Optoelectronics

Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices that source, detect and control light, 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, in addition to visible light. 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 a wider branch of physics that concerns all interactions between light and electric fields, whether or not they form part of an electronic device.
Optoelectronics is based on the quantum mechanical effects of light on electronic materials, especially semiconductors, sometimes in the presence of electric fields


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

Important applications of optoelectronics include:

    Optocoupler
    Optical fiber communications