optronics

Optronics is a field that combines optical and electronic components and systems. It encompasses devices and technologies that convert electrical signals into light and light back into electrical signals, as well as the integration of optical functions with electronic processing. The term is often used interchangeably with optoelectronics or photonics, though some contexts emphasize system-level engineering and manufacturing of optoelectronic devices.

Key devices include light sources (LEDs and laser diodes), detectors (photodiodes and avalanche photodiodes), modulators, waveguides, and optical sensors, as well as imaging devices such as image sensors. The field also covers optical communication components such as transmitters, receivers, and photonic integrated circuits, as well as solar cells and display technologies that combine light emission, detection, and electronics.

Materials and integration: Optronics relies on semiconductor materials such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), and silicon, with silicon photonics enabling the integration of optical components with CMOS electronics on a single chip. Technologies include waveguides, fibers, modulators, detectors, and packaging challenges. Applications span telecommunications, data centers, consumer electronics, medical devices, automotive sensing, and industrial instrumentation.

History and context: Optronics emerged from advances in semiconductor diodes and laser technology in the mid-20th century and expanded with fiber-optic communications and digital imaging. It now underpins advances in high-speed data transmission, imaging sensors, 3D sensing, LiDAR, and various professional and consumer applications, with ongoing research into more integrated and efficient optoelectronic systems.