ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to describe one of the fastest developing areas of electronic materials. The need for optical communications between computers, or for telecommunications, is driven by the need for faster and more precise transmission of data. Conventional electrical communications suffer from problems which are related to the speed of communications and the distance over which such communication needs to be made. Optical communications through fibres can meet these requirements. There are four main components to optoelectronics for communications: light generation, transmission, detection and user interfacing. The devices for these functions are: light emitting diodes, optical fibres, photodetectors and displays. This chapter presents a selected overview of some of the materials used for optoelectronics in each of these main areas.
