Charge-Coupled Device

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What Does Charge-Coupled Device Mean?

A charge-coupled device (CCD) is an integrated circuit that controls the movement of electrical charges in order to generate specific results. This device is widely used in modern solid-state technologies and other types of hardware manufacturing, where electrical charges are critically important for nanoscale or small-scale results.

Techopedia Explains Charge-Coupled Device

The idea of a CCD can be traced back to the late 1960s when the staff of AT&T Bell Laboratories worked on devices similar to semiconductors.

Today, CCDs are widely used in other devices. Many of them work by directing electrical charges at an atomic level, like in solid-state design where "doping" materials with chemicals help to manipulate the positioning of electrons. Other devices such as digital cameras make use of CCDs to provide better and more agile products than those previously available on the market.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.