English

Français

English

Français

Appearance

Wave Optics (06POCOPT) ​

  • Coefficient : 2
  • Hourly Volume: 40.0h (including 23.0h supervised)
    CTD : 23h supervised (and 4h unsupervised)
    Out-of-schedule personal work : 13h

AATs Lists

Description ​

  1. Electrodynamics Equations: Maxwell’s equations, wave equation
  2. Plane Waves
  3. Light Energy
  4. Polarization Properties of Electromagnetic Waves: Practical applications
  5. Reflection and Refraction of Light: Interface between dielectric/dielectric or dielectric/metal
  6. Interference Phenomenon: Practical applications
  7. Light Diffraction: Principles and consequences

Learning Outcomes (AAv) ​

  • AAv1 [hours: 6.5, B2, B3]: By the end of the course, students will be able to calculate the characteristic parameters of a monochromatic plane electromagnetic wave (wavelength, frequency, phase velocity, group velocity, intensity, electric and magnetic fields) in a linear, homogeneous, isotropic, and transparent dielectric medium and characterize its structure.

  • AAv2 [hours: 6, B2, B3]: By the end of the course, students will be able to determine the polarization state of a plane electromagnetic wave from the parametric expression of the wave’s electric field and vice versa.

  • AAv3 [hours: 9, B2, B3, C1]: By the end of the course, students will be able to describe and analyze the polarization state change of an electromagnetic wave using polarimetry instruments (birefringent plates, ideal linear polarizer, and their combination).

  • AAv4 [hours: 5.25, B2, B3]: By the end of the course, students will be able to calculate and characterize the Fresnel coefficients for amplitude and intensity related to the reflection and transmission of a plane wave on a planar interface and determine the polarization state of the reflected and transmitted waves.

  • AAv5 [hours: 7, B2, B3]: By the end of the course, students will be able to calculate the interference of electromagnetic waves of the same frequency, whether polarized or unpolarized.

  • AAv6 [hours: 12, B2, B3, C1]: By the end of the course, students will be able to characterize and analyze interferometric setups (optical beat photodetection, Young’s interferometer, Mach-Zehnder and Fabry-Perot interferometers, anti-reflective coating…) and explain and interpret interference phenomena (Newton’s rings, iridescence…).

  • AAv7 [hours: 4.25, B2, B3, C1]: By the end of the course, students will be able to state the principles of diffraction, analyze the intensity distribution due to diffraction by various apertures (rectangular slit, circular aperture, diffraction gratings), and describe diffraction-related phenomena (Airy disk, diffraction-limited resolution…).

Assessment Methods ​

Continuous assessment: one long evaluation (coefficient 1) and the average of several shorter evaluations (coefficient 1).

Keywords ​

Maxwell's equations, constitutive relations, wave equation, electromagnetic wave energy, interference, diffraction, polarization.

Prerequisites ​

Basic Electromagnetics course (S5O), foundational engineering mathematics (particularly integration and differentiation).

Resources ​

  • Photocopied course materials
  • J.-P. Perez, R. Carles, R. Fleckinger, Electromagnetism: Fundamentals and Applications, Dunod.
  • J.D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics, Dunod.