ECE 4300 - Lasers and Optoelectronics

Spring. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

Recommended prerequisite: ECE 3030 or equivalent.

C. Pollock.

Introduction to the operation, physics, and application of lasers. The course covers diffraction-limited optics, Gaussian beams, optical resonators, the interaction of radiation with matter, stimulated emission, rate equations, and laser design. Examples of coherent radiation to nonlinear optics, communication, and leading-edge research are frequently used. Course concludes with a lab where students design and then build a laser.

Outcome 1: Be able to analytically design and physically construct a functional laser with simple optics.

Outcome 2: Understand the general operating principles of laser systems, and be knowledgeable of specific systems (e.g. tunable, ultrafast, high power, fiber and semiconductor lasers).

Outcome 3: Understand how to design and the physics behind continuous wave operation, mode locking, Q-switching, and harmonic generation.

Outcome 4: Be able to design a laser optic system using mirrors, lenses and gain media based on Gaussian beam analysis.