Preface

Optoelectronics is one of the fast-emerging, technological fields that deals with applying electronic devices to the sourcing, detection, and control of light. This technology is used for numerous purposes such as telecommunications, monitoring and sensing, long-wavelength LiDAR, microwave photonic links, medical equipment, fast computing, and general science.

This book describes the state of the art in this rapidly evolving field. It provides a broad spectrum of technical information and research ideas in both applications and material research. It deals with advanced applications in its first section, and with materials and structures in its last section. The individual chapters were written by leading scientists in their field, with the hope that this book will help students and active researchers who are interested in the physics and applications of optoelectronics.

The first section of the book deals with applications that are currently of wide interest, starting with chapter one that covers neuromorphic photonics and highlights the use of semiconductor lasers as neurons. Neuromorphic photonics is a neuroscientific concept of introducing optoelectronic feedback to control semiconductor lasers that mimic the neuron-firing process in the brain and encode information from those pulses for efficient signal processing. Chapter two covers biosensing applications using the optical surface plasmon resonance effect. It highlights current state-of-the-art sensing techniques for various materials and the fabrication techniques for the sensing devices. Chapter three covers piezo-optical transducers for highly sensitive strain measurements and the process for creating a strain gauge that is more highly sensitive than other techniques for mechanical stresses. Chapter four covers noncontact vibration sensors based on the use of plastic optical fiber. This novel sensing technique eliminates some of the significant effects such as power fluctuation in light sources and bending loss.

Section two of this book covers research on materials and structures. Chapter five covers highly efficient solar cells using periodic nanostructures based on light management for efficient solar energy harvesting. Chapter six provides a detailed discussion on hybrid perovskite crystals with different dimensional forms of bulk and thin crystals. It also lists the potential benefits for use in future optoelectronic devices. Chapter seven examines and analyzes in detail the optical and electronic properties of single crystals. This work provides a valuable guide for developing single crystal–based material. Lastly, chapter eight covers a detailed analysis of polymer, MOF material for use in next-gen optoelectronic devices. It highlights particularly interesting properties, such as tunable bandgap and varied magnetic properties, among other things.

Finally, I want to thank the authors for their valuable contribution to this book. Their work is greatly appreciated, especially the extra efforts made during the global Covid-19 pandemic to get this book published. I also would like to thank Ms. Marijana Francetic for her help with the IntechOpen publication process.

> **Dr. Mike Haidar Shahine** General Dynamics Mission Systems, Maryland, USA

> > Section 1

Advanced Applications in

Optoelectronics

Section 1
