This book is intended to offer the reader a snapshot of the field of
optoelectronic materials from the viewpoint of inorganic chemists. The
field of inorganic chemistry is transforming from one focused on the
synthesis of compounds having interesting coordination numbers,
structures, and stereochemistries, to one focused on preparing compounds
that have potentially useful practical applica- tions. Two such
applications are in the area of optics and electronics. These are fields
where the use of inorganic materials has a long history. As the field of
microelectronics develops the demands on the performance of such
materials increases, and it becomes necessary to discover compounds that
will meet these demands. The field of optoelectronics represents a
merging of the two disciplines. Its emergence is a natural one because
many of the applications involve both of these properties, and also
because the electronic structure of a metal compound that confers novel
optical properties is often one that also influences its electron
transfer and conductivity characteristics. Two of the more important
growth areas that have led to these developments are communications and
medicine. Within the communications field there is the microelectronics
that is involved in information storage and transmittal, some of which
will be transferred into the optical regime. Within the medical field
there are chemical probes that transmit analytical information from an
in vivo environment. This information needs to be readily accessible
from an external site, and then quickly converted into images or data
that yield accurate and inexpensive diagnoses.
