charge-coupled device

American  

[chahrj-kuhp-uhld] / ˈtʃɑrdʒˌkʌp əld /

noun

Electronics.

1. a semiconductor chip with a grid of light-sensitive elements, used for converting light images, as in a television camera, into electrical signals. CCD

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charge-coupled device British  

noun

1.  CCD.  computing an electronic device, used in imaging and signal processing, in which information is represented as packets of electric charge that are stored in an array of tiny closely spaced capacitors and can be moved from one capacitor to another in a controlled way

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charge-coupled device Scientific  

1. A device made up of semiconductors arranged in such a way that the electric charge output of one semiconductor charges an adjacent one.

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Etymology

Origin of charge-coupled device

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

The invention of the charge-coupled device in 1969 meant that images could be captured on a silicon chip: photography had entered the digital realm.

From Nature • Nov. 4, 2019

Many previous attempts to make compound eyes focused light from multiple lenses onto a flat chip, such as the charge-coupled device chips in digital cameras.

From Science Magazine • May 1, 2013

The results were tremendous, both scientifically and commercially—the invention of the charge-coupled device and the laser, as well as vital contributions to computing, satellite communications, semiconductors, and wireless technologies.

From Slate • May 18, 2012

The "eye" now most probably is a charge-coupled device, the same electronic "film" that makes home video cameras work -- except this electronic film is of extraordinary sensitivity.

From Time Magazine Archive