Optical Detectors and Sensors

Detectors perform the opposite function of light emitters. They convert optical signals back into electrical impulses that are used by the receiving end of the fiber optic data, video, or audio link. The most common detector is the semiconductor photodiode, which produces current in response to incident light. Electro-optical sensors are electronic detectors that convert light, or a change in light, into an electronic signal. 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