Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.
Concept
Electro-optical sensor
Summary
Electro-optical sensors are electronic detectors that convert light, or a change in light, into an electronic signal. These sensors are able to detect electromagnetic radiation from the infrared up to the ultraviolet wavelengths. They are used in many industrial and consumer applications, for example:
Lamps that turn on automatically in response to darkness
Position sensors that activate when an object interrupts a light beam
Flash detection, to synchronize one photographic flash to another
Photoelectric sensors that detect the distance, absence, or presence of an object
An optical sensor converts light rays into electronic signals. It measures the physical quantity of light and then translates it into a form that is readable by an instrument. An optical sensor is generally part of a larger system that integrates a source of light, a measuring device and the optical sensor. This is often connected to an electrical trigger. The trigger reacts to a change in the signal within the light sensor. An optical sensor can measure the changes from one or several light beams. When a change occurs, the light sensor operates as a photoelectric trigger and therefore either increases or decreases the electrical output.
An optical switch enables signals in optical fibres or integrated optical circuits to be switched selectively from one circuit to another. An optical switch can operate by mechanical means or by electro-optic effects, magneto-optic effects as well as by other methods.
There are many different kinds of optical sensors, the most common types are:
Photoconductive devices convert a change of incident light into a change of resistance.
Photovoltaics, commonly known as solar cells, convert an amount of incident light into an output voltage.
Photodiodes convert an amount of incident light into an output current.
Phototransistors are a type of bipolar transistor where the base-collector junction is exposed to light. This results in the same behaviour of a photodiode, but with an internal gain.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.