QUANTUM PHOTONICS:

Optoelectronics and Photonics

Lecture 1:

Wave Nature of Light

Asst. Prof. Dr. Ghusoon Mohsin Ali

PhD in Electronics & Communication

Department of Electrical Engineering
College of Engineering
Al-Mustansiriya University

1
Reference
• Related papers
• S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics and Photonics:
Principles and Practices, Second Edition, © 2013
Pearson Education, USA
• Donald A. Neamen ”Semiconductor Physics And
Devices: Basic Principles”, 4th Edition
Optoelectronics and Photonics: Principles and
Practices
Second Edition
A Complete Course in Power Point

Chapter 1

ISBN-10: 0133081753
Second Edition Version 1.0337
[6 February 2015]
 Light is an electromagnetic wave

An electromagnetic wave is a traveling wave that has time-varying

electric and magnetic fields that are perpendicular to each other and
the direction of propagation z.
Ex = Eo cos(tkz + )

Ex = Electric field along x at position z at time t

k = Propagation constant = 2/
 = Wavelength
 = Angular frequency = 2u (u = frequency)
Eo = Amplitude of the wave
 = Phase constant; at t = 0 and z = 0, Ex may or may not necessarily be
zero depending on the choice of origin.

(tkz + ) =  = Phase of the wave

This is a monochromatic plane wave of infinite extent traveling in the

positive z direction.
Wavefront
A wavefront of a plane wave is a plane perpendicular to the
direction of propagation

The interaction of a light wave with a nonconducting medium

(conductivity = 0) uses the electric field component Ex rather
than By.

Optical field refers to the electric field Ex.

A plane EM wave traveling along z, has the same Ex (or By) at any point in a given xy plane.
All electric field vectors in a given xy plane are therefore in phase. The xy planes are of
infinite extent in the x and y directions.

A surface over which the phase of a wave is constant is referred to as a wavefront

 Phase Velocity
The time and space evolution of a given phase , for example that
corresponding to a maximum field is described by

 = tkz +  = constant
During a time interval t, this constant phase (and hence the
maximum field) moves a distance z. The phase velocity of this wave
is therefore z/t. The phase velocity v is

z 
v   u
t k
 Phase change over a distance z

 = tkz + 
 = kz
The phase difference between two points separated by
z is simply kz
since t is the same for each point

If this phase difference is 0 or multiples of 2 then the

two points are in phase. Thus, the phase difference 
can be expressed as kz or 2z/
 Refractive Index

When an EM wave is traveling in a dielectric

medium, the oscillating electric field polarizes the
molecules of the medium at the frequency of the
wave

The stronger is the interaction between the field

and the dipoles, the slower is the propagation of the
wave
 Phase Velocity and r
The relative permittivity r measures the ease with which the
medium becomes polarized and hence it indicates the extent of
interaction between the field and the induced dipoles.

For an EM wave traveling in a nonmagnetic dielectric medium of

relative permittivity r, the phase velocity v is given by

1
ν
 r o o
 Refractive index
• Refractive index of a medium is defined as:

c velocity of light (EM wave) in vacuum 

n    r r
v velocity of light (EM wave) in medium  0 0
r : Relative magnetic permeability
r : Relative electric permittivity
• For non-magnetic media ( r  1) : c
n   r
v
 1  1
v  c 
k  o r o ko  o o

e.g. For air and gases, v ~ c, so that n ~ 1.

Low frequency (LF) relative permittivity r(LF) and refractive index n.
 Optical frequencies
Typical frequencies that are involved in
optoelectronic devices are in the infrared
(including far infrared), visible, and UV, and we
generically refer to these frequencies as optical
frequencies

Somewhat arbitrary range:

Roughly 1012 Hz to 1016 Hz

Refractive Index and Propagation Constant

ko Free-space propagation constant (wave vector)

ko 2π/
o Free-space wavelength
k Propagation constant (wave vector) in the medium
 Wavelength in the medium

k
n
ko
In noncrystalline materials such as glasses and liquids, the material structure is
the same in all directions and n does not depend on the direction. The refractive
index is then isotropic
 Refractive Index and Wavelength

It is customary to drop the subscript o on k and 

kmedium = nk
In free space

medium =  /n
Refractive Index and Isotropy

Crystals, in general, have nonisotropic, or

anisotropic, properties

Typically noncrystalline solids such as glasses and

liquids, and cubic crystals are optically isotropic;
they possess only one refractive index for all
directions
n depends on the wavelength
Dispersion relation: n = n()
The simplest electronic polarization gives
2 Nat =Number of atoms per unit
 N at Ze 2
 o   2
volume
n  1  
2
  2 Z = Number of electrons in the
  o me    2
 2 c  o
atom (atomic number)

o = A “resonant
frequency”
Sellmeier Equation
A1 A2 
2
A3 2 2
n  1 2
2
 2  2
  1   2   23
2 2
n depends on the wavelength

Cauchy dispersion relation

n = n(u)

n = n-2(hu)-2 + n0 + n2(hu)2 + n4(hu)4

n depends on the wavelength
H.W. 1.6, 1.7, 1.9 p83
Group Velocity and Group Index

There are no perfect monochromatic

waves

We have to consider the way in which

a group of waves differing slightly in
wavelength travel along the z-direction
 Group Velocity and Group Index

When two perfectly harmonic waves of frequencies 

and  +  and wavevectors kk and k + k interfere, they
generate a wave packet which contains an oscillating field at
the mean frequency  that is amplitude modulated by a
slowly varying field of frequency . The maximum
amplitude moves with a wavevector k and thus with a group
velocity that is given by

d
vg 
dk
 Group Velocity

d
vg 
dk
Two slightly different wavelength waves traveling in the same direction result in a wave
packet that has an amplitude variation that travels at the group velocity.
Group Velocity

Consider two sinusoidal waves that are close in frequency, that is, they have
frequencies  and  + . Their wavevectors will be kk and k + k. The
resultant wave is

Ex(z,t) = Eocos[()t(kk)z]
+ Eocos[( + )t(k + k)z]

By using the trigonometric identity

cosA + cosB = 2cos[1/2(AB)]cos[1/2(A + B)]
we arrive at

Ex(z,t) = 2Eocos[()t(k)z][cos(tkz)]
Ex(z,t) = 2Eocos[()t(k)z][cos(tkz)]
This represents a sinusoidal wave of frequency  . This is
amplitude modulated by a very slowly varying sinusoidal of
frequency . This system of waves, i.e. the modulation,
travels along z at a speed determined by the modulating
term, cos[()t(k)z]. The maximum in the field occurs
when [()t(k)z] = 2m = constant (m is an integer),
which travels with a velocity

dz  d
 or
vg 
dt k dk
This is the group velocity of the waves because it determines the speed of propagation
of the maximum electric field along z.
The group velocity therefore defines the speed with which energy or information
is propagated.

d
vg 
dk
 = 2c/o and k = 2n/o, o is the free space wavelength.
Differentiate the above equations in red
d = (2c/o2)do
 dn 
dk  2n( 1 / o )do  (2 / o )
2
do
 do 
 dn 
dk  (2 /  ) n  o
2
do
do 
o

d  (2c / 2o )do c
 vg   
2  dn 
dk dn
 (2 / o ) n  o do n  o
 do  do
Group Velocity and Group Index

where n = n() is a function of the wavelength. The group

velocity vg in a medium is given by,

d c
v g (medium)  
dk n   dn
d
This can be written as

c
v g (medium) 
Ng
Group Index

dn
Ng  n  
d

is defined as the group index of the medium

In general, for many materials the refractive index n and hence the group index
Ng depend on the wavelength of light. Such materials are called dispersive
 Refractive Index and Group Index

Refractive index n and the group index Ng of pure SiO2 (silica) glass as a function of
wavelength.