About Course

Overview Learning Objectives The Topics Covered will Include Schedule For Whom is the Course Intended? Benefits About the Presenter Comments from Previous Participants Apply

Principles of Lasers and Fiberoptics [PI.32s]

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Date: July 14-16, 2008 | Tuition: $1,500 | Continuing Education Units (CEUs): 2.0

Updates
* Course schedule and registration times

Overview

Lasers and fiberoptics are very essential to the development of many important high-tech products and systems today. They have created many new applications such as: bar code readers; compact discs; laser printers; wideband low loss fiberoptic communication systems; delicate medical procedures; medical diagnostic tools; unique sensors of physical, acoustic, magnetic, electric, and spectroscopic phenomena; novel methods for materials and chemical processing; novel methods for alignment and surveying; and numerous devices of particular interest to the military.

The question is what is so unique about lasers and fiberoptics that makes them so effective and revolutionary in so many areas?

In this course, the essential fundamentals that govern the behavior of lasers and fiberoptics will be explained using simple language. Emphasis will be on the understanding, in real time, of the fundamental concepts involved. In this way, the material being covered can be followed without the need of a strong technical background.

Learning Objectives

• Understand what lasers are, their unique properties and their limitations.
• Acquire a familiarity with the basics of important laser systems.
• Understand what optical fibers are, their characteristics and their limitations.
• Develop an appreciation of how lasers and fiberoptics are used to create many devices and systems in use in various fields today.
• Explore future developments in lasers and laser applications.

The topics covered will include

• why is there so much interest in lasers and fiberoptics
• what are the unique properties of lasers
• how the unique properties of lasers come about
• how light interacts with matter, including: absorption, scattering, stimulated emission, spontaneous emission, and nonlinear phenomena
• how a simple laser works
• what are some of the problems with lasers
• what types of lasers are available and how do they work, including: gas, liquid, solid, semiconductor, and Raman lasers
• what are the unique properties of optical fibers
• how the unique properties of optical fibers come about
• single mode and multimode fibers
• introduction to integrated optics
• how to manipulate laser light using electro-optic, magneto-opic and acousto-optic effects
• how to design laser-based systems
• discussion of important laser and fiberoptics applications in science, engineering, and medicine
• future developments in lasers and fiberoptics

Numerous demonstrations of laser and fiberoptics phenomena will be shown to enhance the understanding of the material being presented. In addition, the presentations will be highly interactive so that everyone will have the opportunity to ask, and be asked, questions to ensure that any material that is presented is well understood by all.

Course schedule and registration times

Class runs 9:00 am - 5:00 pm each day.

Registration is on Monday morning from 8:15 - 8:45 am.

For Whom is the Course Intended?

The course is intended for all those who want to find out and understand what lasers and fiberoptics are all about and how they are, or might be, used in their areas of interest, without the reliance on heavy mathematics that normally accompanies such treatments. The course is suitable for engineers, scientists, doctors, medical personnel, managers, architects, and others, who work with lasers/fiberoptics, or are simply curious about the field of lasers and fiberoptics, yet have little or no background in the basics of lasers and fiberoptics.

Benefits

The benefits that the participants, without a specialized technical background, can expect to derive from the course include:

• a clear understanding of what lasers are, their characteristics, and their limitations
• a clear understanding of what optical fibers are, their characteristics, and their limitations
• a clear understanding of how lasers and fiberoptics are used to create existing devices and systems, and how they might be used to develop new devices and systems
• a good exposure to what the future might be of this exciting age of the "photon" that we are in

About the Presenter

The course will be presented by Dr. Shaoul Ezekiel, who is a professor of Electrical Engineering and Aeronautics/Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research interests are primarily in the field of lasers and fiberoptics and their applications in such areas as atom-field interactions, laser spectroscopy, optical frequency/wavelength/time standards, and sensors of physical phenomena, particularly, inertial rotation and high magnetic fields. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, the American Physical Society and the International Society of Optical Engineering (SPIE). He has taught regular courses in optics and lasers for a number of years at MIT, and has also given many short courses at MIT, at technical society meetings, and at companies in many countries. (Website: www.zeelase.com)

Comments from Previous Participants

"This class was very comprehensive and provided me with a clear understanding of the principles of lasers and fiberoptics and optics. I would highly recommend this course to anyone searching for a better understanding of this field. Shaoul, of all the teachers I've had throughout my career, you have been the most enjoyable. I wish we had another week to go. I hope you'll be teaching other optics courses."

"Instruction style was great. Course met ALL my expectations. Liked the sense of relaxed pace. Please add into the course description that one will be able to gain a phenomenological understanding and be able to read laser texts more easily. I am excited about talking with our laser jocks now!"