Semiconductor Photonic Device Fundamentals

Level: Introductory Length: 7 hours Format: In-Person Lecture Intended Audience: Aimed at managers, engineers, system designers, R&D personnel, and technicians working on components and sub-assemblies as well as systems. No formal mathematics or physics background is necessary. Description: Updated for 2020, this course presents the fundamentals of the operation of the broad range of semiconductor photonic devices used for light generation, modulation, manipulation, detection and application, covering the optical spectral region from UV, visible, IR, through terahertz (sub-mm). The course begins with a review of the basics of semiconductor materials, with emphasis on their electrical and photonic properties. Following a description of the motion of electrons and holes, photon absorption, generation and manipulation is reviewed. This leads into explanation of fundamental semiconductor device structures such as p-n junctions, Schottky barriers, quantum wells, wires and dots, Bragg reflectors, quantum cascade lasers as tunable coherent infrared sources, VCSELs, distributed feedback lasers, avalanching, tunneling and important photonic device effects. Current photonic device research as well as commercially available photonic devices and exciting new system applications including infrared spectroscopy using optical frequency combs will be explained. Course participants will gain an in-depth understanding of semiconductor photonic devices, their figures of merit, limitations, applications, and current research. Learning Outcomes: This course will enable you to: - identify what questions to ask device manufacturers - explain the device manufacturer’s data sheet content relevant to your application - explain the basic operating principles of semiconductor photonic devices - explain the operation of laser diodes, VCSELs, LEDs, OLEDs, quantum cascade lasers, light modulators, photodetectors, PIN and APDs, multi-quantum well and quantum dot structures, optical frequency combs, CCDs and image intensifiers. - explain the various device figures of merit and their limitations - specify device characteristics required for your system applications Instructor(s): Kurt J. Linden received a PhD in Electrical Engineering, with primary emphasis on semiconductor photonics. With over 45 years of practical experience in the design, development, manufacture, testing, and application of a broad range of semiconductor photonic devices and systems, he is a pioneer in the development of visible, infrared, and far-infrared (through terahertz) devices and is involved with their incorporation into operational systems. Dr. Linden has taught basic semiconductor physics and photonics courses at MIT, USPTO, Northeastern University, in-house technical personnel training and presents annual conference tutorials on photonics, received “best instructor” citations, and has served as an expert witness on this subject. He is currently a senior scientist at Vox Biomedical, where he applies the basic concepts of semiconductor photonics to biomedical instrumentation. Event: SPIE Photonics West 2015 Course Held: 08 February 2015