EE 5391 / 7391:  Introduction to Optoelectronics

Term:  Fall 2005
Class Times:  MWF 1-1:50
Room:  112 Junkins
Textbook:  Fundamentals of Photonics, Saleh and Teich, Wiley Interscience.
Prerequisites:  Senior standing or permission of instructor
Course Objective:
To provide an introduction to the operating principles of optoelectronic devices used in various current and future information processing and transmission systems.  The emphasis is on the generation (via lasers) and detection of optical signals.
Grading:        20% Homework, 40% Tests (2), 15% Pop Quizzes, 25% Final Exam
Instructor:  
                    Dr. Marc P. Christensen
                    Office:  Junkins Room 317
                    Telephone:  x81407
                    Email:  mpc@engr.smu.edu
                    Office Hours:  M 3:30-4:30am, W 3:30-4:30pm, TH 2:00-3:00pm


Disability Accommodations: If you need academic accommodations for a disability, you must first contact Ms. Rebecca Marin, Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities (214-768-4563) to verify the disability and to establish eligibility for accommodations. Then you should schedule an appointment with the professor to make appropriate arrangements.  (See University Policy No. 2.4.)

Religious Observance: Religiously observant students wishing to be absent on holidays that require missing class should notify their professors in writing at the beginning of the semester, and should discuss with them, in advance, acceptable ways of making up any work missed because of the absence. (See University Policy No. 1.9.)

Excused Absences for University Extracurricular Activities: Students participating in an officially sanctioned, scheduled University extracurricular activity will be given the opportunity to make up class assignments or other graded assignments missed as a result of their participation. It is the responsibility of the student to make arrangements with the instructor prior to any missed scheduled examination or other missed assignment for making up the work. (University Undergraduate Catalogue)


Course Schedule (subject to change):
(or see an up to date detailed schedule here)

Week 1:

Background: Review of basic principles from ray, wave and electromagnetic optics, (Saleh, parts of Chapters 1, 2, 3,and 5.

Week 2:    

Basic Principles (continued) Optical wave representation, Interferometers.

 

Week 3:  

Optical Resonators:  Planar mirror resonators, modes of resonators, spherical mirror resonators, confinement, Gaussian beams (Saleh, Chapter 6, 9).

Weeks 4-5:    

Photons and Matter:  Energy levels, Interactions of photons and atoms, spontaneous and stimulated emission (Saleh, parts of Chapters 11 and 12).

Weeks 6-7:  

Lasers: gain mechanism, rate equations, laser oscillation theory, laser types (Saleh, Chapters 13 and 14).

Week 8-9:  

Photons in Semiconductors:  Review of semiconductor theory, energy band structure, materials, electrons and holes, junctions, interactions of photons with electrons and holes (Saleh, Chapter 15).

Weeks 10-11:

Semiconductor Photon Sources:  Light emitting diodes, Semiconducting Laser Amplifiers, Injection Lasers (Saleh, Chapter 16).

Weeks 12-13:

Semiconductor Photon Detectors:  Properties of Photodetectors, Photoconductors, Photodiodes, Avalanche Photodiodes, Noise Mechanisms, Signal-to-noise analysis (Saleh, Chapter 17).

Week 14:    

Special Topics: Electro-optics – Pockels and Kerr effects, Spatial Light modulators, Acousto-optics devices (Saleh, Chapters 18 and 20)