of the core's departure from roundness.
Core Less End Caps End pieces attached to fibers that don't have a fiber core.
Coupled Modes In fiber optics, a mode that shares energy among one or more other modes, all of which propagate together.
Coupler Fiber optic component that distributes optical power among two or more ports; also used for coupling optical power between...
Coupling The transfer of light going into and coming out of a fiber, not to be confused with a coupler...
Coupling Efficiency The fraction of available output from one radiant source that is coupled and transmitted by an optical fiber.
Coupling Loss The power loss suffered when light is coupled from one optical device to another. There can be intrinsic losses...
Coupling Nut Ring The movable portion of a connector plug that aids in the coupling and uncoupling of a plug and a...
Coupling Ratio The percentage of light that is transferred to a receiving output port in relation to the total power of...
Coupling Ratio Loss The loss of optical power from one output port to the total output power, expressed as a percent.
Covered Groove A technique used in integrated optics where a groove is cut on a substrate surface and covered by a...
Crimp The physical compression (uniformed deformation) of a contact wire barrel around the conductor in order to captivate the conductor...
Crimp Contact A contact, pin or socket whose wire barrel is a hollow cylinder into which a conductor is inserted. The...
Crimp Die The portion of the crimp tool that shapes the crimp on the wire barrel.
Crimp Sleeve A crimped metal cylinder that holds the connector to the cable through the cable's strength member.
Crimp Tool A mechanical device that holds the crimp die and performs the crimping function.
Crimping A pressure method that uses a tool to mechanically secure a contact (pin or socket) to a conductor (wire).
Critical Absorption Wavelength The wavelength at which the absorption of a given element starts to demonstrate an inconstant value.
Critical Angle The smallest angle of incidence at which total internal reflection occurs. The angle of incidence in a denser medium,...
Critical Phase Matching A method used to obtain phase matching of a nonlinear process in a birefringent crystal.
Cross Calibration The radiometrical comparison of sensors on two different satellites.
Cross Connect Connections between terminal blocks on the two sides of a distribution frame or between terminals on a terminal block....
Cross Gain Modulation Connections between two terminal blocks on the sides of a distribution frame or between terminals on a terminal block....
Cross Phase Modulation A fiber nonlinearity caused by the nonlinear index of refraction of glass.
Cross Sections Material parameters for quantifying the likelihood or rate of optical transition events.
Crosstalk Interference between nearby conductors caused by stray energy that occurs when a receiver on one communication channel inadvertently receives...
Crush A surface scratch or series of scratches formed by improper handling.
Crush Strength An optical fiber's physical limit to withstand an applied force or weight that is perpendicular to the axis of...
Cutback A method for measuring the attenuation or bandwidth of a fiber optic cable by first measuring the full length...
Cutback Measurements A measurement of optical loss that is made by cutting a fiber to compare the loss of a short...
Cutback Method A technique used to measure how much bare fiber is lost. Obtained by measuring the optical power transmitted through...
Cutback Technique A technique for determining characteristics of optical fiber transmission. Characteristics are determined in four steps: performing the desired measurements...
Cutoff Mode The highest order mode that will propagate in a waveguide at a certain frequency.
Cutoff Wavelength The point in a wavelength beyond which single mode fiber only supports one mode of propagation.
Cuton Wavelength The wavelength where the filter transmission increases beyond 5 percent.
Damped Least Squares An organizational method in optical design computer systems that produces a number to measure the state of correction in...
Damping Relative to time or distance, damping is the continuous conversion of energy into heat.
Dark Current A current that flows in a photodetector when there is no radiation or optical power.
Dark Fiber Installed without a transmitter or receiver, dark fiber is optical fiber that is unused in a cable. Sometimes, these...
Dark Mirror Multilayer coating with both low radiant reflectance and radiant absorption, often used where control of stray light is critical.
Dark Noise Noise produced in a photodetector when operating voltage is applied and a photocathode is shielded from external optical radiation.
Dark Operate Mode An operating mode where a sensor is programmed to perform certain tasks. Tasks include generating output when light falls...
Data Basic elements of information processed or produced by a computer. In fiber optics, data is transmitted by light.
Data Bus A system in fiber optic data communication where several terminals are served by the same multiplexed signal.
Data Communications The movement of encoded information through an electrical transmission system from one point to another.
Data Dependent Jitter Jitter related to transmitted symbol sequence caused by limited bandwidth and imperfections in optical components. Also referred to as...
Data Dependent Jitter (DDJ) A type of jitter that is related to the transmitted symbol sequence. DDJ is caused by the limited bandwidth...
Data Frame Destination address, source address, length field, LLC data, pad and check frame sequence.
Data Link A communication network between the nodes in a data transmission system.
Data Link Layer Responsible for transmitting and receiving, passing data from the network to the physical layer.
Data Rate Maximum number of bits of information per second in a data transmission system, expressed as bits per second (bps)....
dBC Decibel relative to carrier level.
dBμ Decibel referenced to microwatt.
dBm Decibel below 1 milliwatt.
dBmV Decibel millivolt. 0 dBmV = 1 millivolt across 75 ohms.
DBR Distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) is a reflection of light caused by periodic changes in the refractive index in layers...
dBu Decibels below 1.
DCE (1) Data circuit-terminating equipment is the equipment that performs functions at the network end of a line between data...
Deblocking Removal of optical elements from a block.
Decentration The lack of coincidence between the optical and mechanical axes in a single element.
Decentration Aberration An aberration that occurs in a lens system when one or more of the centers of the curvature of...
Decibel (DB) A decibel (dB) is a unit of measurement for light transmission and can be used to express differences in...
Dedicated Line A communications circuit or channel used exclusively by a particular subscriber, often when large amounts of data need to...
Deep A concave surface with too much negative power.
Deeply Depressed Cladding Fiber A single mode optical fiber with an outer cladding of the same refractive index as the core and an...
Deformable Mirror Device A spatial light modulator with metallized polymer film over metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors, leading to a laser readout beam's...
Degenerate Level Two or more energy states are identical.
Degradation A gradual decrease of output signal with constant light level input.
Delay Distortion Distortion created from different signal frequencies with different propagation velocities through a medium.
Delay Line A device to delay signal transmission for memory loops, sequential processing or built-in testing. This delay is achieved by...
Delay Time An interval delay between the direction of a signal to the light-emitting diode and the attainment of 10% output...
Delta The greatest relative difference in cladding and refractive index of core.
Demultiplex The separation of channels multiplexed in order to share a common transmission medium. With fiber optic cables, it is...
Demultiplexer A device separating a multiplexed signal into original components.
Demultiplexing To separate two or more signals that were combined into one signal.
Demux Abbreviation for demultiplexer.
Dense Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (DWDM) To transmit signals of multiple wavelengths through the same fiber with close spacing. DWDM bands include: C-band, S-band and...
Density Mass per unit volume.
Depolarization Loss The loss of optical power in a laser resonator that is caused by the depolarization in a laser crystal.
Depolarizer A device that reflects a polarized beam in all directions at right angles to its access with the goal...
Depth of Crimp Distance the crimp die indenter penetrates the wire barrel.
Destination Receiver of data.
Destination Address A part of the message that indicates for whom it was intended.
Destructive Interference Any interferences that decreases a signal.
Detector A photodiode to convert optical signal to electrical signal.
Detector Noise Limited Operation Operations in an optical communication system where the amplitude of pulses determines the distance between repeaters.
Detector Responsivity Radiometric response of an electronic detector converting photons to voltage.
Detem A device where the functions of an optical detector and emitter are combined.
Deterministic Jitter (DJ) Timing distortions caused by normal circuit effects in the transmissions system.
Dextrogyrate Rotation of the polarization plane of a light beam clockwise (or to the right).
Diameter Divergence Product The diameter and the divergence angle of a laser beam.
Diameter Mismatch Loss Loss of power at a joint occurring when the transmitting have has a greater diameter than the receiving half.
Dichroic Filter Optical filter transmitting light selectively according to wavelength.
Dichroic Mirrors Required for separating or combining laser beams with different wavelengths, these mirrors have a significantly different reflection or transmission...
Die Closure When the crimp tool handle is fully closed, this is the distance between the crimp die indenters.
Dielectric A material that is not metallic or conductive, like a glass fiber.
Dielectric Coatings Thin film coating made of transparent dielectric materials for laser mirrors or anti-reflection coating to modify the reflective properties...
Dielectric Filter An optical fiber selectively transmitting one wavelength and reflecting others, depending on interference effects inside a structure. Also referred...
Dielectric Mirrors Mirrors with multiple thin layers of transparent optical materials.
Dielectric Strength Voltage that an insulation can withstand before breaking down.
Dielectric Waveguide A waveguide with a dielectric material surrounded by another dielectric material. Example: optical fiber.
Differential Gain (DG) Video signal distortion causing brightness information to be distorted.
Differential Mode Attenuation Variation in attenuation among propagating optical fiber modes.
Differential Mode Delay Variation in propagation delay caused by velocity differences among optical fiber modes. Also known as multimode group delay.
Differential Phase (DP) Video signal distortion causing color information to be distorted.
Differential Quantum Efficiency The slope of the curve in an optical source relating output quanta to input quanta.
Diffraction Secondary wavefronts are generated when a wavefront of light passes by an opaque edge or an opening. These secondary,...
Diffraction Angle The angle between the direction of incident light beams and any resulting diffracted beam.
Diffraction Grating An array of fine, parallel and equally spaced reflecting or transmitting lines that enhance the diffraction effects to concentrate...
Diffraction Limited Beams Beams with a minimum possible beam divergence for a given radius.
Diffuser Methods that create different effects on air intake.
Dig A cosmetic defect that is nearly equal in length and width on an optical element's surface.
Diode An electronic device with current flow in only one direction.
Diode Bars A type of semiconductor laser with one-dimensional arrays of emitters.
Diode Laser A current flows through a diode to generate laser light.
Diode Pumped Lasers Solid-state lasers that are pumped with laser diodes.
Diode Stacks Arrangements of multiple diode bars that delivery very high output power.
Diplexer Device to combine two or more types of signal into a single output.
Direct Detection The conversion of received optical pulses directly to an electrical signal.
Direct Modulation Laser Laser directly modulated by the electrical voltage and current.
Direct Ray A ray travelling from one point to another without reflection or refraction.
Directed Energy Weapon A weapon that uses laser light, X-rays or particle beams for ballistic missile defense systems.
Directional Coupler A coupler where light is transmitted differently when it goes in different directions.
Directivity The amount of power observed at an input port with respect to initial input power. Also called near end...
Disc Laser Laser with a rod consisting of a stack of discs immersed in a transparent flowing coolant fluid. This increases...
Discriminator A circuit that is incorporated into counter systems to record only pulses with amplitudes between two preselected limits.
Dispersion The temporal spreading of a pulse in an optical waveguide that is caused by modal or chromatic effects.
Dispersion Compensating Module (DCM) Used to nullify the dispersion caused by a fiber.
Dispersion Compensation Offset of one fiber's dispersion by using different fibers or components that have dispersion of the opposite sign.
Dispersion Decreasing Fibers Optical fibers in which chromatic dispersion changes monotonously along the propagation direction.
Dispersion Flattened Single Mode Fiber A type of glass optical fiber providing low pulse dispersion over a broad portion of the light spectrum. This...
Dispersion Limited Operation The dispersion of a pulse limits the distance between repeaters in an optical system.
Dispersion Management A technique used in fiber optic system design to cope with dispersion introduced by an optical fiber.
Dispersion Penalty The result of dispersion where pulses and edges smear, making it difficult for receivers to distinguish between ones and...
Dispersion Shifted Fiber (DSF) A single mode optical fiber with its minimum-dispersion wavelength shifted toward minimum-loss wavelength by the addition of dopants. The...
Dispersion Slope Change in dispersion with wavelength.
Dispersion Unshifted Fiber A single mode optical fiber with nominal zero-dispersion wavelength in the 1.3 m transmission window.
Dispersive Wave A linearly propagating wave that is split by a soliton wave under certain conditions.
Distal End The end of an optical fiber farthest from the illumination source.
Distortion A change in waveform occurring between two points in the transmission system.
Distortion Limited Operation A performance limitation imposed by system bandwidth.
Distributed Bragg Reflection A light reflection caused by changes in refractive index in a stack of layers of different composition.
Distributed Feedback (DFB) Feedback that arises from a reflection through a structure.
Distributed Feedback Laser A type of diode laser that uses diffraction gratings, as opposed to mirrors, to create the resonance and oscillation...
Divided Pulse Amplification A method of amplifying intense ultrashort pulses while avoiding excessive nonlinear effects.
Dopant An impurity added to an optical medium to change its properties.
Dope Thick liquid or paste to prepare a surface, often used for waterproofing or strengthening a material.
Doping Concentration The concentration of dopant of laser-active ions in a laser gain medium.
Doppler Broadening Broadening of the linewidth of atomic transitions caused by the random motion of emitting atoms.
Doppler Cooling A laser cooling technique based on velocity-dependent absorption processes.
Doppler Limit The limit for the temperature achievable with certain laser cooling techniques.
Double Clad Fibers Optical fibers with different waveguide structures for pump and signal light.
Double Crucible Method A method of fabricating optical waveguides by melting the core and clad glasses in two concentric crucibles, drawing a...
Double Discharge Laser A type of transversely excited laser with a uniform arc-free discharge of a large cross-sectional area that is scaled...
Double Layer Light Amplifier A device used to create light output that exceeds light input, with the energy provided by an electric field....
Double Pulses Two closely spaced optical pulses.
Double Window Fiber An optical fiber that is capable of operating at both a shorter and a longer wavelength.
Doubly Clad Fiber An optical fiber that exhibits a wide transmission bandwidth and low bending loss to reduction of guided modes as...
DPSSL An abbreviation for diode-pumped solid-state laser.
Drawing The manufacturing process where fiber optic cable is pulled from preforms.
Drawing Tower A system for fabricating optical fiber. This consists of a furnace to heats the materials, a polymer coating stage,...
Drift All undesirable variations in output.
DSSS Abbreviation for direct sequence spread spectrum.
Dual In-Line Package (DIP) Dual in-line package is an electronic package with rectangular housing and a row of pins along two opposite sides.
Dual Window Fiber For multimode fibers: the fiber is optimized for 850 nm and 1310 nm operation. For single mode fibers: the...
Duplex The bi-directional transmission of transmit and receive elements of a communication signal that occurs simultaneously.
Duplex (Two Position) Connectors (FDDI) Used as the physical connections between stations on the FDDI ring to connect fiber optic cables.
Duplex Cable A two-fiber cable suitable for duplex, or two way, transmission.
Duplex Cord A two-fiber cable used for bi-directional transmission.
Duplex Operation Transmission on a data link in both directions.
Duplex Transmission Transmission in both directions (one direction at a time is referred to as half duplex, both directions simultaneously is...
Duplex Video Two-way video communication capable of simultaneous origination and reception.
Duty Cycle The ratio of high levels to low levels or the ratio of on signal-present time to total time as...
Duty Cycle Distortion Jitter (DCD) A type of distortion that is typically caused by propagation delay differences between low-to-high and high-to-low transitions; DCD is...
Dwell Time Momentary time interval during which a detector is able to sense incoming electromagnetic radiation within its intended instantaneous field...
Dye Laser A laser using a dye solution as its active medium with an output of a short pulse of broad...
Dynamic Fatigue Stress applied to an optical fiber at a constant rate.
Dynamic Magneto Optical Correlator An optical correlator that incorporates a binary phase-only spatial light modulator made from an iron garnet magneto-optic solid crystal.
Eccentricity Displacement of optical axis from mechanical axis in tolerance of optical elements.
ECS Abbreviation for environmental control system.
Edge Emitting Diode (ELED) LED emitting from an edge of a semiconductor chip that produces a higher power and narrow spectral width. Abbreviated...
Edge Emitting Laser Semiconductor laser emitting light in the plane of a junction from the edge of the chip.
Effective Area The area that carries light in a single-mode fiber.
Effective Cross Sections Modified transition cross section type that applies to optical transistions between stark level manifold.
Effective Mode Area Quantitative measure of an area where a waveguide or fiber mode covers the transverse dimensions.
Effective Mode Volume The square of the product of the near-field pattern diameter and the sine of the far-field pattern radiation angle....
Effective Numerical Aperture Used when the computed numerical aperture of a fiber is not valid due to changes in the glass index...
Effective Refractive Index Number to quantify the phase delay per unit length in a waveguide, relative to the vacuum phase delay.
Efficiency The measure of the fraction of input energy converted into output energy.
EIU Abbreviation for electronic interface unit.
Elasto Optic Effect Change in an optical fiber's refractive index caused by variation of the fiber core length in response to a...
Electric CO Laser Electrical laser with carbon monoxide as the lasing material where lasing occurs in a partial inversion between adjacent, vibrational...
Electric Dichroism Spectroscopy Use of a krypton laser system for measuring small molecules aligned by an electric field and analyzing absorption of...
Electrical Length Length of a transmission medium expressed as multiple or submultiple of wavelength of a periodic electromagnetic or electrical signal.
Electro Absorption Modulated Laser Integration of a CW laser and EA modulator on the same semiconductor chip.
Electro Optic Deflection An effect where a birefringent prism deflects a light beam when the polarization is changed by voltage applied to...
Electro Optic Effect Phenomenon where a refractive index can be modified with an electrical field.
Electro Optic Modulators Optical modulator that is based on electro-optic effect.
Electro Optic Sampling Optical sampling technique that is based on electro-optic effect.
Electroabsorption Modulators A semiconductor diode reverse modulated in order to modulate light that passes through.
Electromagnetic Interference -EMI The disruption or unwanted response of an electrical device caused by another device's electromagnetic field in the radio frequency...
Electromagnetic Pulse Burst of electromagnetic radiation creating electric and magentic fields, which when coupled with an electrical system can produce damage...
Electromagnetic Radiation Waves of oscillating electrical and magnetic fields perpendicular to one another that travel at the speed of light.
Electromagnetic Spectrum A system that classifies all energy that moves harmonically at the velocity of light.
Electromagnetic Wave Propogated outward from an electric charge, this disturbance oscillates.
Electron Particle of matter that affectes electricity and electrical currents.
Electron Beam Electron stream emitted by a single source moving in the same direction at the same speed.
Electron Device A device where passage of electrons through a vacuum, gas or semiconductor is the primary means of conduction.
Electronic Band Edge The point where a short-wavelength transmission is cut off.
Electronic Dispersion Compensation The method for mitigating effects of chromatic dispersion in a fiber optic communication link with electronic components in the...
Electronically Controlled Coupling Use of an electric field or signal to couple a lightwave from one dielectric waveguide to another.
Electrostatic Lens Electrical distribution serving to influence an electron beam in the same way an optical lens affects a light beam.
Ellipticity Core or cladding may be ellitical instead of circular.
Embedded Laser A laser inside an enclosed device.
Emergent Ray A light ray leaving a medium in contrast to an entering or incident ray.
Emission A process where a body emit electromatic radition as a consequence of kinetic temperature.
Emissivity The ratio of radiation emitted by a surface to radiation emitted by a black body at the same termperature...
Emitter The active area or face of a light source.
Encapsulation The provision of end to end communication support using network protocol X across a network that supports protocol Y...
Enclosed Laser Device A laser, or laser system, within an enclosure to prevent dangerous optical radiation from leaving.
Enclosure A cabinet that organizes and encloses cable terminations and splices that is used within main equipment rooms, entrance facilities,...
Encoding A way to combine clock and data information into a self synchronizing stream of signals.
Encryption A process to translate a file into an unintelligible format using an algorithm or other encoding mechanism.
End Face The end of a ferrule, which is polished or finished to have a smooth end in order to minimize...
End Finish The optical quality of the surface at the end of a fiber.
End Fire Coupling A method of coupling for optical fibers or integrated optical circuits in which two waveguides butt up against one...
End of Bandwidth Data arrives out of order to time domain.
End Pumping A technique where a laser medium is optically pumped in a direction along the laser beam.
End Separation The distance between two joined fiber cables that causes an extrinsic loss depending on the joining hardware and method.
End Separation Loss Optical power loss caused by the distance between the end of a fiber and a source, detector or fiber.
End to End Loss Optical loss of a fiber optic cable data link path due to fiber optic cables, splices and connectors.
Energy Sharing Laser A laser distributing output power among two, three or four optical fibers at the same time.
Enhanced Pulsing A type of laser with high power at the beginning of its pulse.
Environmental Sealing Designed to keep contaminants like dirt or moisture out of a connector.
Epoxy A thermosetting resin to secure the fiber and the connector ferrule.
Epoxy Connector A type of fiber optic connector terminated to a cable using epoxy to perform the chemical bond.
Equilibrium Length The length of a multimode optical fiber necessary to attain equilibrium mode distribution.
Equilibrium Modal Distribution – EMD The length of a multimode optical fiber necessary to attain equilibrium mode distribution.
Equilibrium Mode Simulator A device or system used to create an approximation of equilibrium mode distribution.
Erbium A rare earth element sometimes used with fiber optics cables.
Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier – EDFA A fiber optic cable that amplifies 1550 NM optical signals when pumped with an external light source.Optical fibers doped...
Erbium Doped Gain Media Laser gain media doped with erbium ions.
Erbium Doped Waveguide Amplifier An optical amplifier similar to EDFA that derives a higher gain through a small waveguide rather than meters of...
Etalon Also known as a Fabry-Perot interfermeter, this device exploits the properties of interference between two adjacent, parallel surfaces.
Evanescent Field A time-varying field in a waveguide that has an amplitude that decreases monotonically as a function of transverse radial...
Evanescent Wave Guided light waves that extend beyond a fiber core into the cladding. These waves can transfer energy between waveguides.
Excess Loss The amount of light lost in a coupler beyond inherent loss due to splitting to multiple output fibers.
Excess Noise Factor A factor that indicates an increase in shot noise in an avalanche photodiode compared to the ideal noiseless multiplier.
Excimer Lasers Lasers with an optical amplification that occurs in a plasma containing excited dimers and an anti-binding electronic ground state.
Excited State An atom with an electron that is in a higher energy level than normal.
Excited State Absorption Parasitic absorption in laser pumping occuring at certain wavelengths, decreasing pump efficiency and gain.
Excitiation To energize a material into a state of population inversion.
External Cavity Diode Lasers A nonmonolithic diode laser with a laser cavity completed with external optical elements.
External Modulation The modulation of output of a light source by an external device.
Extinction Ratio The ratio of power of a plane-polarized beam transmitted through a polarizer placed in its path with the polarizing...
Extraction Tool A tool used to remove contacts from a connector.
Extramural Absorption Cement Cement that is used to reduce crosstalk in fiber optic bundles or plates.
Extrinsic Fiber Loss Optical fiber loss that is caused by the imperfect alignment of fibers in a connector or splice, often due...
Extrinsic Joint Loss The portion of a joint loss not intrinsic to the fibers, which may be caused by end separation, angular...
Extrinsic Loss Loss induced by an external source in an optical transmission system, caused by improper alignment of connectors or splices,...
Eye Safe Lasers Lasers with a wavelength emitting with lower hazards for the human eye.
Eye Safety, Laser A measure of how vulnerable the human eye is to damage from a particular laser source.
Fabry-Perot Cavity An optical resonator where feedback is achieved by two parallel planes. In diode lasers, these planes occur by cleaving,...
Fabry-Perot Etalon A nonabsorbing, multi reflecting device that is similar in design to a Fabry-Perot interferometer, serving as a multilayered, narrow...
Fabry-Perot Fringes The series of rings produced when monochromatic light passes through a Fabry-Perot cavity.
Fabry-Perot Laser A laser oscillator where two mirrors are separated by an amplifying medium with an inverted population, creating a Fabry-Perot...
FAC Abbreviation of Full Aperture Calibrator.
Face Pumped Laser A device that utilizes laser beams and slab geometry to internally compensate for thermal-optic distortion.
Facet The cleaved end mirror of a laser diode's active region.
Facet Erosion The degradation of facets in a laser diode due to radiation intensity.
Facilities A term used in telecommunication that refers to communication systems.
Failure Mode Analysis The examination of a failed laser diode to determine the cause of failure.
Fall Time The time required for a pulse's trailing edge to fall from 90 percent to 10 percent of its amplitude.
Fanout Cable Multi-fiber cable that is constructed in the tight buffered design for ease of connectorization and rugged applications; also known...
Far Infrared Laser A laser with output over a range of wavelengths spanning the far-infrared region of the spectrum (30 to 1000...
Faraday Effect A phenomenon that causes some materials to rotate the polarization of light in the presence of a magnetic field;...
Fast Axis The low end on the Refractive Index of a birefringent material.
FC Connectors FC (Fixed Connection) connectors are threaded optical connectors ideal for single mode or multimode fibers, and applications that require...
FC-PC A type of connector that is utilized for single mode cables.
Feedback A small portion of light in a laser oscillator that does not exit the oscillator through the output coupler.
Feedback Amplifier An amplifying device that returns a portion of its output to its input in order to modify the device's...
Ferrule A rigid precision tube, typically made of metal or ceramic, that is used to confine and support the stripped...
Fiber Any filament made of dielectric materials that guides light, regardless of whether it is used to transmit signals.
Fiber Axis The mechanical centerline through the core of an optical fiber.
Fiber Bandwidth The lowest frequency at which the magnitude of the fiber transfer function decreases.
Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) A perturbation of the Effective Refractive Index in the core of an optical fiber, which allows some wavelengths of...
Fiber Buffer A material used to protect an optical fiber or cable from physical damage; fabrication techniques include both tight jacket...
Fiber Bundle A rigid or flexible concentrated assembly of glass or plastic fibers used to transmit optical images or light.
Fiber Channel An industry-standard specification for computer channel communications over a fiber optic cable.
Fiber Cleaving A controlled fracture of an optical fiber along a crystalline plane which results in a smooth surface.
Fiber Core The inner portion of a fiber that transmits light.
Fiber Curl The amount of curvature over any specified length of optical fiber produced by thermal stresses from manufacturing.
Fiber Fuse A mechanism whereby the core of a single mode fiber can be destroyed at high optical power levels.
Fiber Grating An optical fiber in which the Refractive Index of the core varies periodically along its length. This grating scatters...
Fiber Identifier A device that clamps onto and bends a fiber in order to identify and detect high-speed traffic of an...
Fiber Lapping A method of optical fiber coupling where the fiber cores are exposed and placed together to allow light pulses...
Fiber Laser An alternative method of constructing a laser where the laser is built into the fiber itself.
Fiber Lens Fusing A method of terminating optical fibers by forming a lens directly on the end of the fiber which eliminates...
Fiber Loss The deterioration of the light signal in transmission through a fiber optic cable.
Fiber Optic Amplifiers An all-optical amplifier that uses doped fibers and pump lasers to increase signal output power without electronic conversion.
Fiber Optic Attenuators Devices that reduce signal power in fiber optic links by inducing a fixed or variable loss. Primarily used to...
Fiber Optic Cable Type of cable made of thin strands of glass used to transmit digital information. Typically has a smaller diameter...
Fiber Optic Cable Assembly A length of fiber optic cable that has been terminated with a connector, pigtail or other components; can utilize...
Fiber Optic Cable Connectors Hardware installed on fiber cable ends in order to provide attachment to a transmitter, receiver, or other cable; they...
Fiber Optic Cable Plant The combination of fiber optic cable sections, connectors, and splices that form the optical path between two terminal devices....
Fiber Optic Cable Splicing The act of connecting two fiber optic cables in order to form a continuous optical wavelength. There are two...
Fiber Optic Circulators Nonreciprocal devices that direct a light signal from one port to another via fiber optic line.
Fiber Optic Cleaver A device used to prepare fiber optic end faces; utilizes a cleaver's blade across the fiber to achieve a...
Fiber Optic Communication System A system that transfers modulated or unmodulated energy through fiber optic media to identical or different media.
Fiber Optic Coupler A fiber optic device with one or more input fibers and one or more output fibers that allows light...
Fiber Optic Devices Devices which can be implemented in a variety of industries and settings, such as the medical, defense/government, data storage,...
Fiber Optic Fault Locator Fault locators identify breaks, bends, faulty connectors, splices and other causes of signal loss within fibers by utilizing red...
Fiber Optic Field Flattener A plate consisting of fused optical fibers with a ground, polished, and curved surface entrance that matches the image...
Fiber Optic Filters Filters that allow only specific wavelengths to pass through into a larger fiber optic system.
Fiber Optic Gyroscope A coil of fiber that can detect rotation around its axis.
Fiber Optic Jumper Hardware that is used to interconnect transmission equipment to the fiber optic patch panel.
Fiber Optic Lightguide A bundle of fiber strands arranged randomly solely for the purpose of transmitting energy.
Fiber Optic Link The connection of a transmitter, receiver and fiber optic cable that allows the transmission of data; may be analog...
Fiber Optic Patch Cable A cable with connectors at both ends used to connect a piece of hardware to a patch panel or...
Fiber Optic Power Meter An instrument that measures the average power of a continuous light beam. These power meters are used to test...
Fiber Optic Receivers Instruments that convert light into electrical signals; they include a photodiode semiconductor, signal conditioning circuitry and an amplifier.
Fiber Optic Ribbon A coherent fiber optic bundle with a flat, rather than round, configuration that gives output in a line.
Fiber Optic Sensor Any device which utilizes variations in transmitted power or the rate of light transmission in optical fiber as the...
Fiber Optic Span A fiber optic cable terminated at both ends that may include devices that add, subtract or attenuate optical signals....
Fiber Optic Splitter A passive fiber optic coupler that divides light from a single fiber into two or more fiber channels.
Fiber Optic Subsystem A functional entity within a system that has defined bounds and interfaces. Typically contains solid-state and/or other components and...
Fiber Optic Termination Tool A tool that is implemented to terminate the end of a fiber so that it may be connected to...
Fiber Optic Test Procedure (FOTP) Standard test procedures developed and published by the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) under the EIA-RS 455 series of standards....
Fiber Optic Test Source A test that reviews the performance of a system by injecting light through the fibers.
Fiber Optic Transmitters and Receivers Transmitters are devices that include an LED or laser source that signal conditioning electronics to inject a signal into...
Fiber Optic Waveguide A relatively long strand of transparent substance, typically glass, capable of conducting an electromagnetic wave of optical wavelength. The...
Fiber Optics Commonly acronymized as FO, this branch of optical technology is concerned with the transmission of radiant power through fibers...
Fiber Patch A short cable used to connect circuits on a patch panel, or to connect computers and other network devices...
Fiber Test Equipment Equipment used for the testing, maintenance, restoration and inspection of fiber systems.
Fiber Tracer An instrument that couples visible light into the fiber to allow for visual checking of continuity and tracking for...
Fiberscope An optical instrument consisting of an objective lens, a coherent (typically flexible) fiber bundle, and an eyepiece to examine...
Field of View The solid angle through which an instrument is sensitive to radiation.
Figure Tolerance The allowable departure from a given figure or geometrical form; may be described in terms of fringes or wavelengths....
Figuring The process whereby the shape of an optical surface is altered by polishing.
Filled Cable A form of cable construction in which the cable core is filled with a gel material that will prevent...
Finesse A value for the transmission bandwidth for a Fabry-Perot Interferometer or etalon. This can be calculated as the ratio...
First Window The transmission window of approximately 830 to 850 nm for silica-based optical fibers.
Fixed Optical Attenuator A device utilized to reduce the power of light signals being transmitted through an optical fiber; they can be...
Flashlamp A device that converts stored electrical energy into light by means of a sudden electrical discharge.
Flashlamp Pumped Dye Laser A pulsed dye laser that provides excitation by means of a flashlamp.
Flat Ferrule A type of ferrule for a connector. The flat shape allows the whole ferrule face to make contact in...
Flat Polish A method of fiber polishing for an end that produces a flat end; flat polishes are never truly flat...
Flip Chip An optical switch that controls conduction paths into and out of a junction in fiber optic and integrated optical...
Flooding Compound A substance surrounding the buffer tubes of a fiber optic cable that prevents water intrusion into the interstices.
Flux Budges The optical power attenuation permitted between any two transceivers. This attenuation allowance is for optical connector losses, cable attenuation,...
Flux Rise Time Time elapsed during the radiant output change from 10-90% of the maximum in a light-emitting diode or laser. Typically...
FO7 A type of plastic fiber optic cable connector standardized in Japan.
Focal Plane The plane occupied by the detectors of instruments, such as the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), on which the...
Focal Point The point toward which light rays converge to form an image after passing through a lens.
FOTS An acronym for Fiber Optic Transmission System.
Four Wave Mixing (FWM) A nonlinearity common in DWDM systems where multiple wavelengths mix together to form new wavelengths called interfering products. FWM...
FOXI The title of a fiber optic transparent synchronous transmitter-receiver interface.
Frequency Division Multiplexing – FDM Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) is a method by which the available transmission frequency range is divided into narrower bands...
Frequency Response The change of gain with frequency.
Fresnel Reflection The reflection of a portion of the light incident on a planar interface between two homogenous media that have...
Fresnel Reflection Loss The loss of optical power due to Fresnel reflections.
Full Duplex A term used to describe a type of data transmission where transmitters and receivers simultaneously send and receive signals...
Fundamental Mode The lowest order mode of a waveguide; in optical fibers, the fundamental mode is designated as LP01 or HE11....
Furcation Tubing A protective tubing that protects exposed fiber; is commonly utilized in terminating multi-fiber cable or "fanout" situations and is...
Fused Coupler A method of making a single mode or multimode coupler by applying localized heat to fiber optic cables that...
Fused Fibers A bundle of fibers melted together in order to maintain a fixed alignment with respect to each other in...
Fusion Splice A splice that is accomplished by the application of localized heat sufficient to fuse or weld two lengths of...
FWHM Full width at half maximum (FWHM) is a calculation used to denote the width of a spectral emission.
Gap Loss The power loss that occurs when an optical signal is transferred from one fiber to another that it is...
Gap Loss Attenuator An optical attenuator that exploits the principle of gap loss to reduce the optical power level when inserted in-line...
Gateway An electronic device that allows for two different computers or networks to connect. Gateways provide a single source through...
Gauge A term used to denote the physical size of a wire.
Gaussian Beam A beam pattern used to approximate the distribution of energy in a fiber core; can also be used to...
Gaussian Curve The normal curve or normal distribution of an unfocused laser beam in its optimum mode; a Gaussian laser beam...
Gel A substance resembling petroleum jelly in viscosity that surrounds single or multiple fibers enclosed in a loose buffer tube....
Geostationary Orbit The revolutionary path traveled by a satellite in which the satellite travels in sync with the Earth; located directly...
Geostationary Satellite A satellite whose circular and direct orbit lies in the plane of the Earth.
GIS Mapping Fiber Optic Cable Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer system used to store, edit, analyze and display geographically referenced information. This...
Graded-Index (GI) Graded-Index (GI) is a type of fiber design in which the Refractive Index of the core is lower towards...
Graded-Index Profile Any refractive index profile that varies with radius in the core of a fiber.
Gradual Failure A failure in which the device characteristics change slowly; can range from hours to years; also referred to as...
Great Circle The intersection of a plane through the center of the Earth and the surface of the earth; the shortest...
Grommet A resilient elastomeric seal bonded to the rear of a connector designed with internal sealing barriers that grasp and...
Ground A conducting connection between an electrical circuit and the Earth, or other large conducting body, thus making a complete...
Ground Control Point (GCP) A geographic feature of a known location that is recognizable on images and can be used to determine geometric...
Ground Data Supporting data collected on the ground that aids in the interpretation of remotely sensed data. Ground data typically pertains...
Ground Loop Noise The noise produced when equipment is grounded at ground points that have different potentials and therefore create an unintended...
Group Delay The transit time required for optical power to travel a given distance; a given mode's group velocity in an...
Group Index The ratio for the velocity of light in a vacuum divided by the group velocity of the mode.
Group Velocity The velocity of propagation of an envelope produced when an electromagnetic wave is modulated by, or mixed with, other...
Guided Mode A mode in an optical waveguide whose field decays monotonically in the transverse direction external to the core, but...
Guided Ray A ray in an optical fiber that is confined primarily to the core; guided rays correspond to bound modes...
Half Duplex (HD) A communications system that can transmit in only a single direction; transmitters and receivers that send or receive on...
Half Power Point The value on either the leading or trailing edge of a laser pulse at which the power is one-half...
Hard Clad Silica (HCS) A type of optical fiber in which a silica core is surrounded by a hard polymer or similar material...
Hard Sheath Cable A cable or wire contained within a continuous inner or outer metallic sheath.
Hardware The computer equipment used to operate software programs. It consists of physically tactile items such as the computer case...
Harmonic Distortion Interference resulting from some type of harmonic signal; measured in decibels (dB).
Harmonic Frequency A frequency that appears as the result of a strong signal at a lower frequency.
Harmonic Mode Locking A type of mode locking that occurs when multiple ultrashort pulses are circulating in the laser resonator with constant...
Head End A central control device required within some LAN and MAN systems to provide centralized functions such as remodulation, retiming,...
Header A section at the beginning of a message that contains the destination, source address, message numbering and other information...
Heat Sink A substance or device used to dissipate or absorb unwanted heat from a manufacturing process, or from reflected rays...
Helium Neon Laser (HeNe Laser) The most commonly used gas laser; has an emission that is determined by virtue of a resonant transfer of...
HFC Network A telecommunication technology in which optical fiber and coaxial cable are used in different sections of the network to...
High Density Connector A connector whose pins are arranged close together without compromising system performance.
High Harmonic Generation A process that occurs when a very intense laser pulse, typically generated when a mode-locked laser and a regenerative...
High Loss Fiber A type of optical fiber in which the attenuation exceeds the normally acceptable level for long-haul or data communications...
High Power Fiber Optics High Power Fiber Optics encompass both fibers and lasers. The type of fiber optic cable that is used in...
High Power Laser A laser which may contain vastly different power levels depending upon the desired application; are smaller, more efficient and...
Higher Order Solitons A type of soliton pulse whose energy is higher than that of a fundamental soliton by a factor that...
Hockey Puck A polishing fixture used to facilitate the manual finishing of the end faces on certain types of fiber optic...
Hologram An interference pattern that is recorded on a high-resolution plate; two interfering beams formed by a coherent beam from...
Homerun A cable run that goes directly from a jack in a wall plate to a centralized position (patch panel)...
Homogeneous Broadening An increase in the linewidth of an atomic transition caused by effects that equally affect different radiating or absorbing...
Homogeneous Cladding A type of cladding in which the nominal refractive index is constant throughout; an optical fiber may have several...
Homogeneous Saturation The type of saturation that results from a strong light beam being amplified in a gain medium but the...
Horizontal Cabling The portion of telecommunications cabling that provides connectivity between the horizontal cross-connect and the work-area telecommunications outlet. The horizontal...
Horizontal Cross-Connect A cross-connect of horizontal cabling to other cabling, e.g., horizontal or backbone equipment.
Hot Plate A heat source used to produce a mirror finish on the end of a plastic fiber optic cable.
Hybrid Cable A type of cable designed to meet many requirements; most commonly will contain a mixture of twisted pair, coaxial...
Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) The use of fiber to distribute cable television signals to nodes, which in turn distributes them to homes over...
Hybrid Mode A mode consisting of components of both electrical and magnetic field vectors in the direction of propagation; in fiber...
Hybrid Network A LAN with a mixture of topologies and access methods, e.g., a network that includes both a token ring...
Hybrid Optical Integrated Circuit A device in which the various circuit elements are fabricated in different substrate materials and then appropriately joined together;...
Hydrogen Losses Increases in fiber connector attenuation that occur when hydrogen diffuses into the glass matrix and absorbs some light.
Hydroxyl Ion Absorption The absorption of electromagnetic waves, including the near-infrared, due to the presence of trapped hydroxyl ions resulting from water...
Hyper Raman Scattering A modified version of Raman scattering where the scattered light occurs at frequencies somewhat lower than twice the frequency...
ICAAS Acronym for Integrated Control in Avionics for Air Superiority.
IEEE Acronym for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Incident Angle The angle between an incident ray and a line perpendicular to an optical surface.
Incident Light A ray of light that falls on the surface of a lens or any other object.
Inclusion A foreign object present within an optical fiber or a crystal.
Incoherent Bundle A bundle of filaments of optical glass, or other transparent material, that transmits only light rather than optical images;...
Index Dip An undesired decrease in the Refractive Index at the center of the core of an optical fiber; an index...
Index Matching Fluid A liquid used to match the materials at the ends of two fibers in order to reduce loss and...
Index Matching Material A substance which has an Index of Refraction that closely approximates that of an optical fiber and is used...
Index of Refraction A measure of the speed of light in a material.
Index Profile The refractive index of a fiber as a function of a cross-section.
Industrial Fiber Optics Fiber optic cables that are manufactured to withstand a wide range of environmental stresses, including high/low temperatures, electromagnetic interference...
Infrared Emitting Diodes LEDs that emit infrared energy (830 nm or longer).
Infrared Fiber Colloquially, optical fibers with optimal transmission at wavelengths of 2µm or longer; made of materials other than silica glass....
Inhomogeneous Broadening An increase in the linewidth of an atomic transition caused by effects that act differently on different radiating or...
Inhomogeneous Saturation When a gain medium applies a strong laser beam, the gain is saturated, i.e., reduced to some extent. Under...
Injection Laser Diode (ILD) A solid-state semiconductor device consisting of a one p-n junction capable of emitting coherent stimulated radiation under specified conditions....
Injection Locking A technique to enforce the operation of a laser on a certain frequency by injecting light with that frequency...
Inline Amplifier An EDFA or other type of amplifier placed in a transmission line to strengthen the attenuated signal for transmission...
Input Selector Switch (A/B Switches) A switch used by cable customers to alternate between cable and over-the-air television reception through a cable box.
Insert The insulating core of the connector designed to position, retain, support and provide separation of contacts.
Insertion Loss The total optical power loss caused by the insertion of a component, such as a splice or connection, in...
Insertion Tool A tool used to insert contacts into a connector.
Inside Plant Telecommunications facilities located inside a building.
Inside Telephone Wiring The wiring for a residence that typically begins where the line enters the house.
Inspection hole A hole at the bottom of a contact wire barrel that permits visual inspection to ensure the wire has...
Instantaneous Field of View (IFOV) The solid angle through which a detector is sensitive to radiation; in a scanning system this refers to the...
Insulation A material with high-resistance to the flow of electric current; often called a dielectric.
Insulation Jacket The insulating material around a wire or cable.
INTC Abbreviation for Intercept.
Integrated Detector Preamplifier A single chip that contains a detector and an amplifier that converts optical signals to usable electrical output; a...
Integrated Optics A type of technology that aims to construct so-called integrated optical devices or photonic integrated circuits that contain several...
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) A digital phone line that can transmit data, video and voice; these lines are point-to-point connections from the telephone...
Integrating Spheres An optical device for various purposes, such as measuring the optical flux from a laser diode, light-emitting diode (LED)...
Intensity Power per unit of a solid angle.
Intensity Modulation A form of modulation in which the optical power output of a source is varied in accordance with some...
Intensity Noise An important type of noise in a light beam; can be measured by recording the measured intensity as a...
Interchannel Isolation The ability to prevent undesired optical energy from appearing in one signal path as a result of coupling from...
Interconnection The connection of one telecommunication carrier.
Interface The connection between a computer and the user; it can also be the connections required between computer systems so...
Interfacial Seal The sealing of mating connectors over the entire area of the interface and around each contact. This is accomplished...
Interference An optical effect that can occur when two or more light beams are superimposed; unwanted electrical signals or noise...
Interference Filter An optical filter that selectively transmits one wavelength and reflects others based on interference effects inside the structure; also...
Interferometer An instrument that employs the interference of light waves to measure the accuracy of optical surfaces; it can measure...
Interleaver An optical device that separates a series of optical channels so alternating wavelengths emerge from its two ports; the...
Interlocks A mechanism designed to increase laser safety by automatically switching off the laser or blocking the laser beam. Commercial...
Intermateable A connector from a manufacturer that may be intermixed and mated with another manufacturer's connectors.
Intermediate Frequency A frequency to which a carrier frequency is shifted as an intermediate step in transmission or reception.
Intermediate Reach (IR) An optical interface that refers to optical sections with system loss budgets from 0 to 12 dB; typical distances...
Intermodal Dispersion The time or arrival differences of signal between zero-order and highest-order modes.
Intermodulation A fiber nonlinearity mechanism caused by the power-dependent Refractive Index of glass that causes signals to beat together and...
Internal Calibrator (IC) A specific type of lamp-based calibration system carried onboard an imager in space for the purpose of monitoring radiometric...
International Record Carrier (IRC) A common carrier engaged in providing overseas telecommunications service. Services furnished traditionally include telex, private line service and alternate...
International Shortwave Broadcast Station A station that sends programs overseas either for direct reception by listeners abroad or for intermediate reception by overseas...
Internet A worldwide network of computer networks; is an interconnection of large and small networks around the globe. Beginning in...
Internet Protocol (IP) Standard packet-switched transmission format for the internet that uses variable-length packets.
Internet Service Provider (ISP) An ISP is an entity that provides commercial access to the internet; service can range in size from dial-up...
Intersatellite Link A message transmission circuit between two communication satellites, as opposed to a circuit between a single satellite and the...
Interstate Telecommunications between one state and another state.
Intracavity Laser Absorption Spectroscopy A type of laser spectroscopy technique for highly sensitive spectroscopic measurements. The substance to be evaluated is placed within...
Intramodal Dispersion The differences of index of refraction by wavelength.
Intramodal Distortion The distortion caused by dispersion in an optical fiber, such as material or profile dispersion of a given propagating...
Intranet An interconnected network within one organization that uses web technologies for the sharing of information internally, rather than worldwide;...
Intrastate Telecommunications within a state.
Intrinsic Joint Loss The power loss of nonidentical fibers joined by splice or a mated pair of connectors, that can be attributed...
Intrinsic Loss Loss due to inherent traits within the fiber, such as absorption, scattering and splice loss.
IP Address An identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network. Networks using the TCP/IP protocol route messages according...
IPT Acronym for Integrated Product Team.
IRCM Acronym for Infrared Countermeasures.
IRE Unit An arbitrary unit created by the Institute of Radio Engineers to describe the amplitude characteristic of a video signal.
irradiance The measure of radiant flux incident on a surface; is measured in units of power and has the dimensions...
Irradiation Exposure to radiant energy, such as heat, x-rays or light.
IRS Acronym for Inertial Reference System.
IRU Acronym for Inertial Reference Unit.
ISA Acronym for the Instrument Society of America; acronym for the International Standard Atmosphere.
Isarithm A line connecting points of equal quantity on a map; a contour line is an isarithm.
ISDN Acronym for Integrated Services Digital Network; a digital transmission standard using 144 Kbps containing two 64 kbps voice channels...
ISO Acronym for the International Standards Organization.
Isochronous A type of data transmission where timing is derived from the signal carrying the data; no timing or clock...
Isolation A measure of light at an undesired wavelength at any given port; also referred to as far-end crosstalk and...
ITE Acronym for the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
ITU Acronym for the International Telecommunications Union.
IUEW Acronym for the International Union of Electrical Workers.
IXC Acronym for interexchange carrier, a company that provides long-distance service.
Jacket The protective outer coating of a cable; typically made of nonmetallic materials such as PVC, PVDF or polypropylene.
Jacket Insulation The insulating material around a wire or cable.
Jitney A low-cost optical link.
Jitter Small rapid variations in a variable, such as waveform, due to either deliberate or accidental electrical or mechanical disturbances,...
Joule A measurement that is frequently given for laser output in pulsed operation; is measured as one watt per second....
Jumper Cable A type of fiber optic cable with connectors on both ends used for interconnecting other cables or testing; jumper...
Junction The intersection of three or more bundles from different directions in a harness assembly.
Junction Laser A semiconductor diode laser.
K Band A portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave region of frequencies ranging between 12 and 93 GHz; the...
Kbps Acronym for kilobits per second; there are 1,000 bits per second.
Kevlar E.I. DuPont's tradename for an Aramid yarn used as a strength member in the jacket of a fiber optic...
Ku Band The most popular type of satellite transmission for uplinking and downlinking. A KU band operates on a higher frequency...
Kuizenga Siegman theory A theory that predicts the durations of pulses from actively mode-locked lasers. This theory is a theoretical treatment that...
L Band The frequency between 390 MHz and 1.55 GHz which is used for satellite communications and for terrestrial communications between...
LAN Fiber A LAN fiber is a type of fiber cable used to connect devices to a LAN (local area network)....
Lanyard A sturdy wire that attaches to plugs of certain connectors which allows unmating and separation of plug and receptacle...
Large Core Fiber An optical fiber with a large core, often called a step-index fiber; large in this context is defined as...
Large Effective Area Fiber (LEAF) A type of optical fiber developed by Corning that is designed to have a large area in the core...
Large Mode Area Fibers Optical fibers with relatively large mode areas and either a single transverse mode or only a few modes.
Laser A laser is a cavity, with a plane or spherical mirrors at the ends, that is filled with viable...
Laser Beam A light beam that propagates dominantly in one direction.
Laser Chirp A phenomenon with lasers where the wavelength of the emitted light changes during modulation.
Laser Cooling A variety of techniques that are implemented to reduce the temperature of small particles.
Laser Crystals Transparent crystal with laser-active dopants; used as laser gain media.
Laser Diode (ILD) A semiconductor device that emits high-powered, coherent light when stimulated by an electrical current; used in transmitters for single...
Laser Diode Wavelengths Typical standard wavelengths for laser diodes are 1550 nm and 1310 nm. For WDM applications, laser diodes may be...
Laser Light A device that produces coherent light with a narrow range of wavelengths.
Laser Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation A device for producing light by emission of energy stored in a molecular or atomic system when stimulated by...
Laser Modulation The act of turning a laser on and off.
Laser Optimized Fiber Laser optimized multimode fiber (LOMMF) cable assemblies are assemblies designed to connect seamlessly with any multimode network, and also...
Laser Oscillation The buildup of the coherent wave between laser cavity end mirrors.
Laser Resonator A laser requires a laser resonator (or laser cavity) in which the laser radiation can circulate and pass a...
Lasing Threshold The lowest excitation level at which a laser's output is dominated by stimulated emission rather than spontaneous emission.
Latency The time interval between when a network station seeks access to a transmission channel and when access is granted...
Lateral Displacement Loss The loss of power that results from lateral displacement from optimum alignment between two fibers or between a fiber...
Lateral Offset Loss An analogous loss of optical power caused by lateral misalignment of the fiber and optical source.
Launch Angle The angle between the light input propagation vector and the optical axis of an optical fiber or fiber bundle.
Launch Cable A fiber optic jumper cable that is attached to a source and calibrated for output power that is used...
Launch Fiber An optical fiber that is used to couple and condition light from an optical source into an optical fiber;...
Lay Length Communications cables have the transmission media wrapped helically around a central member; the lay length is the total cable...
Layer In the OSI model, a layer is composed of processing functions that perform a number of functions in the...
LC Connector An LC (lucent connector) is a small form factor fiber optic connector; it uses a 1.25mm ceramic ferrule with...
Leaky Mode A type of mode with a field that decays monotonically for a finite distance in the transverse direction, but...
Leaky Ray A ray for which geometric optics would predict total internal reflection at the bounder between the core and the...
Lens A curved piece of optically transparent material that, depending on its shape, is used to either converge or diverge...
LEOS An acronym for Lasers & Electro-Optics Society (of IEEE).
LEX An acronym for local exchange; another term for central office.
LFR Acronym for low-frequency radio range.
LGS Acronym for Landsat Ground Station.
LI Curve The plot of optical output (L) as a function of current (I) which characterizes an electrical to optical converter....
Lifetime The length of time an electron can be expected to remain at a given energy level; the length of...
Light The visible spectrum that nominally covers the wavelength range of 400 nm to 740 nm.
Light Armor Cable A type of fiber optic cable assembly with ruggedized plastic jacketing that provides fiber protection in semi-harsh environmental, commercial...
Light Diffusion The scattering of light by reflection or transmission. Diffuse reflection results when light strikes an irregular surface, such as...
Light Dispersion The process whereby white light is separated into its component wavelengths; light beams of different wavelengths are separated from...
Light Emitting Diode (LED) A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when stimulated by an electrical current; they are...
Light Filter A homogenous optical medium or coating that transmits only in particular regions of a spectrum; is used to change...
Light Guide An optical fiber bundle.
Light Pipe A type of transparent matter that is typically drawn into a cylindrical, pyramidical or conical shape through which light...
Light Piping The use of fiber optic cables to illuminate.
Light Source The generic term applied to all sources of visible radiation, from burning matter to ionized vapors and lasers, regardless...
Light Transmitted Light that has traveled through a medium without being absorbed or scattered.
Lightguide Cable An optical fiber, multiple fiber or fiber bundle which includes a cable jacket and strength members that are fabricated...
Lightwave Data Communication A form of communication that utilizes fiber optic technology. Pulses of light transmitted over fiber will enable computer networks to...
Lightwaves Electromagnetic waves in the region of optical frequencies; the term "light" was originally restricted to radiation visible to the...
Line Scanner A scanning radiometer that uses a rotating or oscillating plane mirror to scan a path utilized by the movement...
Linear Quantizing The form of quantization occurs when the range of grey shades from maximum to minimum is divided into contiguous...
Linear Spatial Filter A linear spatial filter is typically used to change the spatial frequency characteristics of an image. For example, a...
Linearity The basic measurement of how well analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversions are performed.
Linewidth The range of wavelengths in an optical signal; is sometimes called spectral width.
Link A fiber optic cable with connectors attached to a transmitter (source) and receiver (detector).
Lip A defect in the cleaved end face of an optical fiber; has the form of a sharp protrusion at...
LLDPE Acronym for Linear Low-Density Polyethylene jacketing.
LOC Abbreviation for localizer beam.
Local Area Network (LAN) A Local Area Network (LAN) is a network of linked computers and/or peripherals (e.g., printers) that are confined to...
Locator A mechanical device attached to a crimp tool that is used to position different size contacts for crimping.
Long Wavelength A commonly used term for light in the 1300 to 1550 nm ranges.
Longitudinal Mode An optical waveguide with boundary conditions that are determined along the length of the optical cavity.
Longitudinal Shield A tape shield, which can be flat or corrugated, that is applied lengthwise with the axis of the core...
Loopback A type of diagnostic test in which the transmitted signal is returned to the sending device after passing through...
Loose Tube A protective tube that loosely surrounds a fiber optic cable that is filled with a water-blocking gel.
Loose Tube Buffering The containment of fiber or fibers within an outer protective tube in which the fibers have limited mobility; the...
Loss The amount of a signal's power that is lost in connectors, splices or fiber defects; is measured in dB....
Loss Budget The amount of power lost in a link; is often used to quantify the maximum amount of loss that...
Low Loss Fiber An optical fiber that transmits a greater percentage of input light than a high-loss step-index fiber. Low-loss fiber requires...
LSZH Acronym for Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH); is a type of cable primarily used for indoor applications that is...
Mach Zehnder Interferometer An optical device that separates a series of optical channels so alternating wavelengths emerge out of its two ports;...
Machine Vision The use of devices for optical non-contacting sensing to automatically receive and interpret an image of a real scene...
Macrobending Macrobending occurs when fiber is bent into a visible curvature. Macrobends are typically caused by incorrect installation and are...
Macrobending Loss Optical loss that occurs due to a large bend in the cable; larger bends (over approx. 3 inches) do...
Main Cross Connect The centralized portion of the backbone cabling used to mechanically terminate and administer the backbone cabling; this provides connectivity...
Mandrel Wrapping A technique used to modify the modal distribution of a propagating optical signal in multimode fiber optics; consists of...
Master Oscillator Fiber Amplifier A type of laser system consisting of a seed laser and a laser amplifier that boosts output power.
Mate The joining of two connectors.
Mated Pair A plug and receptacle joined together.
Material Dispersion The wavelength dependence of the velocity of propagation of the optical signal on the bulk material of which an...
Material Scattering A type of scattering of an electromagnetic wave that is attributable to the intrinsic properties of the material through...
MDI Acronym for Medium Dependent Interface; the mechanical and optical interface between the fiber optic medium and the MAU.
MDPE Acronym for Medium Density Polyethylene; a type of plastic material used to make cable jacketing.
Mechanical Splice A semi-permanent connection between two fibers made with an alignment device and index matching fluid or adhesive,
Mechanical Splicing The process of joining two fibers together by mechanical means to enable a continuous signal; elastomeric splicing is one...
Media Access Control (MAC) A token-passing protocol for FDDI networks; MAC controls the flow of data and acts as a switch.
Media Interface Connector (MIC) A mated connector pair that provides an attachment between an FDDI node and a fiber optic cable plant; the...
Medium Attachment Unit (MAU) The portion of the physical layer between the MDI and AUI that contains the electronics which send, receive and...
Medium Dependent Interface (MDI) The mechanical and optical interface between the fiber optic medium and the MAU.
Meridional Ray A ray that passes through the optical axis of an optical fiber.
Messenger Cable The linear supporting member of a suspended aerial cable; typically consists of a high-strength steel wire; the messenger may...
Microbend Modulated Sensor A type of fiber optic sensor that detects changes in pressure, vibration, sound level, or acceleration by monitoring the...
Microbending A sharp but microscopic curvature that creates local axial displacements of a few microns and spatial wavelength displacements of...
Microbending Loss A transmission loss that occurs in optical fibers caused by packaging processes; is considered a power-coupling effect from the...
Microscope Fiber Optic Inspection A microscope used to inspect the end surface of a connector for flaws and contamination, or a fiber for...
MIL Spec Abbreviation for Military Specification; MIL Spec connectors and cables are built in accordance with military specifications and requirements.
MIL-DTL-38999 The MIL-DTL-38999 is a fiber optic connector used for military applications. It's also referred to as a MIL-DTL-38999 Series...
MIL-STD Abbreviation for US Military Standard.
MIL-STD-2042B The MIL-STD-2042B is a standard that provides detailed methods for the installation and test of fiber optic cabling and...
MIL-T-29504 The military specification for for termini that can be used in conjunction with other connectors, including MIL-DTL-38999, MIL-C-28876, MIL-PRF-53526...
Minimum Bend Radius The radius below which an optical fiber should not be bent; if no minimum bend radius is specified, a...
Minimum Dispersion Window The window of an optical fiber at which material dispersion is very small.
Minimum Loss Window The transmission window at which the attenuation coefficient is at or near the theoretical (quantum-limited) minimum of an optical...
Misalignment Loss The loss of power resulting from angular misalignment, lateral displacement and end separation.
Modal Dispersion The temporal spreading of a pulse in an optical waveguide caused by modal effects.
Modal Distribution The number of modes supported and their propagating time differences in an optical waveguide operating at a given wavelength....
Modal Index A parameter determining the phase delay per unit length for propagation in a waveguide.
Modal Loss The loss of energy on the part of an electromagnetic wave due to obstacles outside the waveguide, abrupt changes...
Modal Noise Noise generated in an optical fiber system by the combination of mode-dependent optical losses and fluctuation in the distribution...
Mode An electromagnetic field distribution that satisfies theoretical requirements for propagation in a waveguide.
Mode Cleaner Cavities Optical cavities used as filters for improving the beam quality of laser beams.
Mode Cleaners Devices which can improve the beam quality of laser beams.
Mode Competition The phenomenon that occurs when different resonator modes experience laser amplification in the same gain medium, leading to cross-saturation...
Mode Coupling The exchange of power among modes in an optical waveguide.
Mode Field Diameter (MFD) The diameter of optical energy in a single mode fiber; the MFD is greater than the core diameter, so...
Mode Filter A device that removes optical power in higher order modes in a fiber.
Mode Hopping The phenomenon that occurs when a laser exhibits sudden jumps of optical frequency; these are associated with transitions between...
Mode Locked Diode Lasers Diode lasers that are actively, passively or hybrid mode-locked for generating ultrashort pulses.
Mode Locked Fiber Lasers Fiber lasers that are actively or passively mode-locked for generating ultrashort pulses.
Mode Mixing The numerous modes of a multifiber that differ in their propagation velocities; as long as they propagate independently of...
Mode Partition Noise Phase jitter of the signal caused by the combined effects of mode hopping in the optical source and intramodal...
Mode Scrambler A device that mixes optical power in fiber to achieve equal power distribution in all modes.
Mode Stripper A device that is used to strip the cladding modes from fiber.
Mode Volume The number of bound modes that an optical fiber is capable of supporting.
MT Connector A multifiber connector that houses up to 72 fibers in a single ferrule.
MTRJ Connector Acronym for Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack (MT-RJ); a fiber optic cable connector popular with small form factor devices due...
MU Connector A MU is a small form factor subscriber connector originally developed by NTT; it has the same push/pull style,...
Multi Quantum Well Laser A laser structure with a very thing (about 10 nm) layer of bulk semiconductor material sandwich between the two...
Multi User Dimension (MUD) A term that refers to users who connect to each other via a host computer.
Multiband System A system used for simultaneously recording electromagnetic radiation from the same scene in several bands coming from the same...
Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS) A service that uses omnidirectional microwave signals to deliver video programs to subscribers.
Multifiber Cable A type of fiber optic cable bearing many fibers independently sheathed and capable of carrying unrelated signals; they often...
Multifiber Joint A fiber optic connector or splice that mates two multifiber cables, optically aligning all of the individual fibers simultaneously....
Multimode A type of mode that transmits multiple modes of light.
Multimode Distortion The distortion resulting from a differential mode delay in an optical waveguide; axial rays will have the shortest transmission...
Multimode Fiber A type of fiber cable with a core diameter larger than the wavelength of light transmitted; this allows for...
Multimode Fiber A multimode fiber is an optical fiber that is designed to carry multiple light rays at the same time,...
Multimode Optical Waveguide An optical waveguide that will allow more than one bound mode to propagate.
Multiplexer A device that combines multiple communication circuits into one circuit.
Multiplexing The combination of two or more signals for transmission along a single wire, path or carrier; the combination of...
Multiplication Factor A term used to describe an avalanche photodiode; is defined as the ratio of the photocurrent in the avalanche...
NA Mismatch Loss The loss of power at a joint that occurs when the transmitting half has a NA greater than the...
Nanofibers Optical fibers with transverse dimensions below one micrometer.
Nanometer A unit of measurement; light wave frequencies are stated in nanometers.
Narcissus A defect in infrared systems that appears as a dark circular area on a displayed image caused by radiation...
Narrow Linewidth Lasers Single frequency lasers with a narrow optical emission spectrum.
National Electric Code (NEC) A safety standard published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and incorporated into OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health...
Near End Crosstalk The optical power reflected from one or more input ports back to another input port.
Near Field Region The close-in region of an antenna wherein the angular field distribution is dependent upon distance from the antenna; also...
Near Field Scanning A technique for measuring the refractive index profile of an optical fiber by using an extended source to illuminate...
Near Infrared (NIR) The preferred term for the shorter wavelengths in the infrared wavelengths in the infrared region; typically 700 nm to...
Network Architecture The structures and protocols of a computer network.
Network Interface Controllers Electronic circuitry that connects a workstation to a network.
Network Layer The third layer of the OSI model of data communications; it involves routing data messages through the network using...
Network Management The collection of processes, tools and methods necessary to design, install, operate and maintain a network.
Network Networking A group of computers connect in any way that allows data to be sent between them.
Network Topology The specific physical, logical, or virtual arrangement of the elements of a network; common network topologies include bus topology,...
Neutral Density Coating A coating that appears grey to the eye and has a flat absorption curve throughout the visible spectrum; metals...
Neutral Density Filter A light filter that decreases the intensity of the light without altering the relative spectral distribution of the energy;...
Nodal Points Nodal points are the two points where two external rays appear to intersect the axis when the rays pass...
Node A communication point usually comprised of communication devices; in terms of networks, a node refers to a processing location...
Noise Random unwanted electrical signals generated by circuit components or by natural disturbances; these make transmitted data inaccurate by introducing...
Noise Eaters Devices used for reducing the intensity noise of an optical beam by automatically adjusting the degere of power attenutation.
Noise Equivalent Power The radiant power that produces a signal-to-noise ratio of unity at the output of a given optical detector.
Noise Figure A measure for the amount of excess noise added in an amplifier.
Noise Measurement Units A series of terms used to express both weighted and unweighted circuit noise; noise measurement units vary based on...
Nominal A rough designation or an approximation.
Non-Dispersion Shifted Fiber The most popular type of single mode fiber; is designed to have a zero-dispersion wavelength near 13010 nm.
Non-Duplication Rules Restrictions placed on cable television systems which prohibit them from importing distant programming that is simultaneously available locally.
Non-Zero Dispersion Shifted Fiber A dispersion-shifted single mode fiber that has zero dispersion wavelength near the 1550 nm window, but outside the window...
Nonclassical Light Light with properties which can be explained only within quantum optics.
Noncritical Phase Matching A technique of phase matching which does not require a critical angular adjustment.
Nonlinear Crystal Materials Crystal materials exhibiting an optical nonlinearity.
Nonlinear Frequency Conversion The conversion of input light to light of other frequencies using optical nonlinearities.
Nonlinear Index A parameter for quantifying the Kerr nonlinearity of a medium.
Nonlinear Optics The part of optics that deals with optical nonlinearities and their applications.
Nonlinear Scattering The direct conversion of a photon from one wavelength or one or more other wavelengths.
Nonsystematic Distortion Geometric irregularities on images that are not constant and cannot be predicted from the characteristics of the imaging system.
Normal Dispersion Dispersion characterized by an increasing index of refraction in the medium as the frequency of the propagating light increases.
Numerical Aperture (NA) The sine of the vertex angle of the largest cone of meridional rays that can enter or leave an...
Nyquist Frequency The lowest sampling frequency that can be used for analog-to-digital conversion of a signal without resulting in significant aliasing....
Open Waveguide An all-dielectric waveguide in which electromagnetic waves are guided by a refractive index gradient so that the waves are...
Opti-Jack A rugged duplex connector designed uniquely around two ST-type ferrules in a package the size of a RJ_45; has...
Optic Cable A cable made of thin strands of pure glass over which digital information can be transmitted. An optic cable...
Optic Network A network, such as a WAN or LAN, where devices and network components are connected by fiber optic cable....
Optical Amplifier A device that amplifies light without converting it to an electrical signal.
Optical Axis (OA) The line that passes through both center curvatures of the optical surfaces of a lens.
Optical Bandpass The range of optical wavelengths which can be transmitted through a component.
Optical Bandpass Filter A filter that transmits light over a pre-determined band of wavelengths while rejecting all over wavelengths via absorption, radiation...
Optical Cable Assembly An optical cable that is connector terminated; generally terminated by a manufacturer and is ready for installation.
Optical Channel An optical wavelength band for wavelength division multiplexing optical communications.
Optical Channel Spacing The wavelength separation between adjacent words per minute channels.
Optical Channel Width The optical wavelength range of a channel.
Optical Chopper A device that controls transmission/blocking of light; these are widely used in optical devices such as optical memory units,...
Optical Circulator A non-reciprocal device that allows for the routing of light from one fiber to another based upon the direction...
Optical Clocks Time measurement devices based on optical frequency standards.
Optical Comparator An essential device required for constituting an optical communication system, or an optical measuring system where various instruments, apparatuses,...
Optical Connector A demountable device that attaches a cable or uncabled optical fiber to another; sometimes incorrectly referred to as a...
Optical Continuous Wave Reflectometer An instrument used to characterize a fiber optic link wherein an unmodulated signal is transmitted through the link and...
Optical Correlator A device that automatically recognizes or identifies the contents of an image by combining an incoming image with a...
Optical Data Storage (ODS) The storage of information via optical means, primarily employing a low-power laser to inscribe data on a photosensitive surface...
Optical Demultiplexer A device the separates two or more optical wavelengths from a single input or fiber into multiple fibers or...
Optical Directional Coupler A component used to combine and separate optical power.
Optical Disk A rigid medium, generally polycarbonate substrate coated with a reflective aluminum layer, that stores information as digital bits in...
Optical Fall Time The time interval for the falling edge of an optical pulse to transition from 90% to 10% of the...
Optical Fiber A thin filament of drawn or extruded glass or plastic that has a central core and a cladding of...
Optical Fiber Cable Link Segment A length of optical fiber cable that contains two optical fibers and one or more optical fiber cable sections...
Optical Fiber Conductive (OFC) OFC is the designation given by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to interior fiber optic cables that contain...
Optical Fiber Nonconductive (OFN) OFN is the designation given by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to interior fiber optic cables that contain...
Optical Fiber Nonconductive General Purpose (OFNG) A type of cable that must be resistant to the spread of fire and suitable for general-purpose use (with...
Optical Fiber Nonconductive Plenum (OFNP) OFNP is the designation given by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to interior fiber optic cables which contain...
Optical Fiber Nonconductive Plenum (OFNP) OFNP is the designation given by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to interior fiber optic cables which contain...
Optical Fiber Nonconductive Riser (OFNR) A type of fiber optic cable used in vertical shafts or in runs between floors; must have fire-resistant characteristics...
Optical Filter An optical fiber that attenuates light due to radiation or absorption in the fiber inside an optical information communications...
Optical Frequency Standards Frequency standards that use optical transitions in atoms, ions or molecules.
Optical Intensity Optical power per unit area.
Optical Interleaver A three-port fiber optic device that is used to combine two sets of multiplexing channels into a composite signal...
Optical Isolator A device that uses a short optical transmission path to accomplish electrical isolation between elements of a circuit.
Optical Junction Any physical interface in a fiber optic system.
Optical Launch Point The focal point coming out of a laser.
Optical Link Any optical transmission channel designed to connect two end terminals or to be connected in series with other channels....
Optical Link Loss Budget The range of optical loss over which a fiber optic link will operate and meet all specifications. This loss...
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