Modern Optics Lab
Description and List of Experiments
PHY 444 Modern Optics Laboratory. Two sem. hours
This course will cover reflection and scattering of polarized light, polarization devices, longitudinal and transverse modes of laser, temporal and spatial properties of laser light, Fourier optics and spatial filtering, holographic recording, pattern recognition, and fiber optics. One 1-hour lecture will be followed by a 3-hour laboratory per week.
Prereq: Any one of PHY 440, 442, 450 or Instructor's Permission
Course Objectives:
The objectives of this course are two fold. One objective is to
give students an opportunity to understand and develop a feeling for,
through experimentation, many subtle concepts involved in the field of
coherent and Fourier optics. The second objective is to teach them
techniques useful in experimental optics. This experience should
prove useful as a preparation for directed research projects for
undergraduates as well as graduates or in seeking employment.
List of Experiments: The course will require completion of 5 labs out of the following.
1. Scattering and Reflection of polarized Light --- Angular distribution of light scattered from a polarized laser beam. Reflection of p and s-polarized light as a function of angle of incidence. Internal reflection and critical angle. Total transmission of p-polarized light and Brewster's angle.
2. Polarized Light and Polarization Devices --- Verification of Malus' law. Assemble and study an optical isolator (circular polarizer) and a variable attenuator/polarization beam splitter. Observation of double refraction, optical activity, photoelasticity and electro-optic modulation.
3. Axial Laser Modes --- To measure mode spacing, and polarization of adjacent axial modes, TEM 00q, using a spectrum analyzer. Estimate coherence length from the knowledge of spectral width and to compare it with that determined using Michelson interferometer.
4. Laser Assembly and Transverse Laser Modes --- (a) To assemble an open cavity He-Ne laser and to record its transverse mode spectrum. (b) To measure intensity profile and beam waist diameter of TEM00 mode.
5. Hologram --- Recording hologram of a three-dimensional scene and image reconstruction. Record and playback of a white light hologram.
6. Spatial Filtering --- Observation and measurement of the spatial Fourier transform of various transparencies; observation of the effect of simple Fourier filters on various images.
7. Pattern Recognition --- Holographic recording of matched filters and their use in pattern recognition.
8. Fiber Optics -- Transverse modes of a multimode fiber. Coupling of laser light into a single mode fiber. Numerical aperture.
9. Fiber interferometry and fiber sensors --- To set up a Mach-Zehnder interferometer by coupling a single mode polarized laser into a single mode fiber and and sense pressure/temperature variations.
