Unit information: Optoelectronic Devices and Systems 3 in 2022/23

Unit name	Optoelectronic Devices and Systems 3
Unit code	EENG30004
Credit points	10
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Professor. Cryan
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	Successful completion of Year 2 BEng or MEng Electrical & Electronic Engineering or equivalent
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one
School/department	School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering
Faculty	Faculty of Engineering

Unit Information

This module introduces the main components of modern day optoelectronic systems. This will include active devices for the generation, detection, amplification and modulation of optical signals and the key passive components in modern optical communication systems.

Elements
Optoelectronic Devices

Passive Components
Waveguides: Introduction to passive waveguides and their modes. Explain the single mode optical fibre, losses and dispersion. Directional couplers, Bragg reflectors and filters.

Active Components
Sources: introduction to electron-photon interactions in semiconductors. Explain the operation of the light emitting diode (LED). Explain the conditions required for laser action and distinguish the characteristics of laser emission from LED emission. Describe the current/voltage, power/current and frequency characteristics of light-emitting and laser diodes. Describe the Fabry-Perot and distributed-feedback and distributed-Bragg-reflector laser diodes, and explain the factors that determine their line-widths.

Detectors: explain the principles of optical detectors including PIN photodiodes and avalanche detectors. Discuss the ideal, quantum-noise limited receiver obeying Poisson statistics and relate number of detected photons to bit-error-ratio. Explain why the sensitivity of the best receivers falls short of the ideal.

Amplifiers and modulators: Introduce the optical amplifiers and optical modulators. Give examples of fibre amplifiers and semiconductor laser amplifiers. Introduce electro-optic and electro-absorption modulators. Indicate their different applications in optical fibre communication systems.
Systems: explain how the elements introduced above fit into a modern day optical communications system

Your learning on this unit

Having completed this unit, students will be able to:

1. Explain how light can be treated as both a wave and a particle; the relationship of the photon energy and bandwidth with wavelength; how light propagates in free space and through a medium, and the solution of Maxwells equations yields electromagnetic waves.
2. Discuss quantitatively and quantitatively the behaviour of light at interfaces between materials, including both dielectrics and metals; the laws of reflection and refraction, and associated Fresnel coefficients for amplitude and power; the role of absorption
3. Calculate the key properties of a waveguide using models including the 1D slab. Demonstrate how to incorporate such waveguides into passive components such as photonic integrated circuits, and active components such as lasers.
4. Distinguish between the physics of electrons in atoms and metals, semiconductors and insulations; apply the principles of semiconductor-light interaction to explain, quantitatively and qualitatively, the behaviour of photodiodes, light emitting diodes, and lasers.
5. Critically evaluate a proposed communication system composed of both passive and active optical components.

How you will learn

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, including lectures, practical activities supported by drop-in sessions, problem sheets and self-directed exercises.

How you will be assessed

Exam (January, 100%)

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EENG30004).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.