Meaning & use
photonic
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivebefore a nountechnicalphysics
Relating to photons, the tiny packets of light energy, or to technology that creates, controls or detects light for carrying information or power.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: photonic chips, not 'the chip is photonic' in most writing.
Patterns
- photonic device
- photonic technology
Engineers are building photonic chips that move data using light instead of electricity.
The lab's photonic research could make internet cables far faster.
A photonic sensor can detect a single particle of light.
Common combinations
- photonic chip
- The photonic chip processes signals at the speed of light.
- photonic crystal
- A photonic crystal can block certain colors of light.
- photonic computing
- Photonic computing promises lower energy use than silicon.
- integrated photonic circuit
- An integrated photonic circuit fits many components onto a tiny wafer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- optical
- Optical is the broader word for anything to do with light or sight, while photonic points to photons and light-based devices in particular.
- light-based
- Light-based is plain everyday wording and works in any context, whereas photonic sounds scientific.
- optoelectronic
- Optoelectronic describes devices that convert between light and electricity, so it is narrower than photonic.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: photonic or photogenic?
photonic vs photogenic
Photogenic means looking attractive in photographs. It is not a science word about light particles.
Practice
A company says its new ___ chip uses beams of light rather than electric current to move data.
Choose one answer.
Photonic refers to technology that uses light or photons. Electronic chips use electric current, and the other two refer to fluid pressure and magnetism.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “photonic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.