Semiconductor Devices for Optical Communication

The emergence of optical communication using fibers was made possible by the parallel development of low loss fibers, heterojunction lasers and LEDs emitting in the regions oflow fiber loss, and sensitive photodetectors. Figure 1.1 shows a schematic of a point-to-point fiber-communication system with the light source (and its associated electronics), the fiber and the photodiode with the associated receiver circuitry.
This book is mainly concerned with the semiconductor components, their associated circuitry, and optical coupling to fibers. Fibers and their associated technology are beyond the scope of this book but a brief review is appropriate