PHY 441 OPTICS AND LASER PHYSICS ( 4 semester hours) A lecture and laboratory course covering all aspects of lasers. Students are taught the basics of physical and geometrical optics, and atomic physics, in such detail as neccessary to understand the design, operation, and application of lasers. Topics include matrix methods in ray optics, gaussian beams, cavity design, rate equation models of laser gain media, pulsed and CW lasers, different types of lasers, and nonlinear optics. Applications to communications, optical computing, and image processing are discussed.

Prerequisite: PHY 293, concurrent registration in or prior completion of PHY 381, MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS and PHY 491, INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM PHYSICS, or consent of instructor

OPTICS AND LASER PHYSICS: The lecture portion of the course includes the following topics:
1.) Wave equation, Fresnel equations, and polarization
2.) Geometrical optics using matrix methods.
3.) Cavity modes and Gaussian beams.
4.) Fabry-Perot and Michelson interferometers.
5.) Basic rate equation models for 3 and 4 level systems.
6.) Simple laser theory (single- and multi-mode operation).
7.) Mode-locking and Q-switching.
8.) Diffraction and Fourier optics.
9.) Electro- and Acousto-optic effects.
10.) Nonlinear Optics.
  The laboratory section of the course is designed to illuminate the major topics discussed in lectures, and to give students experience with a variety of optical devices.  One major goal is to provide students the basic laser experience that is so often demanded in graduate schools and valued by modern industries.  Building upon the stronger physical optics emphasis of the MUPEP-based introductory sequence, the student will begin with a pair of mirrors and will progress to detailed understanding of how lasers work.  Also, the course would provide expertise in working with Argon-ion, Helium-Neon, dye and diode laser systems that can be used in the Spectroscopy of Atoms and Molecules course, senior projects, graduate work or the industrial laboratory.  The laboratory component typically consists of the following:
 
0. Laser Safety:  Bureau of Radiological Health regulations are promulgated.
1. Fresnel Equations:  A qualitative verification of the Fresnel equations for the reflection of electromagnetic waves at a dielectric interface.  This is accomplished with a helium-neon laser and common transparent dielectrics.
2. Coherence Length:  The coherence length of a He-Ne laser, the argon-ion, and argon pumped dye laser are measured with a Michelson interferometer.
3. Gaussian Beams:  The transverse beam characteristics of the TEM00 mode of the laser developed in lab 2 are investigated with the OMA.  The beam can be focused with a lens, and the location and size of the resulting beam waist can be compared to the results of gaussian beam theory. At the same time, students compare experimental results with theoretical predictions using the PARAXIA optical design program.
4. Laser Cavity Design:  The students verify the stability condition for laser cavities using a He-Ne discharge tube with one flat end mirror.  An external mirror is placed at the other end of the discharge tube, and the dependence of lasing on cavity length is then observed.  This is be done for several external mirrors of varying radii of curvature.
5. Transverse Mode Structure:  The transverse mode structure of the laser developed in lab 2 is  investigated by placing apertures (pinholes, knife-edges, etc..) in the laser cavity, and viewing the laser output both on a screen and with the Optical Multichannel Analyzer (OMA) by using the diode array without attaching it to a spectrometer.  Our He-Ne tube has a relatively wide bore (2mm) so that in the absence of apertures many transverse modes can oscillate simultaneously.
6. Longitudinal Mode Structure:  The longitudinal mode structure is studied using a scanning  Fabry-Perot interferometer.  By changing the length of the cavity, the longitudinal mode spacing is  altered.  The longitudinal mode structure of the argon ion laser is also examined.
7. Dye Absorption and Emission Spectra:  The absorption spectrum of Rhodamine 6-G is measured using an existing research spectrophotometer.  The emission spectrum is generated by looking at the fluorescence from a dye cell pumped by the argon ion laser with an spectrometer and
8. Fourier Optics:  The students construct a spatial filter using two lenses and a pinhole.  They then perform rudimentary image processing using lenses and various transparencies.  A typical example would be to remove the lines from a photomontage (e.g. NASA planetary or lunar photographs). With photorefractive crystals, we hope to expand this segment of the course to include image processing applications.
9. Fiber Optics:  Investigations into total internal reflection and data communication
 

Other experiments -
1.) The Electro-Optic Effect and Amplitude Modulation:
2.) Two-Beam Coupling and Associated Photorefractive Effects:
3) Image Processing with Photorefractives:
4.) Second-Harmonic Generation: