9502705 Hall New optoelectronic structures will be fabricated using a revolutionary new oxidation technology for aluminum-bearing alloy semiconductors (the "native" oxide of aluminum-gallium-arsenide (AlGaAs)). The planar waveguide lenses, buried strip waveguides, and integrated laser sources to be developed will be useful "building block" components broadly applicable in the further evolution of OEICs. These components will be applied for the realization of novel and higher-performance integrated master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) devices." Two new optoelectronics/photonics courses will be developed at Notre Dame by drawing on the PI's background of experiment research in semiconductor lasers at the University of Illinois, and research on high-power MOPA devices and new optical techniques for their characterization as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Naval Research Laboratory. The aim of the new undergraduate Modern Photonics laboratory course is to expose seniors to the broad span of photonics technologies important in today's commercial sector, while introducing them to current optoelectronics research advances (to be incorporated as special projects) which promise to be the leading technologies of the future. The graduate Optoelectronics Devices course will fill an important need in the curriculum at Notre Dame and serve as a core course to prepare graduate students to join in the new optoelectronics research efforts. ***
