optischeelektronische

Optical electronics, also known as opto-electronics, is a field that merges optics and electronics to detect, generate, modulate, and process light signals. It covers devices and systems that convert optical energy into electrical signals and electrical signals into optical energy, enabling communication, sensing and imaging across a wide range of applications.

Key components include photodetectors such as photodiodes, avalanche photodiodes and phototransistors; light sources such as LEDs and laser diodes; and optocouplers, which provide electrical isolation between circuits via optical signals. Imaging sensors like CCD and CMOS devices convert light into electronic charge for image formation. In communication, fiber-optic transmitters and receivers, modulators and demodulators, and photonic integrated circuits convert and route data with high speed and bandwidth. Silicon photonics increasingly integrates optical functions on a common silicon substrate, combining waveguides, detectors and electronics.

Materials commonly used are silicon and germanium for mainstream electronics, III–V semiconductors such as GaAs and InP for high-speed or optically active components, and emerging materials for specialized applications. System design often involves co-optimization of optical performance, electronic processing, packaging, and thermal management.

Applications span telecommunications and data centers, consumer imaging and sensing devices, medical instrumentation, environmental monitoring, and industrial automation.

History and development date to mid-20th century advances in p-n junctions, LEDs, and laser diodes, followed by the growth of optocouplers and fiber-optic communication, with a modern emphasis on integrated opto-electronic and silicon-photonic solutions.