May include field trips to industrial, medical, and scientific institutions where lasers are used. Students will study basic wave optics and the fundamental operating principles of lasers, including laser cavities, modes, and properties of laser beams. Lasers studied will include He-Ne lasers, semiconductor diode lasers and pulsed dye lasers. For advanced students in physics and chemistry. An informal laboratory course designed to allow a student to complete several advanced laser experiments in spectroscopy or applications or possibly a research experiment.
Selections are to be arranged with the instructor and tailored to the student's interests and goals.
A study of the electromagnetic aspects of laser physics, including a comprehensive introduction to laser oscillations, gain and threshold, power considerations, multimode and transient oscillations, specific lasers and pumping mechanisms including dye lasers, HeNe lasers, semiconductor lasers, CO 2 lasers, laser resonators, optical coherence, and laser applications, including non-linear optics. By permission of instructor. Research project in laser applications or laser spectroscopy. A senior project involved scanning the frequency of light from a diode laser beam passing through a cell of rubidium vapor. Special detection techniques were then used to obtain a high resolution absorption spectrum of rubidium which revealed fine electron energy splittings related to the interaction of the electrons with the nucleus.