Physics 492 Course Description

PHYSICS 492: Advanced Optics Laboratory

Instructor:  David Van Buren

 

Course goals:  (1) gain hands-on experience with optical components and their behaviors; (2) learn your way around an optical table and laser source; (3)  become familiar with optical experiment design considerations; (4)  construct end-to-end optical systems from source to detector; (5) introduce fiber optics concepts; (6) demonstrate elementary quantum optics principles; (7) attain proficiency using online and downloadable tools for technical work.

 

Topics will be chosen from:

Safety and care in the optical laboratory
Behavior of basic optical components
Optical materials and mounts
Detectors, cameras, and image data
Optical experiment design tools
Environmental considerations for optics experiments
Optical tolerancing and performance error budgets
 
Beam expander demonstration
Young’s double slit experiment
Applied diffraction
Fiber optic demonstration
Quantum optics table-top apparatrus
Interferometry and fringe detection
Fourier optics demonstration
Wavefront sensing basic experiment

Prerequisites:  Curiosity and a desire to work in a laboratory setting.  Familiarity with introductory university optics. 

 

Instructor:  Dr. David Van Buren (PhD 1983 UC Berkeley) is an Architect for optical systems at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  He has worked on astronomical telescopes from an amateur-class 6-inch backyard telescope to NASA’s upcoming flagship 6-meter James Webb Space Telescope.  He has also worked on a range of optical interferometers from handheld demonstrators made with household items to the spaceborne SIM Lite, which will be used in the search for extrasolar earth-like planets.