Category: Optic Sensor

Optic Sensor are a class of devices that use various forms of light–matter (i.e., photon–atom) interactions to detect, interrogate, and quantify molecules for multiple applications.

Optic Sensor 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.^[1] 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 increase or decreases the electrical output. An optical switch enables signals in optical fibers 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. Optical switches are optoelectronic devices that can be integrated with integrated or discrete microelectronic circuits.