Organized by:

In cooperation with:

Lecture 1: Fundamentals of photodetectors:

• Basic definitions and concepts
  • Responsivity
  • Quantum efficiency
  • Spectral response
• Spectral Response of various semiconductors
  
• Optical Communication Wavelengths
  
• Types of photodetectors
  
• External photoemission and internal photoemission devices
  
• Photoconductors and MSM detectors.
  
• Photodiodes: pn, pin, and Avalanche Photodiodes (APD)
  
• Phototransistors
  

Lecture 2: High-speed performance and limitations:

• Definitions for high-speed response.
  
• Photoconductor speed limitations.
  
• Transit-time limitations.
  
• Capacitance charging and discharging.
  
• Parasitics.
  
• Microwave design.
  
• High-speed measurement techniques
  

Lecture 3: Receiver requirements for optical communication systems:

• Receiver noise: thermal and shot noise
  
• Receiver components
  
• Basic Probability
  
• Basic concepts:
  
  • bit-error-rate (BER),
    
  • sensitivity,
  • noise-equivalent-power (NEP)
    
• Requirements for various comm. standards.
  

Lecture 4: High-performance photodetectors for optical communications:
(time permitting)

• Design considerations for heterostructure photodetectors
  
• Advance device concepts:
  
  • SAM-APD
    
  • waveguide and travelling wave photodetectors
    
  • Multilayer structures for photodetectors