The developments of optical recording, bar code scanning, and data storage provide other major drivers. Amplifiers, consisting simply of an appropriately doped glass fiber and a pump laser, are being built and used in important applications. The course deals with methods of generating, modulating, and detecting light. Elements of optics and solid state device theory, required for the understanding of the material, will be developed in class. Generating devices consist mainly of lasers and LEDs.
Modulation is accomplished through the use of polarization effects in crystals.
Transmission often involves fiber optic waveguides. Detection depends upon the use of photomultipliers, photoconductive detectors, or junction detectors. All of these subjects and the various types of display devices will be studied. Students who complete this course will be in a position to read and understand papers dealing with developments in this field. They will be able to specify the characteristics of devices needed to accomplish design tasks.