PH421: Photonics (2019-20)

PH421: Photonics (2019-20)

Course Name: Photonics

Course Code: PH421

Credits: 6

Course Instructor: Prof. B.P. Singh

Course Type: Core (Theory)

Prerequisite: Informal - Waves and Oscillations (core)

Course Content: Non-linear optical response of the medium, origin of the optical non-linearities (second and third order susceptibilities), classical and quantum pictures, a synopsis of nonlinear optical processes.
Electromagnetic wave propagation in nonlinear medium, coupled wave equations for three wave mixing, Manley-Rowe relation, second harmonic generation- weak and strong coupling regimes, phase matching considerations, birefringence phase matching, harmonic generation with focused Gaussian beams, Difference frequency generation, optical parametric generation, optical parametric oscillators and amplifies. Third order nonlinear optical processes, four wave mixing, intensity dependent refractive index, self focusing, degenerate four wave mixing and its applications, optical bistability and optical logic, stimulated Raman and Brillouin scatterings, Raman gain amplifiers, plasmonics and applications.

Other Topics: Photonic crystals- an introduction to their band structure, nonlinear optical processes such as SHG and optical bistability in photonic crystals and applications.

Useful Books: R. W. Boyd, Nonlinear optics, academic press, 2003, K.K.Sharma, Optics, Principles and applications, Elsevier 2006

Lectures: 90% attendance policy, lectures varied between bad and poor, most of the course was on the blackboard with slides used occasionally.

Assignments/Tutorials: No tutorials or practice questions were provided. The course was on the difficult side with many many new ideas and a fairly fast pace. The grading can be seen on ASC.

Exams: Midsem, Endsem, Project (hand-written research proposal on topic from a list in teams of 3-4)

Online Study Material: The prof's course on Non-Linear Optics on NPTEL

Advanced Follow up Courses: Any of the optics courses.

Pro-tip: Overall quality was bad so we had to rely on self-study. The course content and instructors for the course have been changing a lot, so the course is extremely instructor dependant.

Respondent: Ajinkya Werulkar

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