The field of optoelectronics is currently in full expansion, drawing to its classrooms and laboratories numerous science and engineering students eager to master the discipline. From the lecturer's perspective, optoelectronics is a considerable challenge to teach as it emerges from a complex interplay of separate and often seemingly disjointed subjects such as quantum optics, semiconductor band structure, or the physics of carrier transport in electronic devices. As a result, the student (or lecturer) is left to navigate through a vast literature, often found to be confusing and incoherent.

The aim of this text is to teach optoelectronics as a science in itself. To do so, a tailored presentation of its various sub-disciplines is required, emphasizing within each of these, those concepts which are key to the study of optoelectronics. Also, we were determined to offer a partial description of quantum mechanics oriented towards its application in optoelectronics. We have therefore limited ourselves to a utilitarian treatment without elaborating on many fundamental concepts such as electron spin or spherical harmonic solutions to the hydrogen atom. On the other hand, we have placed emphasis on developing formalisms such as those involved in the quantization of the electromagnetic field (well suited to a discussion of spontaneous emission), or the density matrix formalism (of value in treating problems in non-linear optics).

Similarly, our treatment of semiconductor physics ignores any discussion of the effect of the crystallographic structure in these materials.