charge-coupled device (redirected from CCD imager)

CCD

 in full charge-coupled device

Semiconductor device in which the individual semiconductor components are connected so that the electrical charge at the output of one device provides the input to the next device. Because they can store electrical charges, CCDs can be used as memory devices, but they are slower than RAMs. CCDs are sensitive to light, and are therefore used as the light-detecting components in video and digital cameras and in optical scanners.

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charge-coupled device [′chärj ¦kəp·əld di′vīs]

(electronics)

A semiconductor device wherein minority charge is stored in a spatially defined depletion region (potential well) at the surface of a semiconductor and is moved about the surface by transferring this charge to similar adjacent wells. Abbreviated CCD.

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(electronics)

charge-coupled device - (CCD) A semiconductor technology used to build light-sensitive electronic devices such as cameras and image scanners. CCDs can be made to detect either colour or black-and-white. Each CCD chip consists of an array of light-sensitive photocells. The photocell is sensitised by giving it an electrical charge prior to exposure.