Optical Properties of Materials

Oral Qualifying Exam - Optical Properties of Materials

Topics Covered: This exam covers two parts, basic optics and materials that have interesting optical properties/device applications.

Optics:

  • Maxwell’s Equations & wave Equations
  • reflection, refraction, diffraction, interference, scattering, & dispersion
  • imaging theory, thin lenses
  • optical anisotropy: birefringence, circular dichroism
  • waveguide optics
  • electro-optic, strain-optic and thermo-optic effects
  • surface plasmons
  • stimulated and spontaneous emission; lasers
  • optical materials metrology: ellipsometry, prism coupling, forms of optical microscopy (two photon, phase contrast, dark field, etc.), photoluminescence, etc.

Optical Materials and Devices:

  • liquid crystals and LCDs
  • electro-optical materials
  • electroluminescent materials & LEDs
  • transparent conductors
  • semiconductor optoelectronics
  • semiconductor quantum dots
  • solar cells, photodetectors
  • materials for integrated optics, lasers, modulators, etc.
  • nonlinear optical materials

Suggested Texts: There are no comprehensive optical materials texts, and few if any such courses. Some useful books, each of which covers some subset of the topics above, are:

  • “Optics,” by Hecht
  • “Optical Materials: An Introduction to Selection and Application,” by Solomon Musikant
  • “Essentials of Photonic,” by Alan Rogers
  • “Optical Materials,” by Potter and Simmons

Related Course: Students may wish (but are not required) to take:

  • MSE 488: Optical Materials.