ROCKY MOUNTAIN SECTION OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
                              &
           IEEE LASERS AND ELECTROOPTICS SOCIETY


                      May Meeting

Date:  Thursday, 28 May 1998
Time:  7:00 PM refreshments, 7:30 PM talk
Place: National Institute of Standards and Technology
       325 Broadway, Boulder, CO
       Room 1107


Novel Integrable Semiconductor Laser Structures

       James J. Coleman
       Professor
       Electrical and Computer Engineering
       University of Illinois
       208 North Wright Street
       Urbana, IL 61801
       (217) 333-2555 voice
       (217) 244-7645 FAX


Abstract:

Reliable and inexpensive discrete semiconductor photonic devices, such as CD, 
CDROM, and laser printer lasers, are commonly available and plentiful. 
Electronic integrated circuits have reached very high levels of integration and 
can contain more than 5 million transistors. Integrated photonic structures - 
those in which all of the devices are used to process only optical signals - are 
relatively simple, with the level of integration usually measured in single 
digits. The two main reasons for this are that 1) small lateral dimensions for 
photonic devices always present a processing challenge and 2) the optimum 
semiconductor layer structure is different for each optical element, 
complicating the growth process. In this talk, we will describe recent advances 
in the structures, materials, and processing of integrated photonic devices. We 
will introduce integrable laser resonator structures that allow controlled 
coupling of light between elements and avoid the complications of cleaved 
facets. We will outline a selective-area epitaxial growth process that allows 
the formation of layered structures optimized separately anywhere on the wafer 
for the desired functionality. Finally, we will describe some unique integrated 
devices that make use of these technologies. 


Biography:

James J. Coleman received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical 
engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana. He was a Member of 
Technical Staff at Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ (1976-1978) and at 
Rockwell International, Anaheim, CA (1978-1982). Since 1982 he has been a 
Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University 
of Illinois, Urbana. He and his students are involved in the study of quantum-
well heterostructures, superlattices, strained layer lasers, laser arrays, and 
integrable lasers by selective area epitaxy. Professor Coleman is an Associate 
Editor of Photonics Technology Letters and has served as Guest Editor for two 
Special Issues of the IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics. He was the recipient 
of a Beckman Research Award in 1982 and was a Rank Prize Funds Lecturer in 1992. 
He is a Fellow of the IEEE, the Optical Society of America, and the American 
Association for the Advancement of Science.