The aim of the course is to teach students how to carry out a simple statistical optics experiment from start to finish. Starting with the individual optical, mechanical, and electronic components, students will learn how to build the experimental apparatus by assembling the various parts, interface the detector to a personal computer, manage data acquisition and storage through a custom code written in LABVIEW, analyze the data and validate the analysis method through numerical simulations, interpret the results based on appropriate theory, and finally write a scientific report on the activity carried out.
Course Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of optics and statistics
Teaching Methods
Theoretical lectures, computer exercises for learning the LABVIEW language, conducting an experiment in the laboratory
Assessment Methods
Creation of numerical simulations that reproduce the laboratory experiment. The final exam consists of a discussion of the report on the experiment carried out in the laboratory.
Contents
In this laboratory, experiments in linear optics and statistics will be carried out to illustrate some of the main classical properties of light, such as its space-time coherence, its statistical properties in the presence of stochastic systems, and its ability to perform Fourier analysis. These properties are the basis of numerous optical techniques that find application in the fields of interferometry, metrology, imaging, and velocimetry. The course includes an initial phase in which a series of lectures will be held to introduce students to the topics related to the experiments to be performed and the instrumentation to be used. At the same time, the LABVIEW programming language will be introduced through practical exercises, as it will be the software tool needed to manage the entire laboratory activity. In the second phase, students will be divided into groups of 2-3, and each group will perform one of the experiments described in the detailed program of this syllabus, starting with the creation of the optical setup.
Course Language
Italiano
More information
Various textbooks on classical and statistical optics will be used, as well as PowerPoint presentations by the teacher.
