COURSE TITLE: ECE 382 Photonic Information Processing

CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Introduction to photonic information processing; coherent and incoherent light; electro-optic and acousto-optic modulation; optical signal processing; holography; optical storage.

REQUIRED TEXT: Saleh and Teich, Fundamentals of Photonics, Wiley, Latest Edition. In addition, course notes will be distributed.

SUPPLEMENTAL TEXTS:

1. J. W. Goodman, Introduction to Fourier Optics, McGraw-Hill, 1996.

2. A. Yariv, Optical Electronics, Oxford Press, 5th ed., 1997.

COURSE COORDINATOR: Prem Kumar

COURSE GOALS: Introduce students to concepts in photonic information processing, i.e., how light is used in modern systems for encoding, manipulating, storing, and retrieving information.

PREREQUISITES: ECE 308 and ECE 379.

DETAILED COURSE TOPICS:

Week 1: Introduction to Photonic Information Processing, Coherent vs. Incoherent Light

Week 2: Optical Propagation—A Linear System Approach: Paraxial Approximation and Fresnel Diffraction

Week 3: Gaussian Beams of Light and Their Propagation Characteristics

Week 4: Far-Field Limit and Fraunhofer Diffraction

Week 5: Thin Lens Imaging and Resolution Limits

Week 6: Optics of Anisotropic Media, Electro-optic Effect

Week 7: Propagation in Anisotropic Media, Electro-optic Modulation

Week 8: Acousto-optic Effect, Interaction of Light and Sound, AO Modulation

Week 9: Spatial Light Modulation, Application to Photonic Signal Processing

Week 10: Holography and Optical Storage

COMPUTER USAGE: Incidental use of MATLAB, Mathematica, or equivalent.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS: Homework assignments will be given to reinforce concepts taught in class.

LABORATORY PROJECTS: A few lab demonstrations of examples of photonic information processing will be presented.

GRADES: Homeworks – 20%, Exams – 80%

COURSE OBJECTIVES: When a student completes this course, s/he should be able to:

1. Have an understanding of photonic information processing.

2. Know what is the difference between coherent and incoherent light.

3. Understand how coherent light propagates in free space—that free-space propagation is equivalent to a linear shift-invariant filter.

4. Understand the differences between plane waves and Gaussian beams of light, the latter being the outputs of most lasers.

5. Do detailed calculations relating to the propagation and focusing of Gaussian beams of light.

6. Know how free-space diffraction affects the design of satellite-to-satellite and other open-space optical communication links.

7. Understand imaging with thin lenses and the origin of the fundamental resolution limit.

8. Know how light propagates in anisotropic media and what are electro-optic and acousto-optic effects.

9. Understand basic concepts of electro-optic and acousto-optic modulation of light.

10. Know how the above concepts are used in photonic information processing.

11. Apply the theory of light propagation to understand how holography and optical storage works.

12. Be prepared to take advanced courses in the area of photonics.

ABET CONTENT CATEGORY: 100% Engineering (Design component).