This course is part of the Optical Engineering Specialization

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285 ratings

Robert McLeod

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Part of the Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree
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Optical Engineering SpecializationUniversity of Colorado Boulder

About this Course

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This course can also be taken for academic credit as ECEA 5600, part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree.
Optical instruments are how we see the world, from corrective eyewear to medical endoscopes to cell phone cameras to orbiting telescopes. When you finish this course, you will be able to design, to first order, such optical systems with simple mathematical and graphical techniques. This first order design will allow you to develop the foundation needed to begin all optical design as well as the intuition needed to quickly address the feasibility of complicated designs during brainstorming meetings. You will learn how to enter these designs into an industry-standard design tool, OpticStudio by Zemax, to analyze and improve performance with powerful automatic optimization methods.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 1 of 3 in the

Optical Engineering Specialization

Advanced Level

Approx. 21 hours to complete

English

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What you will learn

be able to design, to first order, such optical systems with simple mathematical and graphical techniques

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 1 of 3 in the

Optical Engineering Specialization

Advanced Level

Approx. 21 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.52/5 (106 Ratings)

Robert McLeod

Professor

Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering

18,743 Learners

3 Courses

Offered by

University of Colorado Boulder

Start working towards your Master's degree

This course is part of the 100% online Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from University of Colorado Boulder. If you are admitted to the full program, your courses count towards your degree learning.

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating87%(1,144 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

5 hours to complete

Introduction to Geometrical Optics

This module introduces rays, which we use to describe the motion of light through air and materials. The course overview describes the goals of this course and gives tips on how to make the best use of the course materials to be successful. The lectures introduce the material. The in-video questions, lab demonstrations, PhET interactive demonstration, practice problems, and homework assignment allow you to get actively involved in learning the material.

5 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 49 min), 3 readings, 3 quizzes

9 videos

Introduction to the Course3mIntroduction to Geometrical Optics4mWhat are rays?11mPinhole Camera5mRays in OpticStudio2mSnells Laws6mFermat's Principle4mSnell's Laws in the Laboratory5mPhET Hands-On Practice5m

3 readings

Course Overview10mTools and Resources10mGetting Started with OpticStudio or OSLO10m

3 practice exercises

Snell's Law Practice Problem20mPractice problems20mRays and Snell's Laws2h

Week2

Week 2

3 hours to complete

Optical System Design in OpticStudio

3 hours to complete

7 videos (Total 70 min), 5 readings, 1 quiz

7 videos

Introduction to OpticStudio5mSystem Explorer and the Lens Data Editor6mEntering a Lens8mAnalyzing a Lens4mThe Lens Catalog18mConfigurations5mOptimization20m

5 readings

Introduction5mGetting started with designing a lens in OpticStudio10mSetting up your lens in OpticStudio10mDefine multiple inputs to your lens using OpticStudio10mAnalyze the performance of your lens10m

1 practice exercise

Design of a lens with OpticStudio30m

Week3

Week 3

5 hours to complete

First Order Ray Tracing

5 hours to complete

12 videos (Total 96 min), 1 reading, 3 quizzes

12 videos

Jargon and Sign Convention6mExample of Sign Convention1mGraphical Ray Tracing14mVirtual Objects and Images8mPhET Lens Practice9mPositive and Negative Lens Laboratory Demonstration6mThin Lens Equations15mImaging with Mirrors9mSingle Lens Imaging Example8mMirror Laboratory Demonstration5mLenses vs. Mirrors2mParaxial Analysis in OpticStudio7m

1 reading

Practice ray tracing10m

3 practice exercises

Practice problem10mPractice Questions20mRay Tracing and Lens Analysis2h

Week4

Week 4

5 hours to complete

Thick Optics and Mirrors

5 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 59 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes

Reviews

4.3

100 reviews

5 stars
60.48%
4 stars
24.12%
3 stars
8.74%
2 stars
3.14%
1 star
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TOP REVIEWS FROM FIRST ORDER OPTICAL SYSTEM DESIGN

by RGAug 25, 2019

Really nice course with very clear explanations of the principles of optical engineering and learn how to use ZEMAX Opticstudio to simulate your optical system

by SMMay 11, 2021

Assignments are difficult and the auto-grader is a bit buggy. But the course content and the faculty is great

by YPJan 7, 2022

One inconvenience is the windows software. But I mainly aimed to study the mathematics and it is quite helpful with all the explorations needed with the problem sets.

by TCJan 26, 2021

Great content but the provided learning resources are limited to the video lectures and exercises. There is no staff helping in the discussion forums. Question hang there without answers for months.

View all reviews

About the Optical Engineering Specialization

The courses in this specialization can also be taken for academic credit as ECEA 5600-5602, part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree. Enroll here.

Optical instruments are how we see the world, from corrective eyewear to medical endoscopes to cell phone cameras to orbiting telescopes. This course will teach you how to design such optical systems with simple graphical techniques, then transform those pencil and paper designs to include real optical components including lenses, diffraction gratings and prisms. You will learn how to enter these designs into an industry-standard design tool, OpticStudio by Zemax, to analyze and improve performance with powerful automatic optimization methods.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

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First Order Optical System Design

About this Course

What you will learn