University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
Optics – PHYS 385
Fall 2014
___________________________________________________________________________________
Course Information

Course title: Optics

Course number: PHYS 385

Instructor: Maryam Farzaneh

Contact: B105 Science Building, x--2423, mfarzane@uwsp.edu

Office hours: Tuesdays: 9:00-10:00 am and 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Thursdays: 9:00 – 10:00 am
Fridays: 9:00 – 11:00 am
Otherwise, I have an open door policy. Please stop by as often as you wish or make an
appointment by emailing me.

Pre-requisites: PHYS 250, PHYS 300, Math 220, Math 222.

Textbook: Optics, Eugene Hecht, 4th edition, Addison Wesley, ISBN 0-8053-8566-5.

Calculator: Please have a scientific calculator handy. A cell phone is not a scientific calculator.

Course description and objectives: This course will introduce you to the basics of modern
optics, primarily wave optics. The main objectives are:
1. Understand the mathematical representations of waves and wave interference.
2. Understand polarization mathematically and learn its practical applications.
3. Understand optical principles behind modern optical technologies and some experimental
techniques such as spectroscopy.

Class times:
- Lectures (SCI- A107): Mondays & Wednesdays 8:00 – 8:50 am
- Laboratory (SCI- C102): Wednesdays 9:00 – 11:50 am

Homework: There will be one homework set per week which is due at the beginning of the class
period on the day indicated on the assignment. The solution to most of the homework problems
should follow a logical step-by step approach. You should use brief sentences to describe which
concepts you are using, write down any equations you are using and justify any approximation.
The answer should have a unit and a brief description of why it makes sense physically. Please
refer to Homework Guidelines for more information. Homework counts for 30% of your final
grade.

Lecture participation: I strongly encourage you to attend all the lectures and take notes.
Sometimes the lecture covers more material than you might find in your textbook. We will also
have group problem solving exercises during the class which will be graded as a part of your
homework.

Exams: There will be three midterm exams during the semester, not counting your final exam.
Each midterm counts for 10% of your grade. The final exam is comprehensive and scheduled for
Wednesday, December 17, 8:00 – 10:00 am. It counts for 20% of your grade. Overall, your
exams comprise 50% of your grade.

Laboratory: Seven lab activities are planned for this course. You will do all of the experiments
with one or two partners but every student should write an individual lab report. The reports are
due one week after completion of the lab activity. Please refer to the Lab Report Guidelines for
information on how to write a report.
General Course Policies

Disability services
Any student who has a disability and is in need of classroom and/or exam accommodations,
please contact the instructor and the Disability& Assistive Technology Center (715-346-3365).

Academic misconduct: As a student at UWSP, I expect you to be familiar with the following
document: http://www3.uwsp.edu/stuaffairs/Documents/RightsRespons/SRR2010/rightsChap14.pdf, especially Section 14.03. Simply put, do not copy each other’s
homework, lab reports and exams and pass them off as your own. Any confirmed incidence of
academic misconduct, including plagiarism and other forms of cheating will be treated seriously
and in accordance with University policy.

Food and drinks are absolutely not permitted in the laboratory. No exceptions.

I will accept only one late assignment per student during the course. No excuses are needed. A
second late homework will receive no more than 50% credit. Subsequent late submissions will
not be accepted.

Make-up work will only be accepted in the case of excused absences. Excused absences include
death in the immediate family, illness with a note from the appropriate health care professional,
religious observance, an event in which you officially represent the UWSP and the event directly
conflicts with an exam or lab. Excused absences must be approved with documenting materials
prior to the date of absence. You should contact me in advance to inform me of your absence.

The schedule for the finals is set by the University. I will not schedule an early final exam for
whatever reason.

Once you hand in your final exam, there is nothing more you can do to change your grade.
Grading and Evaluation
I will calculate your grade based on a weighted percentage of your scores as follows:
Homework
Laboratory
Exams (3 midterms, 10% each)
Final exam
30%
20%
30%
20%
Your final grades will be determined as follows:
93% and above
90--92%
A
A-
87--89%
83--86%
80--82%
B+
B
B-
77--79%
73--76%
70--72%
C+
C
C-
67--69%
60--66%
below 60%
D+
D
F
Please note that I do not grade on a curve. Scores will be rounded up. For example, 86.6% will
become a B+, but 86.3 will remain a B.
Tentative Course Schedule
The tentative course schedule is as follows. This might change and I will try my best to announce
any changes beforehand.
Week
Date
Chapter and Topic
Sept 3 (Wed)
2: Introduction, light, wave/particle duality
Sept 3 (Wed)
2: Waves, complex representation, plane waves
Sept 8 (Mon)
3: E&M waves, Energy and Momentum
Sept 10 (Wed)
4.6: Reflection and Refraction
Sept 10 (Wed)
4.6: Fresnel Eqns.
Sept 15 (Mon)
4.7: Total internal reflection, Evanescent wave
Sept 17 (Wed)
7.1: Superposition of waves, phasors
Lab
(1)
(2)
(3)
Sept 17 (Wed)
(4)
Lab rotation 1
Sept 22 (Mon)
7.1: Standing waves, beats
Sept 24 (Wed)
7.2: Group velocity
Sept 24 (Wed)
Lab rotation 2
(5)
Sept 29 (Mon)
7.3: Fourier analysis, bandwidth
Oct 1 (Wed)
7.3: Fourier integrals, coherence length
Oct 1 (Wed)
(6)
Lab rotation 3
Oct 6 (Mon)
9.3: Interference overview, Young’s double slit
Oct 8 (Wed)
9.4: Thin film interference
Oct 8 (Wed)
(7)
Exam 1
Oct 13 (Mon)
9.4: Michelson interferometer
Oct 15 (Wed)
9.6: Multiple beam interference
Oct 15 (Wed)
(8)
Holography Lab
Oct 20 (Mon)
9.6: Fabry-Perot interferometer
Oct 22 (Wed)
9.8: Applications of interferometry
Oct 22 (Wed)
(9)
Lab rotation 4
Oct 27 (Mon)
10.2: Fraunhofer Diffraction
Oct 29 (Wed)
10.2: Double slit diffraction, Multi-slit diffraction
Oct 29 (Wed)
(10)
Lab rotation 5
Nov 3 (Mon)
10.2: Circular aperture, resolution
Nov 5 (Wed)
10.2: Diffraction grating
Nov 5 (Wed)
(11)
Exam 2
Nov 10 (Mon)
10.3: Fresnel diffraction
Nov 12 (Wed)
8.1: Polarization , Polarizers, Dichroism,
Nov 12 (Wed)
(12)
Lab rotation 6
Nov 17 (Mon)
8.2, 8.3: Birefringence Retarders, Compensators
Nov 19 (Wed)
8.7: Faraday Effect, Kerr Effect
Nov 19 (Wed)
Lab rotation 7
(13)
Nov 24 (Mon)
13.1: Laser fundamentals
Nov 26 (Wed)
13.1: Types of lasers
Nov 26 (Wed)
(14)
Lab rotation 8
Dec 1 (Mon)
11.3: Fourier optics and convolution theorem
Dec 3 (Wed)
13.2: Imagery and Spatial filtering
Dec 3 (Wed)
(15)
Exam 3
Dec 8 (Mon)
13.3: Holography
Dec 10 (Wed)
13.4: Non-linear optics
Dec 10 (Wed)
Exam Review
Final Exam: Wednesday, December 17
(16)
8:00 – 10:00 am