PHYS/ECE 464 Laser Physics I - Fall 2020

• Class meeting times: Mondays, Wednesdays 16:00- 17:15   
• Lectures will be held either in-class (with social distancing- PAIS 1100) but mostly on Zoom.   
• Students will be notified in advance (before noon) in rare occasions when face-2-face format will be used that day.  
• Exams (Midterm and Final) will be held in-class (PAIS 1100).  
• Enrolled students must register for Zoom Lectures (Click Here)  -  Passcode will be emailed to  enrolled students 

Textbook:Laser Electronics By Joseph T. Verdeyen

Reference Textbooks:

• Optical Electronics in Modern Communications by Amnon Yariv
• Lasers by A. E. Siegman
• Laser Fundamentals by William Silfvast

Pre-requisites: E&M, Undergraduate Physics, Modern Physics, Knowledge of Differential Equations, Linear & Complex Algebra.

Teaching Assistant: 

Mingyang Zhang  

TAs Office Hours:8-10 am Tuesdays  (email in advance)
TBD

Assignments:
Homework problem sets will be assigned on a regular basis throughout the semester, most likely one set per week.

Exams:
There will be two exams: One Midterm and the Final Exam.Tentative Test Date (subject to change):

• Midterm:  Wednesday, Oct. 14  (4-6pm)
• Final (or Midterm-2):  Monday, Nov. 23 (4-6pm) 

 Check the UNM's Office of Registrar for possible changes in the Final exam schedule.

Grading:

The final grade is weighted as follows:

• Midterm: 35%
• Final: 50%
• Homework: 15%

Laser Lab Tour: (Friday, Dec. 4- assuming allowed by then)
E-mail me if interested

LASERS: solution looking for a problem The Movie

Past Exams

• Midterm (2001), (2006)
• Final (2001)
• Final (2003)

Final Formula Sheet

Modelocking Tutorial

Cool Sites

Power Point Lectures

• Brief History of Lasers
• Specific Lasers (pdf)
• Semiconductor Lasers (pdf)

Course Syllabus

1. Introduction (historical overview) [1 lecture]
2. Review of E&M theory (Chapter 1) [2 lectures]
3. Ray Tracing (ABCD matrix method) (Chapter 2) [3 lectures]
4. Gaussian Beams (Chapter 3) [4 lectures]
5. Optical Cavities (Chapter 5 & 6) [2 lectures]
6. Gain Medium (field-atom interaction) (Chapter 7) [5 lectures]
7. Laser Oscillation (Chapter 8) [4 lectures]
8. General Laser Characteristics (Chapter 9) [6 lectures]
9. Various Laser Systems (Parts of Chapters 10 & 11) [3 lectures]

Homework and Reading Assignments

Exam Rules

Past Exams