Materials for Optoelectronics

Book excerpt: Optoelectronics ranks one of the highest increasing rates among the different industrial branches. This activity is closely related to devices which are themselves extremely dependent on materials. Indeed, the history of optoelectronic devices has been following closely that of the materials. KLUWER Academic Publishers has thus rightly identified "Materials for Optoelectronics" as a good opportunity for a book in the series entitled "Electronic Materials; Science and Technology". Although a sound background in solid state physics is recommended, the authors have confined their contribution to a graduate student level, and tried to define any concept they use, to render the book as a whole as self-consistent as possible. In the first section the basic aspects are developed. Here, three chapters consider semiconductor materials for optoelectronics under various aspects. Prof. G. E. Stillman begins with an introduction to the field from the point of view of the optoelectronic market. Then he describes how III-V materials, especially the Multi Quantum Structures meet the requirements of optoelectronic functions, including the support of microelectronics for optoelectronic integrated circuits. In chapter 2, Prof.