Article
Article
Photoelectric device
Article By:
Chapman, Richard A. Central Research Laboratory, Texas Instruments, Inc., Dallas, Texas.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.509800
A device which gives an electrical signal in response to visible, infrared, or ultraviolet radiation. They are often used in systems which sense objects or encoded data by a change in transmitted or reflected light. Photoelectric devices which generate a voltage can be used as solar cells to produce useful electric power. The operation of photoelectric devices is based on any of the several photoelectric effects in which the absorption of light quanta liberates electrons in or from the absorbing material. See also: Photovoltaic cell; Solar cell
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