Photonics is the science of generating, controlling, and detecting photons, particularly in the visible and near infra-red spectrum, but also extending to the ultraviolet (0. In Physics, the photon is the Elementary particle responsible for electromagnetic phenomena Infrared ( IR) radiation is Electromagnetic radiation whose Wavelength is longer than that of Visible light, but shorter than that of The electromagnetic (EM spectrum is the range of all possible Electromagnetic radiation frequencies 2 - 0. 35 µm wavelength), long-wave infrared (8 - 12 µm wavelength), and far-infrared/THz portion of the spectrum (e. g. , 2-4 THz corresponding to 75-150 µm wavelength) where today quantum cascade lasers are being actively developed. Quantum cascade lasers (QCLs are Semiconductor lasers that emit in the mid- to far- Infrared portion of the Electromagnetic spectrum and were first demonstrated Photonics is an outgrowth of the first practical semiconductor light emitters invented in the early 1960s at General Electric, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, IBM, and RCA and made practical by Zhores Alferov and Dmitri Z. Garbuzov and collaborators working at the Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute and almost simultaneously by Izuo Hayashi and Mort Panish working at Bell Telephone Laboratories. MIT Lincoln Laboratory, also known as Lincoln Lab, is a Federally funded research and development center managed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology International Business Machines Corporation abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational Computer Technology RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986 Zhores Ivanovich Alferov (Жоре́с Ива́нович Алфёров ʐɐˈrʲɛs ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ɐlˈfʲorəf (born March 15 1930) is a Russian Dmitri Z Garbuzov ( 1940, Sverdlovsk Russia - August 2006, Princeton New Jersey was one of the pioneers and inventors of room temperature continuous-wave-operating Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute is one of Russia 's largest research centers specialized in Physics and technology ( May 1, 1922 - September 26, 2005) was a Japanese Physicist. Bell Laboratories (also known as Bell Labs and formerly known as AT&T Bell Laboratories and Bell Telephone Laboratories) is the Research organization

Just as applications of electronics have expanded dramatically since the first transistor was invented in 1948, the unique applications of photonics continue to emerge. Those which are established as economically important applications for semiconductor photonic devices include optical data recording, fiber optic telecommunications, laser printing (based on xerography), displays, and optical pumping of high-power lasers. The potential applications of photonics are virtually unlimited and include chemical synthesis, medical diagnostics, on-chip data communication, laser defense, and fusion energy to name several interesting additional examples.

Relationship to other fields

Classical optics

Photonics is closely related to optics. However optics preceded the discovery that light is quantized (when the photoelectric effect was explained by Albert Einstein in 1905). Introduction When a Metallic surface is exposed to Electromagnetic radiation above a certain threshold Frequency, the light is absorbed and Electrons Albert Einstein ( German: ˈalbɐt ˈaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯n; English: ˈælbɝt ˈaɪnstaɪn (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955 was a German -born theoretical The tools of optics are the refracting lens, the reflecting mirror, and various optical components which were known prior to 1900. The key tenets of classical optics, such as Huygens Principle, the Maxwell Equations, and wave equations, do not depend on quantum properties of light. The Huygens–Fresnel principle (named for Dutch Physicist Christiaan Huygens, and French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel In Classical electromagnetism, Maxwell's equations are a set of four Partial differential equations that describe the properties of the electric

Modern optics

Photonics is approximately synonymous with quantum optics, quantum electronics, electro-optics, and optoelectronics. Quantum optics is a field of research in Physics, dealing with the application of Quantum mechanics to phenomena involving Light and its interactions Quantum electronics is the area of Physics dealing with the effects of Quantum mechanics on the behaviour of Electrons in matter and their interactions Electro-optics is a branch of Technology involving components devices and systems which operate by modification of the optical properties of a material by an Electric field Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices that source detect and control Light, usually considered a sub-field of Photonics. However each is used with slightly different connotations by scientific and government communities and in the marketplace. Quantum optics often connotes fundamental research, whereas photonics is used to connote applied research and development. Quantum optics is a field of research in Physics, dealing with the application of Quantum mechanics to phenomena involving Light and its interactions

The term photonics more specifically connotes:

1. the particle properties of light,
2. the potential of creating signal processing device technologies using photons,
3. those quantum optical technologies which are manufacturable and can be low-cost, and
4. an analogy to electronics. Electronics refers to the flow of charge (moving Electrons through Nonmetal conductors (mainly Semiconductors, whereas electrical

The term optoelectronics eponymously connotes devices or circuits comprising both electrical and optical functions, i. Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices that source detect and control Light, usually considered a sub-field of Photonics. e. , a thin-film semiconductor device. The term electro-optics came into earlier use and specifically encompasses nonlinear electrical-optical interactions applied, e. Electro-optics is a branch of Technology involving components devices and systems which operate by modification of the optical properties of a material by an Electric field g, as bulk crystal modulators such as the Pockels cell, but also includes advanced imaging sensors typically used for surveillance by civilian or government organizations. The Pockels effect, or Pockels electro-optic effect produces Birefringence in an optical medium induced by a constant or varying Electric field.

Emerging fields

Photonics also relates to the emerging science of quantum information in those cases where it employs photonic methods. In Quantum mechanics, quantum information is Physical information that is held in the "state" of a Quantum system. Other emerging fields include opto-atomics in which devices integrate both photonic and atomic devices for applications such as precision timekeeping, navigation, and metrology. Another emerging field is polaritonics which differs with photonics in that the fundamental information carrier is a phonon-polariton, which is a mixture of photons and phonons, and operates in the range of frequencies from 300 gigahertz to approximately 10 terahertz. Polaritonics is an intermediate regime between Photonics and sub-microwave Electronics (see Fig In Physics, a phonon is a quantized mode of vibration occurring in a rigid crystal lattice, such as the Atomic lattice of a Solid In Physics, polaritons are Quasiparticles resulting from strong coupling of Electromagnetic waves with an electric or magnetic Dipole -carrying The hertz (symbol Hz) is a measure of Frequency, informally defined as the number of events occurring per Second. Electromagnetic waves sent at terahertz frequencies, known as terahertz radiation, submillimeter radiation, terahertz waves, terahertz

Overview of photonics research

Refraction of waves of photons (light) by a prism

The science of photonics includes the emission, transmission, amplification, detection, modulation, and switching of light. In Physics, emission is the process by which the Energy of a Photon is released by another entity for example by an Atom whose Electrons In Telecommunications transmission is the process of sending propagating and receiving an analogue or digital information signal over a physical point-to-point or Generally an amplifier or simply amp, is any device that changes usually increases the amplitude of a signal. In general detection is the extraction of information from any clear or clouded ambient or otherwise accessible stream of information without neither support from the sender nor synchronization In Telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying a periodic Waveform, i

Photonic devices include optoelectronic devices such as lasers and photodetectors, as well as optical fiber, photonic crystals, planar waveguides, and other passive optical elements. Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices that source detect and control Light, usually considered a sub-field of Photonics. A laser is a device that emits Light ( Electromagnetic radiation) through a process called Stimulated emission. Photosensors or photodetectors are Sensors of Light or other Electromagnetic energy An optical fiber (or fibre) is a Glass or Plastic fiber that carries Light along its length Photonic crystals are periodic Optical (nanostructures that are designed to affect the motion of Photons in a similar way that periodicity of a Semiconductor A waveguide is a structure which guides waves such as Electromagnetic waves Light, or Sound waves

Applications of photonics include light detection, telecommunications, information processing, illumination, metrology, spectroscopy, holography, medicine (surgery, vision correction, endoscopy, health monitoring), military technology, laser material processing, visual art, biophotonics, agriculture and robotics. Information processing is the change (processing of Information in any manner detectable by an observer. Lighting includes both artificial Light sources such as lamps and natural illumination of interiors from Daylight. Metrology (from Ancient Greek metron (measure and logos (study of is the Science of Measurement. Spectroscopy was originally the study of the interaction between Radiation and Matter as a function of Wavelength (λ Holography (from the Greek, ὅλος - hólos whole + γραφή - grafē writing drawing is a technique that allows the Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the This article lists military technology items devices and methods The term biophotonics denotes a combination of Biology and Photonics, with photonics being the science and technology of generation manipulation and detection of Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture See also Robot Robotics is the science and technology of Robots and their design manufacture and application

History of photonics

Photonics as a field really began in 1960, with the invention of the laser, and the laser diode followed in the 1970s by the development of optical fibers as a medium for transmitting information using light beams, and the Erbium-doped fiber amplifier. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A laser is a device that emits Light ( Electromagnetic radiation) through a process called Stimulated emission. A laser diode is a Laser where the active medium is a Semiconductor similar to that found in a Light-emitting diode. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. An optical fiber (or fibre) is a Glass or Plastic fiber that carries Light along its length An optical amplifier is a device that amplifies an Optical signal directly without the need to first convert it to an electrical signal These inventions formed the basis for the telecommunications revolution of the late 20th century, and provided the infrastructure for the internet. The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks

Historically , the term photonics only came into common use among the scientific community in the 1980s as fiber optic transmission of electronic data was adopted widely by telecommunications network operators (although it had earlier been coined). At that time, the term was adopted widely within Bell Laboratories. Bell Laboratories (also known as Bell Labs and formerly known as AT&T Bell Laboratories and Bell Telephone Laboratories) is the Research organization Its use was confirmed when the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society established an archival journal named Photonics Technology Letters at the end of the 1980s. The IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society is a society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE

During the period leading up to the dot-com crash circa 2001, photonics as a field was largely focused on telecommunications. The " dot-com bubble " (or sometimes the " IT bubble " was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2001 (with a climax on March 10 However, photonics covers a huge range of science and technology applications, including:

• laser manufacturing,
• biological and chemical sensing,
• medical diagnostics and therapy,
• display technology,
• optical computing.

Various non-telecom photonics applications exhibit a strong growth particularly since the dot-com crash, partly because many companies have been looking for new application areas quite successfully. A huge further growth of photonics can be expected for the case that the current development of silicon photonics will be successful.

Applications of Photonics

Aphrodita aculeata (Sea mouse), showing colourful spines, a remarkable example of photonic engineering by a living organism. The sea mouse, Aphrodita aculeata is a marine Polychaete Worm found in the North Atlantic, the North Sea

• Consumer Equipment: Barcode scanner, printer, CD/DVD/Blu-ray devices, remote control devices
• Telecommunications: Optical fiber communications , Optical Down converter to Microwave
• Medicine: correction of poor eyesight, laser surgery, surgical endoscopy, tattoo removal
• Industrial manufacturing: the use of lasers for welding, drilling, cutting, and various kinds of surface modification
• Construction: laser levelling, laser rangefinding, smart structures
• Aviation: photonic gyroscopes lacking any moving parts
• Military: IR sensors, command and control, navigation, search and rescue, mine laying and detection
• Entertainment: laser shows, beam effects, holographic art
• Information processing
• Metrology: time and frequency measurements, rangefinding
• Photonic computing: clock distribution and communication between computers, circuit boards, or within optoelectronic integrated circuits; in the future: quantum computing

Periodicals

• Photonics Spectra
• Laser Focus World
• Nature Photonics
• Photonics news
• Industrial Laser Solutions

Sources

• What is Photonics? (archived copy)
• BBC News: Sea mouse promises bright future

See also

• Biophotonics
• Holography
• Microphotonics
• Nano-optics
• Optics
• Photonic crystal
• Photonic crystal fiber
• Quantum optics

Wiktionary

• silicon photonics

External links

• SPIE—The International Society for Optical Engineering
• ICFO—The Institute of Photonic Sciences
• OSA - Optical Society of America
• National Science Foundation's National Center for Optics and Photonics Education
• UK Consortium for Photonics and Optics
• Photonex - UK's Premier Photonics Event
• Northwest Photonics Association - UK
• CUDOS - Centre for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems
• CMDITR: Center on Materials and Devices for Information Technology Research
• SPECTARIS - The German Industry Association for Optical, Medical and Mechatronical Technologies.
• COBRA Photonics Research, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
• Photonics Spectra magazine, published by Laurin Publishing Co., Inc., Pittsfield, MA, USA
• luxrerum.icmm.csic.es : tutorials on artificial opal at ICMM by Cefe Lopez
• The Erlangen Ph.D. and Master Program for Advanced Optical Technologies