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An emitter is any device that emits, that gives off something. Usually, what is given off is energy or streams of particles.
In Starfleet technology, among the various kinds of emitters often used on starships and stations are:
- Phaser emitters - in modern times arrayed in banks along the hull and most often referred to as such, technically the part of the assembly from which the phaser beam starts is the emitter on any phaser weapon, be it starship-size or handheld
- Holographic emitters, emit both the photons and the force fields used to confine them to create the hologram, a special case is the Doctor's mobile emitter, which is able to be fixed to its own projection (as evidenced by the Doctor wearing it)
- Navigational deflector - emits the navigational shields that protect the ship from spaceborne debris (at normal impulse velocities, a fist-sized rock has enough kinetic energy to blow a hole the entire length of the starship, hence the need for deflectors), also may be reconfigured or jury-rigged to emit a vast variety of particle and energy beams and fields. The emitter is the deflector dish and the related assembly where the beams and fields are created.
- shield emitters - these emit the particles/energy required to create the shields around the ship. When they are damaged, parts of the ship or its entirety may be left unshielded.