• Offered for Year: 2023/24

• Module Leader(s): Dr Thomas Billam
• Lecturer: Dr Victor Pacheco Pena

• Owning School: Mathematics, Statistics and Physics
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Aims

To enhance student’s knowledge of fundamentals of optics and its applications in optical instrumentation and laser science and technology.

To enhance the students' knowledge of electromagnetic fields and wave behaviour and how this can be used to describe quasistatic fields, waves and introduce superconductivity.

Outline Of Syllabus

Geometric Optics

Fermat’s principle, reflection and refraction, paraxial approximation, lenses and mirrors, ray tracing, optical instruments, abberations

Physical Optics

Vector and scalar wave equations, nature of EM waves at optical frequencies, polarization, intensity, plane waves, Fourier transforms, Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction, Rayleigh criterion, resolving power of a grating, reflections from a dielectric and Brewster’s angle

Optical cavities and Lasers

Fabry-Perot interferometer, gain media, longitudinal cavity modes, Gaussian transverse modes, Gaussian beams and lenses, basics of Laser action

Maxwell Equations

Basic vector algebra, definitions of Curl, Div and Grad, review quasi-static fields, Laplace and Poisson equations, continuity equation, derivation of Maxwell’s equations for static and time varying fields. Physical significance of Maxwell’s equations

Electromagnetic Waves

Derivation of the wave equation, plane wave concepts, wavelength, attenuation and phase constants, propagation of waves in lossless and lossy media, polarisation, wave power (Poynting vector), interaction with dielectric and conducting media and wave reflection and refraction

Introduction to Superconduction

A semi-quantitative introduction to the superconducting state; type-I and type-II superconducting materials; London equations; Josephson Junctions and SQUIDs

Relevant examples will be provided to reinforce key topics as appropriate.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures are used for the delivery of theory and explanation of methods, illustrated with examples, and for giving general feedback on marked work. Problem-solving workshops are used to allow practice of applying knowledge and skills from the lectures to problem-solving on more substantial problems.

The teaching methods are appropriate to allow students to develop a wide range of skills, from understanding basic concepts and facts to higher-order thinking.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Exams

Other Assessment

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

A substantial formal unseen examination is appropriate for the assessment of the material in this module. The format of the examination will enable students to reliably demonstrate their own knowledge, understanding and application of learning outcomes. The assurance of academic integrity forms a necessary part of programme accreditation.

Examination problems may require a synthesis of concepts and strategies from different sections, while they may have more than one ways for solution. The examination time allows the students to test different strategies, work out examples and gather evidence for deciding on an effective strategy, while carefully articulating their ideas and explicitly citing the theory they are using.

The coursework assignments allow the students to develop their problem solving techniques, to practise the methods learnt in the module, to assess their progress and to receive feedback; these assessments have a secondary formative purpose as well as their primary summative purpose.

Reading Lists

• PHY2038's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• PHY2038's Timetable