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Definition: the technology of electronic devices that interact with light
Optoelectronics (also called optronics) is the technology of electronic devices that interact with light, which may be in the visible, the infrared or ultraviolet spectral region. Examples of optoelectronic devices are:
- semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes (LEDs), converting electrical energy to light
- photodetectors (e.g. photodiodes), converting optical signals into electrical currents
- electro-optic modulators, used for manipulating the power, phase or polarization of light with an electrical control signal
- electroabsorption modulators and acousto-optic modulators
- photonic integrated circuits, hosting electrical and optical components on some kind of chip (see also: silicon photonics)
Optoelectronic devices are used in a wide variety of application areas, such as optical fiber communications, laser technology, and all kinds of optical metrology.
See also: quantum electronics, laser physics, silicon photonics
