Optoelectronic Technology and Devices in Europe

Over the past years exciting advances have been made in optoelectronic devices and circuits. The interaction of light with electronic systems is taking an ever increasing variety of forms. In this review we will focus primarily on optoelectronic devices for lightwave communication systems, although some realated application areas will be touched. In the first section a rather general survey of advances in optoelectronic components will be given, with some emphasis on (but no limitation to) European achievements. In the second section a description will follow of European research programs related to optoelectronics, such as ESPRIT, RACE and EUREKA.