Nanophotonics and Detectors

The course covers the basics of nanophotonic light emitting devices and optical detectors, including metal semiconductor, metal semiconductor insulator, and pn junctions, photoconductors, avalanche photodiodes and photomultiplier tubes. Low dimensional structures enable an entirely new class of devices. Join me on a journey to understand how this happens and explore powerful examples of successful technologies such as the quantum cascade laser.

In this unit, we will learn how to confine photons just as we do with electrons. This gives us power over the allowed modes of emission, allowing us to enhance the performance of lasers as well as develop 'threshold-less' lasers. I hope you enjoy this exciting topic as much as I do.

In this module, you will learn about the basics of detection and the key performance metrics that are used to evaluate detectors including noise equivalent power and detectivity. This lays the building blocks for fundamental understanding, design, and use of different photonic detection technology. This is core information that should be in the wheelhouse of any photonics researcher or engineer.

In this unit, you will learn about the fundamentals of how metal insulator semiconductor devices operate, their advantages and challenges they face. This information is particularly useful for understanding the operation of charge-coupled devices, discussed in the next section.