ECEN 4616/5616
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ECEN 4616/5616 March 21, 2014
Time Line for Class Projects:
April 2 (Wednesday): Project Selection
Have a project selected. Write a short (1 page) description of project and the design work
to be done. The description should include:
 A description of the system (what are you designing?)
 The goal of the system (what is it supposed to accomplish?)
 What specifications are known, yet to be determined, etc.
The scope of the project will determine how much of the total system you design.
Not everything in the project need be designed. Depending on the complexity,
certain optical, mechanical, electrical, computational parts might simply be
described, rather than designed – use library or internet resources to help.
I will approve, or make suggestions on the projects. I encourage you to consult with me
at any time on potential projects, the sooner the better.
April 7 (Monday): White Paper
Turn in a “White Paper” (3-5 pages) describing the possible approaches -- include
sketches. How could the problem possibly be solved? Try to think of three possible
designs and estimate the tradeoffs between them. (Tradeoffs include potential
performance, cost, difficultly of design, etc.)
Estimate the design tasks. You should have researched the tasks enough to be able to
describe the design process, and determine some milestones (what has to get done, in
what order?). You should be aware of similar designs (via the internet or library), and
outline the decisions and tradeoffs leading to your task list.
This paper can be part of the final report.
April 16 (Wednesday): Preliminary Design Report
This would include (depending on the project requirements) things like:
 Selection of final approach
 Paraxial design – layout, element powers, etc.
 Determination that real lens solution is feasible (doesn’t need impossible lenses,
etc.)
 Radiometry and resolution calculations
 Describe any Computer algorithms needed.
Left to do might be computer optimization, performance analysis, final drawings, etc. I
will help you with determining what needs to be done.
ECEN 4616/5616
April 21-30 (MWFMW): Project presentations
Presentations of projects in class: 10 minutes each. Cover the main points in the
previous reports and the final design and evaluation. Computer presentations are
encouraged (they can be on flash, or bring your own laptop – Zemax can be used in the
presentation). drives
Students can schedule presentations with me out of class time (this may be necessary
anyway due to time constraints).
Distance students should put together a 5 – 8 page document (or Power Point)
summarizing their projects – what could be covered in a 10 minute presentation.
Think about your presentation – the idea is to have everyone understand what your
project is, what the problems were, how you tackled them, and what your results were –
all in 10 minutes! Keep it clear and avoid getting bogged down in minutia.
May 2 (Friday): Project reports due
This is also the last day of class. Project reports are the combination of previous reports,
and your presentation, put together nicely with conclusions.
May 2-7 (FMW): Final Exam (take home)
This will cover the whole class, with emphasis on the last ½ of class.
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