ECE6771 Course Syllabus

ECE6771

Optoelectronics: Materials, Processes, Devices (3-0-3)

Prerequisites

None

Corequisites

None

Catalog Description

Optoelectronic materials, physical processes, and devices. Includes compound semiconductor materials, excitation, recombination, gain, and modulation processes and devices such as emitters, detectors, and modulators. Crosslisted with PHYS 6771.

Textbook(s)

Bhattacharya, Semiconductor Optoelectronic Devices (2nd edition), Prentice Hall, 1997. ISBN 9780134956565 (required)

Topical Outline

Review of Bulk Semiconductor Electronic Properties
     Material Composition
     Crystal Growth and Device Processing
     Bandstructure, Statistics, Carrier Transport
Bulk Semiconductor Optoelectronic Properties
     Generation-recombination mechanisms
     Impact ionization
     Optical absorption (including with electric fields)
     Spontaneous and stimulated emission, and gain
Junction and Heterostructures
     Homojunctions
     Heterojunctions
     MS and MIS junction
Quantum Confinement
     Quantum wells
     Superlattices and minibands
     Optical properties of quantum heterostructures
Characterization of Optoelectronic Structures
     Characterization methods for macro-structures
     Characterization methods for quantum structures
Photodetectors
     Basic photonic detection
     Photoconductors
     Junction photodiodes
     Advanced photodiodes
     Photodetector comparisons: responsivity, gain, bandwidth, noise
Emitters
     Light emitting diodes
     Advanced spontaneous emitters
     Review of laser operation: gain + cavity resonance
     Homojunction and heterojunction lasers
     Quantum well and multiple quantum well lasers
     Advanced emitters
     Emitter comparisons: I-V, L-I, bandwidth, linewidth, linearity, 
        temperature sensitivity 
Modulators
     Analog and digital modulation
     Electroabsorption and electrorefraction devices
     Acousto-optic and electro-optic devices
     Quantum confined Stark effect devices (including SEED)
     Liquid crystal modulators
     Modulator comparisons: operational bandwidth, speed, contrast 
        ratio, switching energy, temperature sensitivity