Photonics

Unit-1 (20 Lectures, Marks 25)

Light as an Electromagnetic Wave: Plane waves in homogeneous media, concept of
spherical waves. Reflection and transmission at an interface, total internal reflection,
Brewster’s Law. Interaction of electromagnetic waves with dielectrics: origin of refractive
index, dispersion.
Interference : Superposition of waves of same frequency, Concept of coherence,
Interference by division of wavefront, Young’s double slit, Division of Amplitude, thin film
interference, anti-reflecting films, Newton’s rings; Michelson interferometer. Holography.
Diffraction: Huygen Fresnel Principle, Diffraction Integral, Fresnel and Fraunhoffer
approximations. Fraunhoffer Diffraction by a single slit, rectangular aperture, double slit,
Resolving power of microscopes and telescopes; Diffraction grating: Resolving power and
Dispersive power

Unit-2 (10 Lectures, Marks 15)

Polarization: Linear, circular and elliptical polarization, polarizer-analyzer and Malus’ law;
Double refraction by crystals, Interference of polarized light, Wave propagation in uniaxial
media. Half wave and quarter wave plates. Faraday rotation and electro-optic effect.

Unit-3 (15 Lectures, Marks 20)

Light Emitting Diodes: Construction, materials and operation.
Lasers: Interaction of radiation and matter, Einstein coefficients, Condition for
amplification, laser cavity, threshold for laser oscillation, line shape function. Examples of
common lasers. The semiconductor injection laser diode.
Photodetectors: Bolometer, Photomultiplier tube, Charge Coupled Device. Photo
transistors and Photodiodes (p-i-n, avalanche), quantum efficiency and responsivity.
LCD Displays: Types of liquid crystals, Principle of Liquid Crystal Displays, applications,
advantages over LED displays.

Unit-4 (15 Lectures, Marks 20)

Guided Waves and the Optical Fiber: TE and TM modes in symmetric slab waveguides,
effective index, field distributions, Dispersion relation and Group Velocity. Step index
optical fiber, total internal reflection, concept of linearly polarized waves in the step index
circular dielectric waveguides, single mode and multimode fibers, attenuation and
dispersion in optical fiber.

Suggested Books:

1. Ajoy Ghatak, Optics, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi (2005)
2. E. Hecht, Optics, Pearson Education Ltd. (2002)
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3. J. Wilson and J. F. B. Hawkes, Optoelectronics: An Introduction, Prentice Hall India
(1996)
4. S. O. Kasap, Optoelectronics and Photonics: Principles and Practices, Pearson
Education (2009)
5. Ghatak A.K. and Thyagarajan K., “Introduction to fiber optics,” Cambridge Univ.
Press. (1998)

Photonics Lab
60 Lectures, Marks 40

1. To verify the law of Malus for plane polarized light.
2. To determine wavelength of sodium light using Michelson’s Interferometer.
3. To determine wavelength of sodium light using Newton’s Rings.
4. To determine the resolving power and Dispersive power of Diffraction Grating.
5. Diffraction experiments using a laser.
6. Study of Faraday rotation.
7. Study of Electro-optic Effect.
8. To determine the specific rotation of scan sugar using polarimeter.
9. To determine characteristics of LEDs and Photo- detector.
10. To measure the numerical aperture of an optical fiber.