Optical Engineering

Participants should join this course because it helps them understand how optics is used in real engineering applications. The course explains optics in a simple and practical way, making it easy to connect theory with real devices and systems. Through hands-on labs and software tools, learners gain useful skills in optical design and analysis. This course is especially helpful for students who want to work in areas like opto-electronics, photonics, imaging, or measurement systems, and who want a strong foundation in optics for their future careers.

• Introduction to the course and optical engineering basics

• Understanding light as rays in geometric optics

• Refraction of light at a single surface

• Lab: getting started with OSLO optical design software

• Stops and apertures and their role in optical systems

• Clear understanding of aperture stop and field stop

• Lab: hands-on practice using OSLO software

• Image formation using thick lenses

• Ray tracing using matrix method – part 1

• Ray tracing using matrix method – part 2

• Principal planes and focal points in optical systems

• Image formation by lenses and basic formulas

• Lens maker’s formula and its applications

• Paraxial approximation to simplify ray optics

• Fermat’s principle and light path behavior

• Refraction at curved surfaces like lenses and mirrors

• Multiple lens systems and combined optical setups

• Introduction to optical aberrations

• Types of aberrations and their effect on image quality

• Basics of Gaussian optics and beam behavior

• Wave nature of light and wave optics basics

• Interference of light waves

• Diffraction and spreading of light

• Polarization and orientation of light waves

• Engineering applications of interference and diffraction

• Optical instruments such as microscopes and telescopes

• Practical examples of optical instruments

• Basics of lasers and coherent light

• Gaussian laser beams and their properties

• Lab: wave optics demonstrations using Python or MATLAB