About the Author

Figure 1. Being very silly in the lab, Dr. J. Wah , Mr. C. J. Hepburn and Mr. A. Boland-Thoms wearing the traditional University of Essex graduation head apparel. (The tall hat is for a Phd. and the square hats are for MSc.)

This is site has been written and designed by Carl Hepburn, a post-graduate student, at the University of Essex , in the UK. I am currently working on my PhD in GaInNAs Vertical Cavity Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers (VCSOAs). My first degree is in theoretical physics and I also have an MSD (MSc by dissertation) in experimental physics. You can download a .pdf copy of my MSD dissertation , "Temperature Dependence of Long-wavelength Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs)", which contains lots of useful information about VCSELs and background information on lasers in general. If you would like to offer me a highly paid job, my CV can be found here.

Why Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics?

I started writing these pages to help me consolidate some of the information I had been reading while studying for my MSD. At the time I was also learning HTML and the writing this web site helped me to do both at the same time.

Now that the site is more established, I have secondary hopes for it. I would like it to be a useful reference to anyone that wants to know about semiconductor physics of lasers and VCSELs. The strange addition of Britney Spears to the guide has made the web site stand out from the crowd. I hope that Britney does not mind being an ambassador of science and that the fan part of the site promotes her every endeavour in the future .