An Optoelectronics Laboratory for Undergraduates

该项目向学生介绍光电技术，这是未来的关键技术。新设备增强了光电实验室的功能，让学生获得在这个跨学科领域使用现代设备的实践经验。学习整合来自不同领域的知识对于有效参与当前和未来的工程社区至关重要。该设备被纳入电气工程师的初级电子课程，电气工程选修课程，光电材料与器件，以及一年级工程和感兴趣的非工程专业学生的探索工程。该设备是促进学生学习的重要实验室组成部分。学生用光电材料、器件和系统进行实验。让学生使用现有的组件创建自己的光学测量设置，为他们提供了开发工具来解决问题的宝贵经验。学生探索不同材料和温度对器件性能的影响。探索工程专业的学生比较了激光二极管和发光二极管（led）在可见光和红外波段的性能。电子学专业的学生对这些设备进行更详细的表征。选修课程的学生将进行几个实验，包括材料表征和光源（气体激光器、激光二极管和led）、探测器和调制器的表征。系统级实验是实验室经验的高潮。由于光纤通信是光电子学最重要的应用之一，系统实验室涉及光纤。将光电器件耦合到光纤中向学生介绍了将他们所研究的器件集成到实际系统中的复杂性。最先进的数据采集软件LabView正在集成到实验中。

This project introduces students to optoelectronics, a key technology for the future. The new equipment is enhancing an optoelectronics laboratory, allowing students to gain hands-on experience with modern equipment in this interdisciplinary field. Learning to integrate knowledge from a variety of fields is essential for effective participation in the present and future engineering community. The equipment is being incorporated into a junior-level Electronics class for Electrical Engineers, an elective Electrical Engineering course, Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, and Exploring Engineering for first-year engineering and interested non-engineering-students. The equipment contributes a vital laboratory component to enhance student learning. Students perform experiments with optoelectronic materials, devices, and systems. Having students create their own optical measurement setups using available components provides them with valuable experience in developing tools to solve problems. Students explore the effects of different materials and temperature on device performance. The Exploring Engineering students compare laser diodes and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the visible and infrared regimes. The Electronics students perform a more detailed characterization of these devices. The students in the elective perform several experiments including materials characterization and characterization of optical sources (gas lasers, laser diodes, and LEDs), detectors, and modulators. A system-level experiment culminates the laboratory experience. Since fiber optic communication is one of the most important applications of optoelectronics, system laboratories involve fiber optics. Coupling an optoelectronic device into an optical fiber introduces the students to the complexity of integrating the devices they have studied into actual systems. State-of-the-art data acquisition software, LabView, is being integrated into the experiments.