This Workshop gathered engineers and scientists to discuss their recent research and issues related to photonic networks and their topologies, the enabling devices and applications these networks support. Optical communication, neural, sensor and computer networks were considered. Another part of the workshop was devoted to network components based on optical fibre, semiconductor and organic materials such as lasers, amplifiers and detectors, integrated optic and optoelectronic circuits. Applications in communications, optical sensing and signal processing were addressed, with particular emphasis on avionics, submarine, space as well as office, residential, medical and specialized (captive) services.

This book presents a current review ofphotonic technologies and their applications. The papers published in this book are extended versions of the papers presented at the Inter national Conference on Applications ofPhotonic Technology (ICAPT'96) held in Montreal, Canada, on July 29 to August 1, 1996. The theme of this event was "Closing the Gap Between Theory, Developments and Applications. " The term photonics covers both optics and optical engineering areas of growing sci entific and commercial importance throughout the world. It is estimated that photonic tech nology-related applications to increase exponentially over the next few years and will play a significant role in the global economy by reaching a quarter of a trillion of US dollars by the year 2000. The global interest and advancements of this technology are represented in this book, where leading scientists of twenty-two countries with advanced technology in photon ics present their latest results. The papers selected herein are grouped to address six distinct areas ofphotonic tech nology. The reader will find throughout the book a combination of invited and contributed papers which reflect the state of the art today and provide some insight about the future of this technology. The first two papers are invited. They discuss business aspects ofphotonic engineer ing. One examines if chip-to-chip interconnections by means of optical technology are a good economic choice, while the other discusses the photonic technology from entre preneurial viewpoint. Papers related to materials and considered for photonic applications, e. g.

The rapidly growing area of photonics plays a critical role in many segments of industry, such as optical communications, information storage, electronic display, and other areas, and is the subject of intense academic and industrial research. The Handbook of Photonics serves as a single-source reference book for this exciting field. The book is divided into three sections: Photonic Materials Photonic Devices and Optics Photonic Systems Each chapter within these sections is written by well-known and respected authors and covers the latest information in many of the important aspects of photonics. The Handbook of Photonics provides a complete reference for scientists, engineers, and students working in this field.