Introducing Wooptix’s glossary
Building a road to explore the world of wavefront sensing
Navigating the field of wavefront sensing can be a daunting task. One must fare a sea of terminology, from those that scientific professionals use to tackle their work, to the metrics that allow us to measure results, as well as the components that make up the machines that allow us to do this work in the first place.
Wooptix has taken the initiative to build a glossary for everyone, no matter if they’re scientific professionals, investors, or enthusiasts. Our goal is to ensure that there are no limits to explore the possibilities of wavefront sensing.
Aberration:
In an optical system, any deviation from perfection that comes from a warped bending of the light rays that form the image.
Algorithm:
Set of instructions given to a computer that allow it to calculate the answer to a problem or make a prediction based on prior data.
Accuracy:
Reference to how close a measurement is to the true value for that same measurement.
Adaptive Optics:
Method that combines a wavefront sensor with a tool that can change the wavefront shape to correct distortions, such as a deformable mirror or a spatial light modulator. Used to manipulate the received light to achieve a clearer image.
ASML:
Dutch multinational corporation that specializes in the development and manufacturing of photolithography machines
Bare wafer:
Alternative way to refer to blank wafers
Beam splitter:
Devices for splitting a light beam into two or more beams
Blank wafer:
A circular and extremely thin slice of polished semiconductor material that has yet to go through the chip manufacturing processes.
Bonded wafer:
Wafers that have gone through the wafer bonding process. They are the result of attaching two or more wafers to one another
Carbon footprint:
A measure of the amount of greenhouse gases produced by the various activities carried out by an individual, a community or an organization
CCD:
Abbreviation for charge–coupled device. A highly sensitive and silicon-based photon detector where each individual component, or pixel, is connected so that the electrical charge at the output of one of them provides the input for the next one.
Cell (solar panels):
Device that directly converts the energy of light into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. They are the units that together make up a solar panel
Characterization:
The act of determining the attributes of an object of interest, so that it’s clearly distinguishable from others.
Chip:
Small piece of semiconductor material holding several integrated circuits that allow electronic devices to perform numerous functions.
Circuit:
The complete path that an electric current follows
Climate change:
Predictable changes in the Earth’s climate caused by human action resulting in the greenhouse effect and global warming
CMOS:
Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor. Onboard battery-powered chip that stores information and helps regulate the flow of electricity. CMOS sensors contain several transistors in each photodiode that allow the charge to be directly processed in the spot.
CMP:
Abbreviation of chemical-mechanical polishing. Fabrication technique that uses chemical oxidation and mechanical abrasion to remove material from the bare wafer and achieve a high level of polish
Collimated light:
Light beams where every ray that compose them are parallel to each other. Because of this, collimated beams have minimal spread as they propagate
Collimator:
Device used to change incoming light into a collimated beam
Conductor:
In physics and electrical engineering, a material that conducts electricity
Contrast:
In a digital image, how well black can be distinguished from white at a given resolution
Data point:
Small unit of information about a subject at one point in time, at the data collection level
Deformable mirror:
A mirror that changes its surface shape when an outside control signal is applied. It’s widely used in astronomy, and its main function is to correct a distorted wavefront to retrieve a clear image
Delta shape (Δw):
Regarding semiconductor wafers, the changes in their shape over a period of time
Depth of Field:
A lens’ capability to maintain a certain image quality without refocusing, if the object’s position is moved away from the place of best focus.
Depth of Focus:
Measure of how much a sensor can tolerate movements, such as tip and tilt, and their impact on the quality of focus over a static object.
Detector:
One of the key components of a wavefront sensor, that captures the focused lightwave and its information. It’s typically a CCD or CMOS sensor
Development kit:
Version of a functioning commercial device that, while still in its development stage, is available for early purchase with the tools, software and documentation of its final release.
Diode:
Device that controls an electric current so that it can only flow in one direction
Distortion map:
A graphic that indicates the density of deformities present in a wafer’s surface. It uses a collection of colors to inform how many deformities are in an area
Efficiency:
Ability to achieve the desired results with the least amount of resources
ETL:
Short for Electrically Tunable Lens. Liquid lenses that can change their shape when receiving an electrical input. This enables them to quickly change their shape for quick focusing and to capture images within milliseconds
Fab:
Common abbreviation for semiconductor fabrication plant or factory.
Focal point:
In optics, the point where a collection of light rays converge on, or diverge from
FPS:
Abbreviation of Frames Per Second
Frame:
One of the single images that together form a video
Frits Zernike:
Dutch physicist that won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Physics for the invention of the phase-contrast microscope
Global warming:
The phenomenon of increasing average air temperature near the surface of the Earth over the past one to two centuries
Gram staining:
Microbiological staining technique used to identify and characterize bacteria. It stains bacteria in purple, red or pink, allowing to study and classify them
Greenhouse effect:
Process through which heat is trapped near the Earth’s surfaces due to the increase in the amount of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere
IAC:
Instituto Astronómico de Canarias (Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute). Public research center that manages the Teide Observatory, and the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory
Image distortion:
Type of aberration. Geometric image deformations that make straight lines appear as curves in an image
Image processing:
Collection of computational techniques for analyzing, enhancing, altering, compressing and reconstructing images
Imaging:
The act of converting information obtained through a variety of methods into images
Insulator:
Material that blocks or retards the flow of electrical currents
Integrated circuits:
Collection of paths etched on a surface for electricity to follow
Intensity:
Optical power per unit area
Intensity images:
Images that capture the value of the intensity present in the different regions inside of the picture
Interference:
Range of effects that can happen when two or more light beams combine
Interferometer:
Device used in interferometry to study the superposition of two or more light beams
Interferometry:
Technique that combines two light beams to study the differences between them and extract information about an object of interest. Interferometry allows to make extremely small measurements and detect anomalies by using one of the beams as a point of reference to compare the other with. The reference beam indicates how light propagates when there’s no obstacles on its path
IPD predictions:
Abbreviation of In-Plane Distortion predictions. Method used to detect a surface’s degree of elevation and avoid overlapping errors during the lithography processes of a silicon wafer
Laser:
Electronic device that greatly amplifies a monochromatic and coherent lightfield through induced emission
Laser measurement:
The act of measuring or characterizing laser beams to ensure they’re performing within the desired parameters
LED:
Abbreviation for light-emitting diode. Semiconductor diode that emits light when voltage is applied
Lens:
Transparent object used in optical instruments to bend the trajectory of light rays to form images
Lenslet Array:
One of the key components within Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. A grid of very small lenses that focuses the light captured by the sensor into the detector
Nanotopography:
The collection of a surface’s features present at the nanoscopic scale (1-100nm)
Sub-nanometer:
Dimension of length below the mark of 1 nanometer
Optical metrology:
The field science and technology that uses light to make measurements