Semiconductor optoelectronics is becoming increasingly important in science and engineering. It is therefore highly desirable that engineers and scientists should be introduced to optoelectronics. Much of the relevant material can and should be incorporated in undergraduate curricula. The Center for High Technology Materials at the University of New Mexico, in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, will conduct a two-week workshop in semiconductor optoelectronics for undergraduate teaching faculty in university physics and engineering departments. The workshop will include lectures, laboratory tours/demonstrations, and hands-on laboratory sessions in epitaxy of III-V direct-gap semiconductors, fabrication, processing and characterization of optoelectronic devices such as semiconductor injection lasers, and applications such as optical fiber communications. This project aims to facilitate the inclusion of semiconductor optoelectronics in undergraduate physics and engineering by developing within faculty a basic knowledge and appreciation of the subject, providing direct contact with some of the latest experimental and theoretical advances, and by establishing an ongoing and mutually beneficial interaction between undergraduate faculty and a national center of excellence in the field. In addition to the NSF funds, participants' institutions will contribute about 10% in travel costs toward the operation of the project.
