Laser Fundamentals and Laser Applications course.

4 lectures per week

None

None

80% Degree examination

20% Written report

Laser Fundamentals: to provide students with a clear understanding of the behaviour of light and its interaction with optical materials; basic laser theory; some examples of engineering metrological applications of lasers.

By the end of this course students should be able to:

Laser Fundamentals

■ describe the fundamental physics of electromagnetism and how it propagates through space;

■ apply the basic physics to design beam handling systems;

■ describe the fundamentals of the design of laser devices;

■ write the specification of a laser for a particular application;

■ appreciate the multi-disciplinary nature of engineering systems;

Laser Applications

■ describe the nature of light and its interaction with a range of optical materials;

■ apply basic optical principles to the choice and design of simple optical systems;

■ describe the process of laser operation and the role of basic subsystems;

evaluate the use and appropriateness of lasers for some common engineering metrology applications.

Students must attend the degree examination and submit at least 75% by weight of the other components of the course's summative assessment.

Students must attend the timetabled laboratory classes.

Students should attend at least 75% of the timetabled classes of the course.

Note that these are minimum requirements: good students will achieve far higher participation/submission rates.  Any student who misses an assessment or a significant number of classes because of illness or other good cause should report this by completing a MyCampus absence report