Perspectives In Optoelectronics

Optoelectronics is a rapidly expanding area of research and development. In years to come, it is destined to play a prime role in the growing information industry. The basic philosophy behind the new science and technology of optoelectronics is to create and develop photonic devices in which optical photons (light waves) instead of electronic carriers are manipulated for the conventional task performed by microelectronics. Due to the availability of large bandwidth at optical frequencies, the development of extremely cheap low-loss low-dispersion silica fibers for optical transmission, and the possibility of ultra-fast two-dimensional processing, the field of present-day microelectronics is moving steadily towards this new technology of optoelectronics and photonics. Major applications include optical communication, signal and image processing, information storage, optical computing, optical sensors for metrology and industrial control, and novel experiments in the basic sciences. This volume contains perspectives on different areas of optoelectronics, covering most of the topics of recent importance as well as topics with high potential for development in the future. The write-up for each topic not only discusses the most recent developments in the field, but also contains a tutorial section for graduate students. Apart from the inclusion of crucial and useful details of lasting importance, expert authors present overall views of the developments.