Course Catalog Description: The course will cover topics related to electro-optics with a focus on optical communication systems. Topics will include Optical Sources-LASERs (gas, solid state and semiconductor), LEDS and VCSELs; and Optical Detectors-Vacuum Detectors, PINs and APDs. Electro-magnetic theory will be presented with an overview of rectangular and optical fiber waveguides. Other topics will include Dispersion, Polarization and Loss Mechanisms. Devices will be covered, including Interferometers-Mach Zehnder, Michelson, Bragg, Diffraction Gratings, and others; Modulators; Couplers; Wavelength Division Multiplexers; Optical Amplifiers (SOAs and EDFAs); Fiber LASERs; and other devices. Several Optical Test Instruments will be described, including the Optical Spectrum Analyzer (OSA), Optical Power Meter, Optical Attenuator, Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR), External Cavity Tunable LASERs, Bit Error Rate Test Set (BERTS) and more. The design of Optical Communications Systems will be covered at the end of the semester. Laboratory experiments will be performed using many of the aforementioned Optical Instruments.
Topics will be presented from the text book with supplemental information. The course will be comprised of lectures and laboratory work. Grading will be based on Homework, Lab Reports and Tests.
Credits and contact hours: 3 credits; 1 hour and 20-minute session twice a week, every week
Pre-Requisite courses: 14:332:361, 14:332:382
Co-Requisite courses: None
Topics Covered:
- Introduction and Applications; Optics Review
- Optical waveguides
- Optical fibers
- Basics of quantum mechanics
- Basics of semiconductor physics and materials
- Optical Amplifiers
- Optical Resonators and optical gain
- Lasers: Threshold conditions & fundamental device characteristics
- Light emitting devices
- Semiconductor lasers
- Specialized semiconductor lasers and laser applications
- Optical modulation: internal modulation; external modulators (Mach-Zehnder etc)
- Electroabsorption modulators; optical switches
- Photo-detectors: basic physics, noise; various types (PIN, MSM, APD)
- Solar cells
- Optical Sources-LASERs (gas, solid state and semiconductor)
- LEDS and VCSELs
- Optical Detectors-Vacuum Detectors, PINs and APDs
- Dispersion
- Polarization
- Loss Mechanisms
- Interferometers-Mach Zehnder, Michelson, Bragg, Diffraction Gratings, and others
- Modulators
- Couplers
- Wavelength Division Multiplexers
- Optical Amplifiers (SOAs and EDFAs)
- Fiber LASERs
- Optical Spectrum Analyzer (OSA)
- Optical Power Meter
- Optical Attenuator
- Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR)
- External Cavity Tunable LASERs
- Bit Error Rate Test Set (BERTS) and more
Textbook: B. E. A. Saleh & M. C. Teich, Fundamentals of Photonics, Wiley-Interscience, ISBN 0471358320.
Other supplemental material: Pallab Bhattacharya, Semiconductor Optoelectronic Devices, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0134956567.