Learning objectives
A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:
1. Knowledge and understanding
a) Identify whether a ray optics, a scalar wave optics, an electromagnetic wave optics, or a photon optics description is required in a given situation.
b) Describe the interaction between light and matter and explain the basic principles of a laser.
c) Describe the concept of interference and calculate the properties of different interferometric systems.
d) Explain the concept of polarization, describe several polarization states of light and how they can be generated and transformed.
e) Describe and calculate the propagation of light in simple optical waveguides in terms of modes, dispersion relation and effective index.
f) Explain the concepts of Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction and calculate the diffraction patterns of different apertures.
g) Describe how light is transferred at an interface of two materials, and through multilayer films.
2. Applying Knowledge and Understanding
a) Operate an Optical Spectrum Analyser (OSA).
b) Characterize properties of optical fibers.
c) Characterize the properties of light emitting diodes (LEDs).
d) Explain diffraction phenomena by experiments.
e) Characterize a Gaussian beam from a laser.
f) Implement subsystems for optical communication.
g) Plan, execute, document and evaluate the experiments.
h) Read and comprehension of the main concepts of a scientific paper in the field of Photonics.