2.71/2.710: Optics

Fall | Undergraduate | 12 Units | Prereq: (Physics II (GIR), 2.004, and 18.03) or permission of instructor

Introduction to optical science with elementary engineering applications. Geometrical optics: ray-tracing, aberrations, lens design, apertures and stops, radiometry and photometry. Wave optics: basic electrodynamics, polarization, interference, wave-guiding, Fresnel and Fraunhofer diffraction, image formation, resolution, space-bandwidth product. Emphasis on analytical and numerical tools used in optical design. Graduate students are required to complete additional assignments with stronger analytical content, and an advanced design project.

Fall 2020 Update: Fully Remote Classes - 2.71 / 2.710 Optics is an introduction to optical science and optical measurement techniques for engineering applications. For example, why cellular structures appear blurry under microscope? How accurate is 3D motion captured by Microsoft Kinect? What are essential optical designs for prototyping a single pixel camera for spectral imaging?  How is property of light polarization used to experimentally determine the stress distribution in a material? Through example problems and student projects on optical design widely used in modern optical instruments, we will apply key analytical and numerical tools used for geometrical optics and physical optics that build the foundation of imaging science and optical information processing, ranging from diffraction and coherence of light to image formation, resolution, and space-bandwidth product. We shall take a flipped classroom approach for remote learning of 2.671 in Fall 2020. Each discussion session consists of three parts: the introduction, the break-out activities and the guided Q&A. - First, the instructor would introduce/summarize key concepts in the current/previous sessions (~30 minutes). - Second, the students are assigned to groups of 4-5 students and have 30 minutes for interactive activities such as problem solving discussion on 2 questions per group (via break out groups function in Zoom). - In the remaining 30 minutes, the instructing team would answer the questions and raise further questions and summarize the knowledge of the chapters. Video-recorded teaching modules and assigned readings will be made available at least two weeks prior to the corresponding live video sessions. Each of the class projects will be carried out by a team of 2-3 students from the 2.710 roster. A list of suggested project descriptions will be provided and you are free to take your own topics too.