CACT 20 Introduction to Lasers: This course is intended to expose students to the basic physical and engineering principles of lasers and review different types of lasers. Topics include spontaneous and induced transitions between atomic levels, absorption and amplification. Fabry-Perot resonator, Gaussian beams, three- and four-level lasers, mode-locked and Q-switched lasers, and specific laser systems: ruby laser, Nd:YAG, Nd:glass, He-Ne, carbon dioxide, argon-ion, excimer, organic-dye lasers. The course lasts 68 hours.
	CACT 21 Fundamentals of Optics: This course is intended for beginning students in optics and photonics to introduce them to the design and use of optical components and systems. This course surveys geometrical and wave optics covering prisms, lenses, mirrors and gratings for their use in optical systems. Selection of materials for optics is described. Special topics include optics of aspherics, crystals and magneto-optic isolators. The course lasts 68 hours.
	CACT 22 Introduction to Fiber Optics: The properties of light, characteristics and control of LEDs (light emitting diodes) and lasers, fabrication of optical fiber, transmission of information via light, and fiber-optic transmission networks are covered. Topics emphasize devices, system analysis and design, including internal and external laser modulation, light coupling to fiber, fiber waveguide dispersion, attenuation and scattering phenomena, connectors, couplers, splitters, amplifiers, photo detectors, and receivers for digital and analog applications. Class will analyze and design a fiber optic link. The course lasts 68 hours.
	CACT 101 Optics Fabrication I: An entry-level course in fabrication techniques with hands-on emphasis on the practical knowledge and skills used in producing precision optical components. It covers basic optics terms, raw materials, tooling, blocking, generating/shaping, beveling, grinding, polishing, edging, and final inspection. First semester involves plano and radius shaping, grinding and polishing, resulting in a hand-polished 3.8 cm glass cube. Course lasts 68 hours over 16 weeks and is held in CACT's optics fabrication workshop.
	CACT 102 Optics Fabrication II: Second semester of fabrication course for instruction in the production of a matching set of master test plates to be standard for measuring optical wavefront radii. Course lasts 68 hours over 16 weeks.
	CACT 105 Optical Interferometry/Metrology: Theory, design and demonstrations of commonly used interferometers will be presented. A commercial Fizeau-type interferometer will be used to make routine metrology measurements of precision optical components. Interferogram analysis by hand calculation will be compared with results from various freeware fringe analysis programs. Course lasts 51 hours over 16 weeks.

CACT 120 Lens Design: This course is intended for students who took the “CACT 21 Fundamentals of Optics” course or who have a good working knowledge of geometric optics (Hecht’s Optics or Jenkins and White’s Fundamentals of Optics). This is an introductory  “nuts and bolts”, hands-on oriented lens design course.  Lens design was once a skill reserved for a few professionals; today with readily available commercial lens design software and powerful personal computers, lens design is accessible to the general optical engineering community.  Consequently some skill in lens design is now expected by a wide range of employers who utilize optics in their products.  Lens design is, therefore, a strong component of a well-rounded education in optics, and a skill valued by companies employing optical engineers and technicians.   Click here for more information.

 

CACT 121  Advanced Optical Systems Design and Analysis:  This course builds on the material covered in the Lens Design class by designing lenses, mirrors and other optical elements together in systems configuration and analyzing their optical performance using a number of different tools.  The topics include:  Modeling with coordinate breaks, Modeling with multi-configurations, Optimization with multi-configured systems, Systems Analysis, Systems Tolerancing, and Physical Optics.

 

CACT 122  Optomechanical Design: This course gives optical engineers an understanding of the principal methods in which optical components--lenses, windows, filters, domes, prisms, and mirrors of all sizes--are mounted in optical instruments. Information is provided about techniques for designing, building and testing hardware, and the performance of major systems.

 

CACT 130 Introduction to Holography-Art and Science: This introductory course in holography is designed to provide the student with an understanding and appreciation of the science and art of holograms. Holograms can store all of the information in an optical field enabling the precise replay (or reconstruction) of a scene with complete three dimensional fidelity as though viewing the actual scene through a window. Holograms are employed by artists to create “light sculptures”, scientists to make precision 3D measurements, the information industry to store vast amounts of data, the security industry to prevent counterfeiting (on credit cards), advertisers to make 3D displays, and in many other applications. Holograms are produced by first illuminating a scene with a laser beam and then mixing and recording the light emerging from the scene (object beam) with another beam from the same laser (reference beam). When the developed hologram is again illuminated by the reference beam, light that is identical to that from the original object beam emerges from the hologram. The hologram effectively becomes a window into another space and time. Students will learn to make, employ, critique, and enjoy holograms of many different types. The class will be taught without the need for a mathematics background.  Click here to learn more about this course.

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