| Abstract: | Semiconductor materials offer great potential for the combination of optical and electronic devices into single monolithic integrated structures. Aluminium-Gallium-Arsenide is the semiconductor material in which all major functions for such integration have been demonstrated, namely generation, guiding, coupling, modulation and detection of light as well as electronic circuit functions. This material forms the basis of the light emitting diodes and the lasers which made the first generation of optical fiber communication in the 0.8 to 0.9 μm range a success. With interest shifting to longer wavelengths between 1.3 and 1.6 μm where optical fiber losses are minimal, light sources and detectors are being developed in III–V compounds and corresponding integrated optics technology is expected to be forthcoming.Integrated optoelectronics has progressed to the stage where optical and electronic components like lasers, drivers and monitors or detectors and receivers are being integrated. Efforts in materials preparation and device processing will make optoelectronic systems which will handle and transmit optical and electronic signals a reality. |
