Smaller size, higher levels of integration, enhanced performance and versatility of electronic products are increasingly demanding a combination of electronic and optical technologies. This is especially evident in recent inventions of compact; high-performance silicon-based photoreceivers consisting of a photodiode and an amplifier for applications in optical sensor and optical storage sectors.
There is also an explosive growth in CD/DVD systems with the ability to read 650nm and 780nm and recently 405nm for CDs, DVDs and high definition DVDs respectively.

Other popular consumer applications are diffused optical IR wireless indoor communication, automatic focus for cameras, LCD brightness adjustment, UV sensors and plastic fiber optical data links for automotive applications.