Semiconductor lasers are the foundation for semiconductor optoelectronics. Even though the technology is more than 50 years old and the basic principles of operation remain essentially unchanged, semiconductor lasers continue to evolve and find new applications. This textbook offers a thorough treatment of those basic principles and also manages to capture current trends in semiconductor laser research.
Students who use this book will first have their appetites whetted with semiconductor band structure, optical waveguides and optical processes in semiconductors—all built on an introduction to semiconductors, including heterostructures and quantum confined structures. They will then be ready to consume material on quantum well, quantum dot and quantum cascade lasers. If the student needs more sustenance, he or she may absorb further offerings on VCSELs, single-mode and tunable lasers, nitride lasers, group IV lasers and transistor lasers. These topics are supplemented with problem sets for testing the reader’s understanding, and some references to the literature. The authors’ clear presentation of the material in this volume makes it eminently digestible.
Review by K. Alan Shore, Bangor University School of Electronic Engineering, Wales, U.K.
The opinions expressed in the book review section are those of the reviewer and do not necessarily reflect those of OPN or OSA.