Teaching 


Modern Optics

A.P. E4110
3.0 points (lecture course)

Background needed: Some electromagnetic theory.

Instructor: Professor Irving P. Herman
X4-4950, 905 Schapiro CEPSR, iph1@columbia.edu
Office hours: by appointment

Text: Required text: M. V. Klein and T. E. Furtak, Optics, 2nd edition (Wiley, 1986).


Overall Course Outline

1. Basic theory - Maxwell's equations
2. Simple solutions of electromagnetic optics at planar interfaces
3. Geometric optics
  a. Ray tracing
  b. Matrix optics
  c. Complex lenses
  d. Radiometric and photometric units
  e. Lens aberrations
4. Interference
  a. Diffraction gratings
  b. Holography
  c. Etalons and Fabry Perots
  d. Coatings
5. Diffraction: Fresnel and Fraunhofer
  a. Gaussian beams
  b. Fourier optics
  c. Image formation
6. Coherence and image formation
7. Polarization and crystal optics
8. Photon statistics


Course grade determined by: 1 Midterm + 1 Final + several Homework Assignments.