This course introduces the students to the field of Semiconductor Optoelectronics, which deals
with the physics and technology of semiconductor optoelectronic devices such as light emitting
diodes, laser diodes and photodiodes, which are becoming important components in consumer
optoelectronics, IT and communication devices, and in industrial instrumentation. Assuming a
general science/engineering undergraduate level background, the course begins with a recap of
essential (to this course) semiconductor physics, followed by the study of interaction of photons
with electrons and holes in a semiconductor, leading to the realization of semiconductor photon
amplifiers, sources, modulators, and detectors. A variety of designs and configurations of these
devices have been emerging with application-specific characteristics.
The course is ‘applied’ in nature, and could be offered at the level of B.E/B.Tech IIIrd/ IVth
Year, M.Sc IInd/ M.Tech. I Year.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: IIIrd, IVth year B.Tech / M.Sc (Physics/
Electronics/ Electronic Sciences) students, M.Tech
Ist Sem students
CORE/ELECTIVE: Elective Course, can be Core also.
UG/PG: Primarily UG: can also be for M.Sc. or I Sem
M.Tech Course .
PREREQUISITES: Basic undergraduate-level knowledge of
Semiconductors, Optics, Electronics and Quantum
Mechanics would be required.l
INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Companies and R&D Laboratories working on
Laser Applications, Optoelectronic and Optical
Communication are expected to value this course.
1268 students have enrolled already!!
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
M. R. SHENOY received the M. Sc. in Physics in 1979 from Mysore University and the PhD
in the field of Fiber and Integrated Optics from IIT Delhi in 1987. He joined the faculty of IIT
Delhi in 1988, where he is currently Professor in the Department of Physics.
Dr. Shenoy was a Visiting Scientist with the Department of Electrical and Electronic
Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, U.K., in 1990 for 10 months, and on short-
duration visits at the University of Nice – Sophia Antipolis, Nice, France, in 1992, 1997, 2006
and 2008 for collaborative research on Integrated Optical Devices. He has authored/co-
authored a number of research papers and book chapters, and has supervised a large number of
student projects at the B.Tech, M.Sc. M.Tech and Ph.D. levels. He is a co-editor of the book
Fiber Optics Through Experiments (Viva Publications, New Delhi, 1994, 2008). He has
delivered a full video course of 46 lectures on Semiconductor Optoelectronics, facilitated by
NPTEL, and freely available for download on YouTube. He has been involved in several
Sponsored R&D projects on the design and development of guided-wave optical components
and devices. His current research interests are in the area of Optoelectronics and Guided Wave
Optical Components .
COURSE LAYOUT:
Week 1 : Introduction, Energy bands in solids, Density of states Week 2 : Occupation probability and Carrier concentration, Quasi Fermi levels Week 3 : Semiconductor optoelectronic materials and Heterostructures Week 4 : Heterostructure p-n junctions, Schottky junctions, Ohmic contacts Week 5 : Interaction of photons with electrons and holes in a semiconductor Week 6 : Amplification by stimulated emission, The semiconductor laser amplifier Week 7 : Absorption in semiconductors and quantum wells, Electro-absorption modulator Week 8 : Injection electroluminescence, Light emitting diode and their characteristics Week 9 : Semiconductor laser: Device structure and characteristics Week 10 : Single frequency lasers, VCSEL and Quantum well lasers Week 11 : Semiconductor photodetectors, General characteristics Week 12 : Photodiodes: PIN diode and APD. Photonic Integrated Circuits
SUGGESTED READING MATERIALS:
B. E. A. Saleh and M. C. Teich,
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
2
Fundamentals of Photonics, John Wiley
& Sons, Inc., 2 nd Ed. (2007), Ch.16, 17,
and 18.
G. Ghione,
Semiconductor Devices for
High-Speed
Optoelectronics,
Cambridge University Press (2009)
A. Yariv and P. Yeh, Photonics: Optical
Electronics in Modern Communication,
Oxford University Press (2007), 6 th Ed.,
Ch.15-17.
G.
Keiser,
Optical
Fiber
Communications, McGraw-Hill Inc., 3 rd
Ed. (2000), Ch.4,
P.
Bhattacharya,
Semiconductor
Optoelectronic Devices, Prentice Hall of
India (1995).
J.
Singh,
Semiconductor
Optoelectronics:
Physics
and
Technology, McGraw-Hill Inc. (1995).
W.D. Callister, Materials Science and
Engineering: An Introduction, 6 th . Edn.,
Wiley, 2003.
CERTIFICATION EXAM :
The exam is optional for a fee.
Date and Time of Exams: April 28 (Saturday) and April 29 (Sunday) : Afternoon session: 2pm to 5pm
Exam for this course will be available in one session on both 28 and 29 April.
Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.
The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published.
CERTIFICATION:
Final score will be calculated as : 25% assignment score + 75% final exam score
25% assignment score is calculated as 25% of average of Best 8 out of 12 assignments
E-Certificate will be given to those who register and write the exam and score greater than or equal to 40% final score. Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IITD.It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.
