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Introduction
Nature of Light
“They could but make the best of it and went around with woebegone
faces, sadly complaining that on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,
they must look on light as a wave; on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and
Saturdays, as a particle. On Sundays they simply prayed.”
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History of Optics Quantum optics
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Topics we plan to cover
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Electromagnetic Spectrum
Optical frequencies
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EE485 Introduction to Photonics
Light as Electromagnetic Waves
1. Wave equations
2. Harmonic waves
3. Electromagnetic waves
4. Energy flow and absorption
5. Fiber optics
Reading: Pedrotti3, Sec. 4.1-4.8, Sec. 10.1-10.6
Historic Young’s Double-slit Experiment (1802)
Water waves from
two point sources
Light is wave
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What does an optical wave look like
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1-D Wave Equation
1-D traveling wave function: y f ( x vt )
2 y 1 2 y
They satisfy 1-D differential wave equation: 2 2
x 2
v t
Quiz: Which one(s) of the following wave functions represent traveling
waves? What is the magnitude and direction of the wave velocity?
y ( z , t ) A cos 2 [ (t z )]
y ( x, t ) A( x 2 4 xt 4t 2 )
y ( x, t ) A( Bx 2 t )
Exercise: Consider a pulse propagating in
the –x direcion with speed v. The shape of
the pulse at t t0 is given by
b2
y ( x , t t0 ) 2
a ( x x0 ) 2
Such a pulse is known as a Lorentzian pulse.
Determine the shape of the pulse at an
arbitrary time t.
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Harmonic Waves
sin sin
A snapshot in time yA [k ( x vt ) 0 ] or A [( kx t ) 0 ]
cos cos
2
k : Propagation constant
2f : Angular frequency
Harmonic waves with different A, 0, k and v
or k and form a complete set of functions.
Any periodic wave form can be decomposed
into linear combination of harmonic wave
functions. → Fourier Optics.
+
=
+
…
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Exercise
A red diode laser, with = 650 nm in free space, incidents from air to
a medium with refractive index n equal to 1.5, as shown below. Derive
its harmonic wave functions in the air and in the medium. The speed of
light in the medium is ⁄ .
y
(Snapshot at t = 0)
x
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Plane Waves and Spherical Waves
Plane wave in +x-direction Plane wave in any direction Spherical wave
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Light as Electromagnetic Waves
E Ex x Ey y Ez z
ˆ ˆ ˆ c t
H
E 0 u Ex, y , z or H x, y, z
t : Electric field (V/m)
E 0 H H x xˆ H y yˆ H z zˆ 1
c 3 108 (m / s)
H 0 00
: Magnetic field (A/m)
(1/ 36) 109 ( F / m) : Electric permittivity : Speed of light in free space
0
c t v t
1 c
v
1 0 n
Speed of light: c
00 n / 0 1
: Refractive index Lih Y. Lin 16
Monochromatic Electromagnetic Waves
Let’s relate harmonic waves to electromagnetic waves
E E(r )e it
(r, t ) (r ) exp(it )
H H (r )e it
(E-M wave represented by complex numbers)
E
Maxwell’s equations: H H (r ) iE(r )
t
H E(r ) i 0 H (r )
E 0
t E(r ) 0
E 0 H (r ) 0
H 0
Helmholtz equation:
( 2 k 2 )u (r ) 0
( 2 k 2 ) (r ) 0 u (r ) Ex , y , z (r ) or H x , y , z (r )
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Plane Electromagnetic Wave (II)
Relationship between the amplitude of the electric field and the magnetic field:
E0
H0
0
: Impedance of the medium
n
0
0 120 377 : Impedance of free space
0
Optical intensity:
2
1 1 E0
I | S | Re E(r ) H (r ) * E0 H 0*
2 2 2
Example: Let’s describe an optical wave mathematically. A laser beam of radius 1 mm carries
a power of 5 mW. (a) Determine its average intensity and the amplitude of its electric and
magnetic fields. (b) Assume the laser beam is a TEM wave (actually not a completely correct
assumption) with = 650 nm, propagating in x-direction, and the electric field is along y-
direction (Slide 11). Determine the complex wave functions for the electric and magnetic
fields. (c) Determine the wave functions after entering a medium with n = 1.5.
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Exercise
Determine the power of a 10-mW laser beam,
(a) With = 440 nm, after traveling
1 km of water at various
locations.
(b) With = 1550 nm, after traveling
100 km of optical fiber.
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Absorption Bands of Optical Materials
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Applications of Optical Fibers
Optical fiber
structure
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Numerical Aperture of an Optical Fiber
Let’s do an exercise:
Show that the maximum incident angle m for TIR in the optical fiber is related
to the refractive indices by:
Calculate NA and m for a silica glass fiber in air with n1 = 1.475 and n2 = 1.460.
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