Abstract

The UD Electro-Optics Graduate Program offers the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. It is an interdisciplinary program between the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and the Physics Department and is designed for students with a B.S. in either of these fields. In order to strengthen skills in applied optics, optical measurement techniques, photonics and data acquisition and analysis methods, a required three-course laboratory sequence was designed. The first course in the fall term has seven basic optics projects that include focal length measurements, lens systems, radiation detection, polarization, interference, near and far field diffraction, interferometry and coherence. The first half of the second course, given in the summer term, covers fiber optics and fiber optical systems. In the second half, the students propose, design, construct, test and report on an electro-optical/photonics system. The third course in the fall term has five advanced projects on the topics of optical spectroscopy, holography, characterization of lasers, laser Doppler velocimetry and optical pattern recognition. Details on the design of these courses are presented along with examples of student work and the results of student evaluations and responses to the lab program.

© 2001 Optical Society of America