About this course: 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.
Who is this class for: This course is primarily aimed at optical engineers working in the industry as well as graduate students and other engineers needing to optical design to their skill set.
Created by: University of Colorado Boulder
Taught by: Amy Sullivan, Research Associate
Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering
Taught by: Robert McLeod, Professor
Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering
| Level | Advanced |
| Commitment | 6 weeks of study, 4 - 6 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| Hardware Req | You will need a computer running Windows. |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
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.
9 videos, 2 readings, 2 practice quizzes
- Reading: Course Overview
- Reading: Tools and Resources
- Discussion Prompt: Matlab Questions and Concerns
- Video: Introduction to Geometrical Optics
- Discussion Prompt: Goals for the course
- Video: What are rays?
- Video: Pinhole Camera
- Video: Rays in OpticStudio
- Video: Snells Laws
- Video: Fermat's Principle
- Practice Quiz: Snell's Law Practice Problem
- Video: Snell's Laws in the Laboratory
- Video: PhET Hands-On Practice
- Discussion Prompt: PhET Hands-On Virtual Laboratory
- Practice Quiz: Practice problems
Graded: Rays and Snell's Laws
WEEK 2
Optical system design in OpticStudio
In this module, you will learn how to enter the description of an optical system into OpticStudio, analyze the performance of that system using various calculations and plots, and finally optimize that design by defining a merit function and search variables.
7 videos, 2 readings
- Reading: Introduction
- Reading: How to get started using OpticStudio
- Video: System Explorer and the Lens Data Editor
- Video: Entering a Lens
- Video: Analyzing a Lens
- Video: The Lens Catalog
- Video: Configurations
- Video: Optimization
Graded: Design of an f/5 singlet at infinite conjugate
WEEK 3
First Order Ray Tracing
This module applies Snell's Laws to the curved interfaces of lenses and mirrors. You will learn the graphical and mathematical tools you need to calculate image size and location for thin lens and mirror systems. This foundation is essential to build more complex optical systems.
12 videos, 1 reading, 2 practice quizzes
- Video: Example of Sign Convention
- Video: Graphical Ray Tracing
- Reading: Practice ray tracing
- Video: Virtual Objects and Images
- Video: PhET Lens Practice
- Video: Positive and Negative Lens Laboratory Demonstration
- Practice Quiz: Practice problem
- Video: Thin Lens Equations
- Video: Imaging with Mirrors
- Video: Single Lens Imaging Example
- Video: Mirror Laboratory Demonstration
- Video: Lenses vs. Mirrors
- Video: Paraxial Analysis in OpticStudio
- Practice Quiz: Practice Questions
- Discussion Prompt: Microscope Design in OpticStudio
Graded: Ray Tracing and Lens Analysis
WEEK 4
Thick optics and mirrors
This module extends the analysis of the previous module to include the effects of real, thick lenses. You will learn how to input this factor into your optical system analysis and design.
8 videos, 2 readings, 2 practice quizzes
- Reading: Extension of thick lenses
- Video: Power of a Single Curved Surface
- Video: Lens Maker's Equation
- Reading: Practice
- Video: Power of Curved Mirrors
- Practice Quiz: OpticStudio practice
- Video: Two Lens System
- Practice Quiz: Thick Optics Practice Problems
- Video: Design with Thick Optics
- Video: Applying Thick Optics Concepts
- Video: Thick Lens Application
- Discussion Prompt: Thick Optics in OpticStudio
Graded: Thick Optics
WEEK 5
First-order ray tracing of multi-element systems
For multiple element optical systems, the mathematical tools introduced in this module will make analysis faster and more efficient. In this module, you will learn how to cascade multiple lens systems using matrix multiplication.
10 videos, 3 readings, 2 practice quizzes
- Reading: Introduction
- Video: Example of Tabular First-Order Ray Tracing
- Video: Another Example of First-Order Tabular Ray Tracing
- Video: Symbolic Tabular First-Order Ray Tracing
- Practice Quiz: OpticStudio practice
- Reading: Practice on your own
- Video: First-order ray tracing with ABCD matrices
- Reading: Background on matrices
- Video: Example of ABCD matrices
- Video: Properties of the Conjugate Matrix
- Video: The Form of the Conjugate Matrix
- Video: Relating the Conjugate to the System Matrix
- Video: Properties of the 2 Lens System
- Practice Quiz: yu Tracer & ABCD Matrix Practice
Graded: yu Tracer and ABCD Matrices
WEEK 6
First Order Optical System Design Capstone Project
This module is a peer-reviewed design project that uses all of the concepts in this course. There are no videos or new information and this gives you a chance to put everything you have learned together into a design problem.
Graded: Capstone design project
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University of Colorado Boulder
CU-Boulder is a dynamic community of scholars and learners on one of the most spectacular college campuses in the country. As one of 34 U.S. public institutions in the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), we have a proud tradition of academic excellence, with five Nobel laureates and more than 50 members of prestigious academic academies.
Pricing
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| Access to course materials | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Available |
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