General Information

Fall, Spring. 3 credits. Letter grades only (no audit).

Course in introduction to engineering series.

Lasers have had an enormous impact on communications, medicine, remote sensing, and material processing. This course reviews the properties of light that are essential to understanding the underlying principles of lasers and these photonic technologies.

There also is a strong, hands-on laboratory component in which the students build and operate a nitrogen laser and participate in several demonstration experiments such as holography, laser processing of materials, optical tweezers, and fiber optics.

Prerequisites

Topics Covered

  • optics and the characteristics of laser light
  • states of atoms and molecules
  • principles of laser action
  • types of lasers
  • applications of lasers in science, technology, medicine,

Workload

  • 1 problem set per week
  • weekly lab might contain in class-quiz or presentation of your lab component

General Advice

  • Go to office hour for problem sets and lab reports, and review lecture notes for prelims.[SP24]

Testimonials

This course is harder than a typical ENGRI course, but is definitely enriching and provides a good introduction to light and optics and their potential applications–concepts you’ll come to appreciate more as you progress through college. A basic understanding of trigonometric functions and wave behavior will be helpful for problem sets. The material itself is not particularly difficult or in-depth, as the course avoids nonlinear effects and remains within the classical framework of light and optics (excluding quantum topics). Many concepts are introduced at a surface level without extensive exploration. Professor Xu provides well-organized class notes and practice materials for the prelim and final. He also shares real-world applications and insights from his work experience during lectures and even takes students to visit his research lab during office hours. [SP24]

Past Offerings

Semester Professor Median Grade Syllabus
SP24 Chris Xu   AEP1100_SP24.pdf