This course is part of the Optical Engineering Specialization

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226 ratings
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79 reviews

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

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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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

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish

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

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.55/5 (79 Ratings)

Robert McLeod

Professor

Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering

14,621 Learners

3 Courses

Offered by

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.

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

Week

Week 1

4 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.

4 hours to complete

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

Week

Week 2

2 hours to complete

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.

2 hours to complete

7 videos (Total 70 min), 5 readings

Week

Week 3

5 hours to complete

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.

5 hours to complete

12 videos (Total 96 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes

12 videos

Jargon and Sign Convention6m

Example of Sign Convention1m

Graphical Ray Tracing14m

Virtual Objects and Images8m

PhET Lens Practice9m

Positive and Negative Lens Laboratory Demonstration6m

Thin Lens Equations15m

Imaging with Mirrors9m

Single Lens Imaging Example8m

Mirror Laboratory Demonstration5m

Lenses vs. Mirrors2m

Paraxial Analysis in OpticStudio7m

2 readings

Practice ray tracing10m

Lenses with PhET10m

3 practice exercises

Practice problem10m

Practice Questions20m

Ray Tracing and Lens Analysis2h

Week

Week 4

5 hours to complete

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.

5 hours to complete

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

Reviews

4.4

79 reviews

5 stars
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4 stars
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3 stars
8.69%
2 stars
3.91%
1 star
3.04%

TOP REVIEWS FROM FIRST ORDER OPTICAL SYSTEM DESIGN

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.

by AYDec 1, 2021

The first week was a lot of derivation which was rough to get through, but the course became much more applicable in the following weeks and I learned a lot of useful concepts.

by WLMay 17, 2019

Great course, but the tool (Demo version Zemax) is not very useful because of the removal of several important features (e.g. save, undo and limited precision).

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

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, Coursera provides financial aid to learners who cannot afford the fee. Apply for it by clicking on the Financial Aid link beneath the "Enroll" button on the left. You'll be prompted to complete an application and will be notified if you are approved. You'll need to complete this step for each course in the Specialization, including the Capstone Project. Learn more.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

First Order Optical System Design