A wider vision of optoelectronics

The author points out that optoelectronics has a far wider meaning and applications than optical communications. The technology of storing, displaying and printing images is in the domain of optoelectronics. The author describes the technology involved in these three areas. The images are stored on disc. They are encoded in the form of 1 μm marks which are created by using a laser. The different types of display, how they work, and the prospects for each type of screen are discussed. This area is the one that presents the biggest challenge to the optoelectronics industry. The different types of printer are briefly reviewed and the D2T2 (dye diffusion thermal transfer) printer described in more detail