SC154 Quantum Well Devices for Optics and Optoelectronics

Tuesday, May 6, 1:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
David A. B. Miller; Stanford Univ., USA

Course Description
Semiconductor structures containing very thin “quantum well” layers have many special physical properties that allow high performance and/or novel optoelectronic devices. Most modern semi-conductor optoelectronic devices in III-V materials (e.g., GaAs, InGaAs) now rely on such structures. Applications include low-threshold laser diodes (both edge-emitting and surface emitting), high power laser diodes, quantum cascade lasers, optical modulators, laser modelockers, and various novel photodetectors, optical switches and other devices. Many of the devices are well suited for fabrication in arrays and for integration with other optical and electronic devices. Recent work also is promising for integration directly and monolithically with silicon electronics, using germanium quantum wells, for use in interconnects and telecommunications. This course will introduce the special physical principles behind quantum well devices and summarize the many current devices and their operating principles.

Benefits and Learning Objectives
This course should enable you to:

• Explain what quantum wells are and how they are made.
• Identify the basic physical principles of quantum confinement and quantum wells.
• Design quantum wells.
• Describe the special optical and optoelectronic properties of quantum wells.
• Explain the principles of quantum well optoelectronic devices, including lasers, modelockers (saturable absorbers), detectors and modulators.

Intended Audience
The course is intended for those interested in understanding how modern optoelectronic devices work, the range of applications, and the potential for novel or improved devices. The course is relatively self-contained. Some basic knowledge about optoelectronics, semiconductors or quantum mechanics is desirable, though not essential.

Instructor Biography
David A. B. Miller received a bachelor’s degree from St. Andrews University and a doctorate from Heriot-Watt University. He is currently the W. M. Keck Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University and the director of the Solid State Photonics Lab. His research interests include quantum-well optoelectronic and nanophotonic physics and devices, and fundamental applications of optics in information, sensing, switching and processing. He has published more than 250 scientific papers and holds 60 patents. Miller has served as a board member for both OSA and IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society (LEOS), and on various other society and conference committees. He was president of the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society in 1995. He was awarded the Adolph Lomb Medal and the R. W. Wood Prize from OSA, the International Prize in Optics from the International Commission for Optics, and the IEEE Third Millennium Medal. He is a fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh, OSA, APS and IEEE, and holds honorary degrees from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Heriot-Watt University.