Picosecond Electronics And Optoelectronics

Over the past five years, there has been an enormous increase in the inter est in and understanding of electronic and optoelectronic devices operating in the picosecond (multigigahertz) range. This has been fueled in a sig nificant way by the spectacular advances in picosecond laser technology, electro optic sampling, III-V devices, and wideband fiber optic systems. Partly to address these advances, a new conference jointly sponsored by the IEEE Lasers and Electrooptics Society (IEEE (LEOS)) and the Op tical Society of America (OSA) was founded and its first meeting held in March 1985. The purpose of this meeting was to bring together work ers in the areas of electronics and optoelectronics who share a common interest in the physics and technology of picosecond solid-state electronic and optoelectronic devices, their multigigahertz applications, and ultrafast measurement techniques. Emphasis was placed on the interdisciplinary as pects of these areas, since each area is covered by its own topical meeting. This meeting was quite successful and led to a second meeting, of which this volume forms the proceedings.

Over the past decade, we have witnessed a number of spectacular advances in the fabrication of crystalline semiconductor devices due mainly to the pro gress of the different techni ques of heteroepitaxy. The di scovery of two dimensional behavior of electrons led to the development of a new breed of ultrafast electronic and optical devices, such as modulation doped FETs, permeable base transistors, and double heterojunction transistors. Comparable progress has been made in the domain of cryoelectronics, ultrashort pulse generation, and ultrafast diagnostics. Dye lasers can generate 8 fs signals after compression, diode lasers can be modulated at speeds close to 20 GHz and electrical signals are characterized with subpicosecond accuracy via the electro-optic effect. Presently, we are experiencing an important interplay between the field of optics and electronics; the purpose of this meeting was to foster and enhance the interaction between the two disciplines. It was logical to start the conference by presenting to the two different audiences, i. e. , electronics and optics, the state-of-the-art in the two res pective fields and to highlight the importance of optical techniques in the analysis of physical processes and device performances. One of the leading techniques in this area is the electro-optic sampling technique. This optical technique has been used to characterize transmission lines and GaAs devices. Carrier transport in semiconductors is of fundamental importance and some of its important aspects are stressed in these proceedings.

Picosecond Optoelectronic Devices reviews the major developments in the field of picosecond optoelectronics. This book discusses the picosecond pulse generation with semiconductor diode lasers; gigabit optical pulse generation in integrated lasers and applications; and picosecond photoconductors. The picosecond optoelectronic devices based on optically injected electron-hole plasma; pulse forming with optoelectronic switches; and high-power picosecond switching in bulk semiconductors are also elaborated. This text likewise discusses the sub-picosecond electrical sampling and applications; InP optoelectronic switches; and picosecond chronography. Other topics include the picosecond optical control of transferred-electron devices; optoelectronic switch for pulsed power; and responses of TEDs to picosecond optical pulses. This publication is a good source for electrical engineers and researchers conducting work on picosecond optoelectronics.