HomeDescription and TopicsSyllabus and Meetings Textbook and ReferencesCourse Organization HomeworkFinal Projects

Below is the list of suggested topics for the final project. Pick a laser type of your choice from this list, investigate it thoroughly in connection with general physical principles you've learned in the class, describe your findings in a 12-page paper, and prepare a 30-min seminar-style presentation to be delivered during the last week of classes in April. Your paper/presentation must cover (but is not limited to) the following points: laser components (cavity design, gain medium, mirrors, gratings, etc.), general principles of operation (energy level scheme, relaxation mechanisms, pumping mechanisms, homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening), optical characteristics (wavelength and spectral bandwidth, power, pulse length and repetition rate, spatial mode structure, pointing and power stability, frequency stability), main advantages and limitations, main applications (spectroscopy, metrology, etc.). All points above must not be just summarized, but rather explained or, better yet, derived from basic principles for a given set of conditions which are specific for the type of a laser you chose. In short, your project and presentation must incorporate the topics and physics we have learned and covered in class. Most importantly, your paper and presentation must include calculations of a specific case of this laser. The more calculations, simulations, and/or data you present on your specific system, the higher your mark will be. If you feel that the topic you choose is too broad you may first discuss the common points for all lasers of a chosen type, and then focus on a particular implementation (e.g. VCSEL for semiconductor lasers) describing its specific features, limitations, and applications.

Students may come up with an alternative topic, but it must be approved at least one month prior to the exam.

Important Dates:
Oral Presentations are scheduled for Friday April 25.
Part 1) Henn 309 from 9am-11:30am
Part 2) Henn 318 from 1pm-3pm

Written Paper will be due April 28th.

Paper specifications and format

• The paper should be at least 12 pages
  
• The paper will use the Optics Express format (yes, everyone is expected to use LaTeX for this assignement). To help you get started, you can download this example paper (written for Optics Express) and use it to get your LaTeX compiler running properly. Then all you need to is to replace the text and figures with your own.
  

Schedule of Presentations
Hennings 309 and 318