Development of a Commercial Undergraduate Optics Laboratory

California Institute Of Technology, Pasadena CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project is developing a new commercial undergraduate teaching laboratory focused on the physics of tunable diode lasers and Fabry-Perot optical resonators. Intellectual Merit: The lab includes hands-on experiments that introduce students to several concepts in advanced optics, including the physics of optical resonators, optical spectrum analyzers, laser frequency modulation and demodulation, and control theory. As part of its development, the lab is being packaged to be sold by TeachSpin to undergraduate physics and engineering laboratories around the world. The broader impact of the proposed teaching laboratory is to improve the training of students in the physics and technology of modern optics, of the type that has become important in many areas of physics and central to the telecommunications industry.