33-353 Intermediate Optics

12 units, Carnegie Mellon University

Offered alternative years. Geometrical optics: reflection and refraction, mirrors, prisms, lenses, apertures and stops, simple optical instruments, fiber optics. Scalar wave optics: wave properties of light, interference, coherence, interferometry, Huygens-Fresnel principle, Fraunhofer diffraction, resolution of optical instruments, Fourier optics, Fresnel diffraction. Laser beam optics: Gaussian beams. Vector wave optics: electromagnetic waves at dielectric interfaces, polarized light. The course will use complex exponential representations of electromagnetic waves.

Prerequisites: 33-122 or 33-152 or 33-142

Offered: Fall 2026

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