Laser Fundamentals and Laser Applications course.

4 lectures per week

None

None

75% Written Exam

25% Written Assignment

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

The aims of this course are to:

■ provide students with a clear understanding of the behaviour of light and its interaction with optical materials;

■ introduce basic laser theory;

■ describe some examples of engineering metrological applications of lasers.

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

Laser Fundamentals

■ describe the engineering science of electromagnetic radiation and how it propagates;

■ apply this basic science to design beam handling systems;

■ describe and explain the fundamentals of the design of laser devices;

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

■ discuss 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.