Diffraction

We look at the behavior of electrooptic devices as amplitude and phase modulators.

We look at birefringence in crystals and discuss optical activity and the Faraday effect.

We look at the vectorial nature of light and describe polarization in terms of Jones vectors

Diffraction from a double slit is discussed. The convolution theorem is presented and the grating equation is derived. (incomplete)

We look at the relationship between far-field (Fraunhofer) diffraction and the Fourier transform, and explore the diffraction pattern of a uniformly illuminated circular aperture, which leads to the Rayleigh criterion for resolution in an optical system.

We look at Fraunhofer diffraction from a slit and for a Gaussian beam. We use Huygen's principle and also discuss Babinet's principle

We discuss unconventional types of fibers including photonic crystal fibers

We introduce the basic principles and parameters associated with fiber optics

We introduce the coherence function and look at the relationship between coherence, bandwidth and linewidth.

Fourier Series are introduced and are generalized to the Fourier sine and cosine tansform