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Appendix A Current Research and Development in Optoelectronics In Japan and the United States The following information is a compilation of material from business and scientific journals, and U.S. and Japanese researchers' personal knowledge and observations. It is not a comprehensive assessment. It is hoped that this summary will serve as a preliminary "road map" for researchers who wish to gain familiarity with the institutions most actively involved in optoelectronics R&D in Japan and the United States. OPI OELECTRONICS IN JAPAN University: The excellence of Japanese university research where individual researchers have made outstanding contributions in various segments of the optoelectronics field has become widely recognized recently. The University of Tokyo2s conducts some of Japan's most fundamental, least applied, basic research in optoelectronics. This university plans to lead a joint research project on "ultrafast/ultra-parallel optoelectronics" with the participation of other researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Osaka, Keio, Tsukuba, and Kyoto Universities. 25 See previous references to the work under way at RCAST. 25
26 Corporate: World-class leaders in research for commercial applications are found in the Japanese corporate sector. Examples include: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) is a leader in optical fiber technology in Japan. It began constructing a fiber optic network in Japan before AT&T began its network in the United States. Fujitsu is emerging as a leader in information processing, leading nine other Japanese companies in developing an optoelectronic integrated circuit. Fujitsu has also made a major commitment to the development of gallium indium arsenide chips. NEC has reported success in developing the world's highest-frequency visible light semiconductor laser, a device that allows greater data storage. Hitachi excels at fiber optic communications systems and devices. AT&T purchased lasers from Hitachi for its transatlantic cable.26 In addition to these individual company efforts, it is worth noting the Optoelectronic Industry and Technology Development Association, which was formed in 1980 by 11 private Japanese companies.27 The association has 263 supporting members including some Japanese subsidiaries of foreign firms (AT&T International Japan, IBM Japan, Philips). The association's aim is to promote and develop the optoelectronics industry through research on industry trends and technology, feasibility studies, standardization, exhibitions, and international exchanges. Government: A number of government-sponsored projects have produced high-quality optoelectronics research. Some of the most notable are: Optoelectronics Joint Research Laboratory (OJRL, 1981-1986), which focused on developing basic technologies for the fuss-generation optoelectronic integrated circuits. Nine companies (Fujitsu, Furukawa, Hitachi, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, NEC, Oki, Sumitomo, and Toshiba) contributed to the project, which was initiated and funded by MITI, with MITI's Electrotechnical Laboratory acting as a contractor. Optoelectronics Technology Research Laboratory, which was established by the Key Technology Center in 1986. All of the nine firms involved in the OJRL plus four new companies (Fujikura Cable, Nippon Sheet Glass, Sanyo, and Sharp), are involved, for a total of 25 researchers. The major thrusts of the successor project are similar to those of the OJRL, with the addition of research 26 U.S. Intemational Trade Commission, U.S. Global Competitiveness: Optical Fibers, Technology, and Equipment, Washington, D.C., Jan. 1988. 27 For more detailed information, see OITDA Activity Report; also available in 1989 special issue OPTONEWS.
27 in the area of quantized electronic structures.28 In both of these projects the work of the OJRL is in basic research, while the industry members focus on applied research, competing directly in device development. Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, which was founded by the Key Technology Center and private companies. This institute, with 154 staff members including 4 foreigners, aims to promote basic and creative research in telecommunications through joint industry, university, and national labs. International cooperation is another key objective. Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO), which was founded in 1987 by the Japan Research and Development Corporation to promote basic research in a number of innovative technologies. There are six optoelectronics-related research projects under ERATO, led by university and industry scientists. MITI Basic Technology for Future Industries, which has sponsored two optoelectronics-related projects on superlattice devices (1985-1990) and nonlinear optical materials (1989-1998~. OPTOELECTRONICS IN THE UNITED STATES University: Recently the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense established three university-based optoelectronic research consortia. The principal center involves the University of Southern California, University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of New Mexico. Two other centers were established at the same time: · Cornell University, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of California at San Diego, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. · University of New Mexico, Stanford University, and California Institute of Technology. Excellent university research in optoelectronics takes place at individual universities and at some of the National Science Foundation's Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) and Science and Technology Centers (STCs). Some of the most notable are: University of California at Santa Barbara, which houses the Center for Quantized Structures, an STC, and the Compound Semiconductor Research Center. Industrial members in the latter include AT&T, Bell Labs, Bellcore, Hewlett- Packard, Hughes, IBM, Lytel, Motorola, Rockwell, Tektronix, and Varian. 28 Hayashi, Izuo, et al., "Collaborative Research in Japan," Proceedings of the IEEE, Sept. 1989, vol. 77, pp. 1430-1435.
28 University of Illinois, which contains the Center for Compound Semiconductor Microelectronics, an ERC with industrial members (IBM, Bellcore, Hughes, Honeywell, Texas Instruments, Motorola, and Tektronix). Columbia University, which houses the ERC for telecommunications. University of Colorado, which has the Center for Optical Computing. Others include Massachusetts Institute of Technology (materials research), University of Southern California, University of Rochester (laser systems), University of Florida, University of Arizona (optical sciences center), University of California at Berkeley, and University of Michigan. Corporate: A number of U.S. corporations are involved in optoelectronics R&D. They include: AT&T Bell Labs dominates industry R&D in optoelectronics, particularly in telecommunications. Fiber optics technology, optoelectronic integrated circuits, semiconductor research, and optical computing are all considered top quality. Bellcore, funded by the Bell Operating Companies, conducts research in materials, fiber optics technology, optical devices, and networks; Bellcore leads in the production of gallium arsenide strips from wafers, important for the production of minilasers for semiconductor chips. Others: Eastman Kodak, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Hughes Aircraft. There are also industry consortia such as SRC and SEMATECH, which receives both industry and government funding. Government: The U.S. government funds a large proportion of both basic and applied optoelectronics research. The U.S. Deparunent of Defense is the main source for the funding of mission-oriented research on the development of devices with defense applications. The work is performed by individual investigators at various Defense Deparanent labs and through industry/ university groupings led by the DARPA. The U.S. Department of Energy funds limited optoelectronics R&D in specific devices such as solar cells. The National Science Foundation is another source of support for the ERCs and STCs listed above and for single investigators working on specific projects on fundamental applications.
