1. describe the principle of operation of a system for information transfer using optical fibers
2. describe the laser working principle and list categories of lasers used in optical communications
3. describe types of light modulation and the principle of operation of optical modulators
4. describe operating principle of optical receivers and semiconductor photodetectors
5. describe the working princple of light propagation in optical fibers
6. describe the phenomena that degreade the transmission of information in optical communications
7. describe applications of optoelectronics in communication and sensor systems

Lectures

Exercises

Laboratory exercises

1. Wave and particle properties of light; Wave coherence, interferometers; Guided optical waves, optical fibers
2. Absorption, spontaneous emission, stimulated emission; Einstein coefficients, spectral line shape.
3. Lasers, principle of laser operation; fundamental laser equation, selection of modes, laser types.
4. Types of lasers; examples: HeNe laser, CO2 laser
5. Properties of semiconductors, quantum mechanics concepts,
6. Direct and indirect semiconductors, heterojunctions
7. Semiconductor optical source types, multimode laser diodes, LED and SLED optical sources
8. Midterm exam
9. Single mode laser diodes (DFB and DBR); Frequency tunable lasers; Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL).
10. Semiconductor photodetectors; PIN and avalanche photodiode
11. Optical transceiver design.
12. Electro-optic, electroabsorption , acuosto-optic and magneto-optic modulators
13. Principle of operation of optical fibers. Optical fiber types, Geometric optics analysis of optical fibers. Modes in multimode fibers.
14. Optical link design: loss budget and rise-time budget analysis.
15. Final exam