Abstract

Since it was first proposed in the late 1960s, development of integrated optics has been encouraged by the progress of laser-diode (LD) and optical-fiber technologies. The remarkable progress of LDs also activated optical-disk technology, starting in the early 1970s. The great success of compact disks (CDs), indicated by the production of more than 300 million CDs and 50 million CD players worldwide in 1992, has provided strong motivation to replace optical elements by monolithic or hybrid integrated optics.

© 1994 Optical Society of America