Optoelectronics

Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices that interact with light, and thus is usually considered a sub-field of photonics. In this context, light often includes invisible forms of radiation such as gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet and infrared. Optoelectronic devices are electrical-to-optical or optical-to-electrical transducers, or instruments that use such devices in their operation. Electro-optics is often erroneously used as a synonym, but is in fact a wider branch of physics that deals with all interactions between light and electric fields, whether or not they form part of an electronic device.

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Optoelectronics is based on the quantum mechanical effects of light on semiconducting materials, sometimes in the presence of electric fields.

• Photoelectric or photovoltaic effect, used in:
  • photodiodes (including solar cells)
  • phototransistors
  • photomultipliers
  • integrated optical circuit (IOC) elements
• Photoconductivity, used in:
  • photoresistors
  • photoconductive camera tubes
  • charge-coupled imaging devices
• Stimulated emission, used in:
  • lasers
  • injection laser diodes
• Lossev effect, or radiative recombination, used in:
  • light-emitting diodes or LED
• Photoemissivity, used in
  • photoemissive camera tube

Important applications of optoelectronics include:

• Optocoupler
• optical fiber communications

See also

• Photovoltaic effect
• Photoemissivity
• Stimulated emission