College of Engineering
The BRADLEY DEPARTMENT of ELECTRICAL and COMPUTER ENGINEERING

ECE 4134 Photonics | ECE | Virginia Tech

Undergraduate PROGRAMS

Course Information

Description

Fundamental concepts in photonics technology. Basic principles of optical fibers and components such as Bragg gratings, amplifiers, couplers and modulators used in optical communications and sensing. Propagation, dispersion, bandwidth and nonlinear properties of optical signals in optical waveguides and fibers.

Why take this course?

The skills acquired in this course are needed for employment in optical communications, optical sensing, optoelectronics, and emerging areas in nanoscience and engineering.

Learning Objectives

  • " Calculate the propagation and dispersion constants of guided modes in optical fibers using linearly polarized mode theory.
  • " Calculate the number and the spatial profiles of guided modes, numerical aperture and nonlinear optical properties of optical waveguides and fibers.
  • " Calculate the reflection and transmission of optical signals through optical components such as Bragg gratings for applications in optical communications and sensing.
  • " Analyze the operation and the bandwidth of optical components such as couplers, amplifiers and modulators in an optical network.

Course Topics

Topic

Percentage of Course
Analysis of guided optical fiber modes using linearly polarized mode theory 15%
Signal degradation due to dispersion and attenuation 15%
Analysis of optical components for applications in fiber optical sensing 15%
Analysis of photonic devices such as fiber Bragg gratings, couplers, and amplifiers 20%
The principle and operation of optical modulators 15%
Introduction to the fiber optical network and its bandwidth properties 10%
Nonlinear properties of optical fibers and waveguides 10%

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