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Optoelectronics
 
 
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Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic
Electronics

Electronics refers to the flow of charge through nonmetal electrical conductor , whereas electrical refers to the flow of charge through metal electrical conductor....
 devices that source, detect and control light
Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
, usually considered a sub-field of photonics
Photonics

Photonics is the science of generating, controlling, and detecting photons. This is particularly done in the visible spectrum and near-infrared spectrums of the electromagnetic spectrum but may also extend to the ultraviolet , long-wave infrared , and far-infrared/THz portions of the spectrum....
. In this context, light often includes invisible forms of radiation such as gamma ray
Gamma ray

Gamma rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation produced by atom particle interactions, such as electron-positron annihilation or radioactive decay....
s, X-ray
X-ray

X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 10 to 0.01 nanometers, corresponding to frequency in the range 30 Hertz to 30 Hertz and energies in the range 120 Electron volt to 120 keV....
s, ultraviolet
Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than x-rays, in the range 400 nanometer to 10 nm, and energies from 3 Electron volt to 124 eV....
 and infrared
Infrared

Infrared radiation is electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength is longer than that of visible light , but shorter than that of terahertz radiation and microwaves ....
, in addition to visible light. Optoelectronic devices are electrical-to-optical or optical-to-electrical transducer
Transducer

A transducer is a device, usually electricity, electronics, electro-mechanical, electromagnetic, photonic, or photovoltaic that converts one type of energy or physical attribute to another for various purposes including measurement or information transfer ....
s, or instruments that use such devices in their operation.






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Encyclopedia


Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic
Electronics

Electronics refers to the flow of charge through nonmetal electrical conductor , whereas electrical refers to the flow of charge through metal electrical conductor....
 devices that source, detect and control light
Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
, usually considered a sub-field of photonics
Photonics

Photonics is the science of generating, controlling, and detecting photons. This is particularly done in the visible spectrum and near-infrared spectrums of the electromagnetic spectrum but may also extend to the ultraviolet , long-wave infrared , and far-infrared/THz portions of the spectrum....
. In this context, light often includes invisible forms of radiation such as gamma ray
Gamma ray

Gamma rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation produced by atom particle interactions, such as electron-positron annihilation or radioactive decay....
s, X-ray
X-ray

X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 10 to 0.01 nanometers, corresponding to frequency in the range 30 Hertz to 30 Hertz and energies in the range 120 Electron volt to 120 keV....
s, ultraviolet
Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than x-rays, in the range 400 nanometer to 10 nm, and energies from 3 Electron volt to 124 eV....
 and infrared
Infrared

Infrared radiation is electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength is longer than that of visible light , but shorter than that of terahertz radiation and microwaves ....
, in addition to visible light. Optoelectronic devices are electrical-to-optical or optical-to-electrical transducer
Transducer

A transducer is a device, usually electricity, electronics, electro-mechanical, electromagnetic, photonic, or photovoltaic that converts one type of energy or physical attribute to another for various purposes including measurement or information transfer ....
s, or instruments that use such devices in their operation. Electro-optics
Electro-optics

Electro-optics is a branch of technology involving components, devices and systems which operate by modification of the optical properties of a material by an electric field....
 is often erroneously used as a synonym, but is in fact a wider branch of physics
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
 that deals with all interactions between light and electric field
Electric field

In physics, the space surrounding an electric charge or in the presence of a time-varying magnetic field has a property called an electric field ....
s, whether or not they form part of an electronic device.

Optoelectronics is based on the quantum mechanical
Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the microscopic scale . Notable amongst these principles are both a dual wave-like and particle-like behavior of matter and radiation, and prediction of probabilities in situations where classical physics predicts certaintie...
 effects of light
Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
 on semiconducting
Semiconductor

A semiconductor is a material that has electrical conductivity between those of a Electrical conductor and an electrical insulation; it can vary over that wide range either permanently or dynamically....
 materials, sometimes in the presence of electric field
Electric field

In physics, the space surrounding an electric charge or in the presence of a time-varying magnetic field has a property called an electric field ....
s.

  • Photoelectric or photovoltaic effect, used in:
    • photodiode
      Photodiode

      A photodiode is a type of photodetector capable of converting light into either electric current or voltage, depending upon the mode of operation....
      s (including solar cell
      Solar cell

      A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts sunlight directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Sometimes the term solar cell is reserved for devices intended specifically to capture energy from sunlight, while the term photovoltaic cell is used when the source is unspecified....
      s)
    • phototransistors
    • photomultiplier
      Photomultiplier

      Photomultiplier tubes , members of the class of vacuum tubes, and more specifically phototubes, are extremely sensitive detectors of light in the ultraviolet, visible light, and near-infrared ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum....
      s
    • integrated optical circuit (IOC) elements
  • Photoconductivity
    Photoconductivity

    Photoconductivity is an optical phenomenon and electrical phenomenon phenomenon in which a material becomes more electric conductance due to the absorption of electro-magnetic radiation such as visible light, ultraviolet light, infrared light, or gamma rays....
    , used in:
    • photoresistor
      Photoresistor

      A photoresistor or light dependent resistor or cadmium sulfide cell is a resistor whose electrical resistance decreases with increasing incident light intensity....
      s
    • photoconductive camera tubes
    • charge-coupled imaging devices
  • Stimulated emission
    Stimulated emission

    In optics, stimulated emission is the process by which an electron, perturbed by a photon having the correct energy, may drop to a lower energy level resulting in the creation of another photon....
    , used in:
    • injection laser diode
      Laser diode

      A laser diode is a laser where the active medium is a semiconductor similar to that found in a light-emitting diode. The most common and practical type of laser diode is formed from a p-n junction and powered by injected electric current....
      s
    • quantum cascade laser
      Quantum cascade laser

      Quantum cascade lasers are semiconductor lasers that emit in the mid- to far-infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and were first demonstrated by Jerome Faist, Federico Capasso, Deborah Sivco, Carlo Sirtori, Albert Hutchinson, and Alfred Cho at Bell Laboratories in 1994....
      s
  • Lossev effect, or radiative recombination, used in:
    • light-emitting diode
      Light-emitting diode

      A light-emitting diode , is an electronic light source. The LED was discovered in the early 20th century, and introduced as a practical electronic component in 1962....
      s or LED
  • Photoemissivity, used in
    • photoemissive camera tube


Important applications of optoelectronics include:
  • Optocoupler
  • optical fiber
    Optical fiber

    An optical fiber is a glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length. Fiber optics is the overlap of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers....
     communications
    Telecommunication

    Telecommunication is the assisted Transmission of Signal over a distance for the purpose of communication. In earlier times, this may have involved the use of smoke signals, Drum , Semaphore line, flag signals or heliograph....


See also

  • Photoemission
    Photoemission

    Photoemission may refer to:* Electron emission from matter after the absorption of energetic photons. .* Photon emission from semiconductors and metals when electrons flowing in the material lose energy by Bremsstrahlung or Carrier generation and recombination....
  • Photoemission spectroscopy
    Photoemission spectroscopy

    Photoemission Spectroscopy , also known as photoelectron spectroscopy, refers to energy measurement of electrons emitted from solids, gases or liquids by the photoelectric effect, in order to determine the binding energies of electrons in a substance....
  • Photoemissivity
  • Photovoltaic effect
  • Stimulated emission
    Stimulated emission

    In optics, stimulated emission is the process by which an electron, perturbed by a photon having the correct energy, may drop to a lower energy level resulting in the creation of another photon....


External links

  • Freeview video by the Vega Science Trust.