The term "photonics" originated in the 1960s and 1970s with the rapid development of optical fiber technology and semiconductor laser technology based on quantum mechanics, and the idea of developing technologies that fuse photonics and semiconductor electronics. Photonics has played a central role in the development of optical communication systems in the past, and will continue to play an essential role in the development of next-generation core technologies for communication and information processing, such as optical interconnects, optical integrated circuits, and optical quantum information processing. In this sense, photonics is a discipline that, despite its relatively ancient origins in electromagnetics, can be described as a work in progress whose engineering applications and value are still changing from moment to moment.
Since the foundation of photonics is electromagnetism, this lecture begins with Maxwell's equations and first covers the basic behavior of light. Next, we will learn about the propagation of light in optical fibers and artificial waveguides, which form the basis of today's optical communications. In addition, state-of-the-art research topics such as light propagation in nanostructures, which has been made possible by advances in nanotechnology, will also be introduced. Finally, the physics of light and semiconductor devices, another pillar of photonics, will be studied with a focus on semiconductor lasers.
The lectures are designed to be as intuitive and convincing as possible by interweaving physics such as electromagnetism and semiconductor properties with engineering topics. However, in order to promote true understanding, it is necessary for students to work on their own, and therefore, mathematical formulas that support intuitive interpretation will be checked in reports.