Foreword by Charles H Townes This volume includes highlights of the theories underlying the essential phenomena occurring in novel semiconductor lasers as well as the principles of operation of selected heterostructure lasers. To understand scattering processes in heterostructure lasers and related optoelectronic devices, it is essential to consider the role of dimensional confinement of charge carriers as well as acoustical and optical phonons in quantum structures. Indeed, it is important to consider the confinement of both phonons and carriers in the design and modeling of novel semiconductor lasers such as the tunnel injection laser, quantum well intersubband lasers, and quantum dot lasers. The full exploitation of dimensional confinement leads to the exciting new capability of scattering time engineering in novel semiconductor lasers.As a result of continuing advances in techniques for growing quantum heterostructures, recent developments are likely to be followed in coming years by many more advances in semiconductor lasers and optoelectronics. As our understanding of these devices and the ability to fabricate them grow, so does our need for more sophisticated theories and simulation methods bridging the gap between quantum and classical transport.

Foreword by Charles H Townes This volume includes highlights of the theories underlying the essential phenomena occurring in novel semiconductor lasers as well as the principles of operation of selected heterostructure lasers. To understand scattering processes in heterostructure lasers and related optoelectronic devices, it is essential to consider the role of dimensional confinement of charge carriers as well as acoustical and optical phonons in quantum structures. Indeed, it is important to consider the confinement of both phonons and carriers in the design and modeling of novel semiconductor lasers such as the tunnel injection laser, quantum well intersubband lasers, and quantum dot lasers. The full exploitation of dimensional confinement leads to the exciting new capability of scattering time engineering in novel semiconductor lasers.As a result of continuing advances in techniques for growing quantum heterostructures, recent developments are likely to be followed in coming years by many more advances in semiconductor lasers and optoelectronics. As our understanding of these devices and the ability to fabricate them grow, so does our need for more sophisticated theories and simulation methods bridging the gap between quantum and classical transport.

Semiconductors and Semimetals has distinguished itself through the careful selection of well-known authors, editors, and contributors. Originally widely known as the "Willardson and Beer" Series, it has succeeded in publishing numerous landmark volumes and chapters. The series publishes timely, highly relevant volumes intended for long-term impact and reflecting the truly interdisciplinary nature of the field. The volumes in Semiconductors and Semimetals have been and will continue to be of great interest to physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and device engineers in academia, scientific laboratories and modern industry. - The series publishes timely, highly relevant volumes intended for long-term impact and reflecting the truly interdisciplinary nature of the field

Optoelectronic devices operating in the mid-infrared wavelength range offer applications in a variety of areas from environmental gas monitoring around oil rigs to the detection of narcotics. They could also be used for free-space optical communications, thermal imaging applications and the development of "homeland security" measures. Mid-infrared Semiconductor Optoelectronics is an overview of the current status and technological development in this rapidly emerging area; the basic physics, some of the problems facing the design engineer and a comparison of possible solutions are laid out; the different lasers used as sources for mid-infrared technology are considered; recent work in detectors is reviewed; the last part of the book is concerned with applications. With a world-wide authorship of experts working in many mid-infrared-related fields this book will be an invaluable reference for researchers and graduate students drawn from physics, electronic and electrical engineering and materials science.

Laser diodes represent a key element in the emerging field of opto electronics which includes, for example, optical communication, optical sensors or optical disc systems. For all these applications, information is either transmitted, stored or read out. The performance of these systems depends to a great deal on the performance of the laser diode with regard to its modulation and noise characteristics. Since the modulation and noise characteristics of laser diodes are of vital importance for optoelectronic systems, the need for a book arises that concentrates on this subject. This book thus closes the gap between books on the device physics of semiconductor lasers and books on system design. Complementary to the specific topics concerning modulation and noise, the first part of this book reviews the basic laser characteristics, so that even a reader without detailed knowledge of laser diodes may follow the text. In order to understand the book, the reader should have a basic knowledge of electronics, semiconductor physics and optical communica tions. The work is primarily written for the engineer or scientist working in the field of optoelectronics; however, since the book is self-contained and since it contains a lot of numerical examples, it may serve as a textbook for graduate students. In the field of laser diode modulation and noise a vast amount has been published during recent years. Even though the book contains more than 600 references, only a small part of the existing literature is included.

This volume provides valuable summaries on many aspects of advanced semiconductor heterostructures and highlights the great variety of semiconductor heterostructures that has emerged since their original conception. As exemplified by the chapters in this book, recent progress on advanced semiconductor heterostructures spans a truly remarkable range of scientific fields with an associated diversity of applications. Some of these applications will undoubtedly revolutionize critically important facets of modern technology. At the heart of these advances is the ability to design and control the properties of semiconductor devices on the nanoscale. As an example, the intersubband lasers discussed in this book have a broad range of previously unobtainable characteristics and associated applications as a result of the nanoscale dimensional control of the underlying semiconductor heterostructures. As this book illustrates, an astounding variety of heterostructures can be fabricated with current technology; the potentially widespread use of layered quantum dots fabricated with nanoscale precision in biological applications opens up exciting advances in medicine. In addition, many more excellent examples of the remarkable impact being made through the use of semiconductor heterostructures are given. The summaries in this volume provide timely insights into what we know now about selected areas of advanced semiconductor heterostructures and also provide foundations for further developments.

In this book, leading experts on quantum dot theory and technology provide comprehensive reviews of all aspects of quantum dot systems. The following topics are covered: (1) energy states in quantum dots, including the effects of strain and many-body effects; (2) self-assembly and self-ordering of quantum dots in semiconductor systems; (3) growth, structures, and optical properties of III-nitride quantum dots; (4) quantum dot lasers.