Official description

Interference effects in coherent light requires a description beyond ray optics or simple plane waves. The first half of this course builds on your foundation of electromagetic theory and basic optics to develop advanced topics such as interference, spatial coherence, temporal coherence, and diffraction of light. The second half of the course discusses lasers, which are the brightest sources of coherent radiation. Our treatment includes Gaussian beams, resonant cavities, threshold criteria, the Lorentz model of the atom, and a comparison to thermal radiation.

This cross listed course is offered at together with PHY485F. For course schedule please see: Laser Physics