Tsang W.T. (Ed.) Lightwave Communications Technology: Integrated Optoelectronics

Academic Press, 1985. — 347 p. — (Series: Semiconductors and Semimetals, Volume 22, Part E). — ISBN: 0-12-752154-2.Since optical-fiber communications encompasses simultaneously several other technologies, which include the systems area of telecommunications and glass and semiconductor optoelectronics technologies, a tremendous amount of research has been conducted during the past twodecades. We shall attempt to summarize the accumulated knowledge in the present series of volumes of “Semiconductors and Semimetals” subtitled “Lightwave Communications Technology.” The series consists of seven volumes. Because of the subject matter, the first five volumes concern semiconductor optoelectronics technology and, therefore, will be covered in “Semiconductors and Semimetals.” The last two volumes, one on optical-fiber technology and the other on transmission systems, will be covered in the treatise “Optical Fiber Communications,” edited by Tingye Li and W.T. Tsang.Volume 22, Part A, devoted entirely to semiconductor growth technology, deals in detail with the various epitaxial growth techniques and materials defect characterization of III - V compound semiconductors. These include liquid-phase epitaxy, molecular beam epitaxy, atmospheric-pressure and low-pressure metallo-organic chemical vapor deposition, and halide and chloride transport vapor-phase deposition. Each technique is covered in a separate chapter. A chapter is also devoted to the treatment of materials defects in semiconductors.In Volume 22, Parts B and C, the preparation, characterization, properties, and applications of semiconductor current-injection lasers and light-emitting diodes covering the spectral range of 0.7 to 1.6 pm and above 2 pm are reviewed. Specifically, Volume 22, Part B, contains chapters on dynamic properties and subpicosecond-pulse mode locking, high-speed current modulation, and spectral properties of semiconductor lasers as well as dynamic single-frequency distributed feedback lasers and cleaved-coupled-cavity semiconductor lasers. Volume 22, Part C, consists of chapters on semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes. The chapters on semiconductor lasers consist of a review of laser structures and a comparison of their performances, schemes of transverse mode stabilization, functional reliability of semiconductor lasers as optical transmitters, and semiconductor lasers with wavelengths above 2 pm. The treatment of light-emitting diodes is covered in three separate chapters on light-emitting diode device design, its reliability, and its use as an optical source in lightwave transmission systems.
Volume 22, Parts B and C, should be considered as an integral treatment of semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes rather than as two separate volumes.Volume 22, Part D, is devoted exclusively to photodetector technology. It includes detailed treatments of the physics of avalanche photodiodes; avalanche photodiodes based on silicon, germanium, and I11 - V compound semiconductors; and phototransistors. A separate chapter discusses the sensitivity of avalanche photodetector receivers for high-bit-rate long-wave-length optical communications systems.Volume 22, Part E, is devoted to the area of integrated optoelectronics and other emerging applications of semiconductor devices. Detailed treatments of the principles and characteristics of integrable active and passive optical devices and the performance of integrated electronic and photonic devices are given. A chapter on the application of semiconductor lasers as optical amplifiers in lightwave transmission systems is also included as an example of the important new applications of semiconductor lasers.