EEE 538

Optoelectronic Devices
(Spring 2020)

Yong-Hang Zhang

Electrical Engineering Department

Arizona State University
Office: ERC 117
Tel: 480-965-2562
Email: yhzhang@asu.edu
Webpage: https://mbe.engineering.asu.edu/
 Class time and Office Hours

• Class: MW: 4:35-5:50 PM, ECGG315

• Office hours: MW: 1:30-3:00 PM
• Other time by appointment

I would like to reserve the hours

immediate before the classes for a final
review of my class notes.
 Prerequisites

• Fundamental knowledge of quantum mechanics

and solid state physics
• Basic semiconductor device theory
• Basics of electromagnetics
• Courses:
– EEE 436 (Solid State Devices), 437 (Optoelectronic)
– EEE531/532 (Semiconductor Device Theory) or EEE537
(Optoelectronics)
– Quantum mechanics
– Or equivalent courses
 Text books
• Physics of Photonic Devices, 2nd Edition, Shun Lien Chuang, 2009, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Fundamentals of Photonics, B.E.A. Saleh and M.C. Teich, 1991, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• A number of classic review papers

Other references:
• Simon M. Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, 2nd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1981
• E. Fred Schubert, Light-Emitting Diodes, 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2006
• Pallab Bhattacharya, Semiconductor Optoelectronic Devices, 2nd Edition, Prentice-Hall, 1997.
• Jasprit Singh, Electronic and of Optoelectronic Properties of Semiconductor Structures, Cambridge University
Press, 2003
• Many original journal papers and articles
 Course Objectives

This course is designed to provide junior

and senior graduate students detailed
background in semiconductor materials and
optoelectronic devices such as light emitting
diodes and lasers, photodetectors, solar cells,
modulators. The applications of these devices
will also be discussed.
 My Expectations

• Active discussion in classes

• Large amount of out-of-class reading of
reference books and related research
papers
• Independent thinking and creative
research
 Topics and tentative class schedules
1. Semiconductors and their electronic and optical properties (review of solid state
physics, element and compound semiconductors, semiconductor statistics,
effective mass theory, carrier generation and recombination, etc.) --- 5 lectures
2. Advanced junction theory (PN junctions, tunnel junctions, Schottky barriers, and
ohmic contacts, and heterojunctions) --- 5 lectures
3. Light emitting diodes (electroluminescence processes, photon recycling effect,
light extraction, and device characterization) --- 5 lectures
4. Laser diodes (theory of laser diodes, double-heterostructure lasers, QW lasers,
direct modulation of laser diodes, etc.) --- 5 lectures
5. Photodetectors (photoconductors, photodiodes, avalanche photodiodes, noise in
photodetectors, and detection limits) --- 4 lectures
6. Solar cells (thermodynamic limits, single and multi-junction solar cells ) --- 4
lectures
7. Modulation and switching devices (Franz-Keldysh and Stack effects, optical
switching, etc.) --- 1 lecture (optional)
8. Applications (Displays, concentrating photovoltaics, IR imaging systems, lightwave
networks, etc.) --- 1 lecture (optional)
9. Lab tour
 Homework

Homework will be assigned during classes

and due in one week unless specified otherwise.
Students are encouraged to discuss homework
with each other but everyone should write
his/her own.
 Exams
Class activities
and Homework Midterm Project Final exam
participation
30% (May 4,
10% 20% 20% (March 16) 20% (Due May 1)
4:50-6:40 PM)

We will have one in-class midterm exam and a

comprehensive two-hour final. The final exam will cover
the entire course material. The topic of the project write
up can be decided based on your research topics.
 Exams

Make-up exams can be only given for very

rare situations such as medical or job-related
emergencies. A note from your doctor or
supervisor is needed before a make-up exam
can be scheduled. Although I will try to design
make-up exams to be as close to the original one
as possible, it is expected that the make-up
exams to be more difficult than the original
ones.
 Grading (I)

Active interaction between instructor and

students in class is one of the most important and
effective ways of learning. I strongly encourage
classroom interaction by assigning 10% of the final
grade to it. The evaluation of the class activities
consists of two parts: answering and raising
questions.
 Grading (II)

I strongly encourage creative thinking. If

one's homework contains creative approaches
to the problems, one may get up to 25% of the
total points for those problems as bonus
points. These bonus points can be only used to
make up the deducted points.
I will use A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D, and
E for the final grades.
 A Special Lab Tour

A lab tour to the MBE Optoelectronics

Group will be scheduled. The visit will provide
students an opportunity to see the state-of-the-
art research facilities such as MBE machines,
clean-room, optoelectronic materials
characterization lab, and high-speed test lab for
optoelectronic devices and to gain some idea
that how the research on optoelectronic devices
is carried out.
Survey and Assessment Test
(20 min)
 Chapter 1-3:

Review of Quantum mechanics and Solid State Physics

Materials properties of elemental and compound

semiconductors
Common compound semiconductors

Diagram prepared by J. Becker

Common compound semiconductors

Diagram prepared by J. Becker

 Band Structures

Si

Ge GaAs
From http://www.ioffe.ru/SVA/NSM/Semicond/GaAs/index.html
 Objectives
• Understand the basic assumptions of the single
electron approximation
• Understand the basic assumptions of the effective
mass approximation
• Understand the origin of the bandgap in solid-state
materials
• Understand the basic concept of tight-binding model
and its application to deriving bandgaps of periodic
structures
• Understand the basic reason why electrons have
very high mobility in semiconductors
 Fundamentals of Solid State Physics
Quantum Mechanics Review
Basic experimental observations:

What experiment proved that electron has also wave

characteristics?
Electron diffraction

What experiment proved that photon is a particle, too?

Photoelectric effect

Wave-Particle Duality for Photon

E
p  , c : light velocity, E : Energy
c
The de Broglie Relation
h h
p  , h : the Plank' s constant
c 
 Fundamentals of Solid State Physics

Photon Electron

2
c 1 2 p
E hν h  pc E  mv 
λ 2 2m

h
p  k
λ

h h h h
p   k  
c  p 2mE
 Fundamentals of Solid State Physics

Schrödinger Equations

Time-dependent:
2 2 
[   V ( r, t )] ( r, t ) i  ( r, t )
2m t

2 : Laplacian Operator

Time-independent:
2 2
[   V ( r )] ( r ) E ( r )
2m
 ( r, t )  ( r )e  iEt / 
 Fundamentals of Solid State Physics

Quantum Mechanics Review

Wave function:  ( x )  f ( x )  ig ( x )

Wave function conjugate:  * ( x )  f ( x )  ig ( x )

Wave function modulus:  *  2  f 2  g 2

 Fundamentals of Solid State Physics

2
Normalization condition:  ( x ) dx 1


Probability density: 2

Probability:  2 dx


*
Orthogonality:  i ( x ) j ( x )dx  ij ,



1, i  j
 ij 
0, i  j