Photonics laboratory with emphasis on technical diversity

The authors describe a recently developed laboratory course in photonics aimed primarily at seniors in electrical engineering. Each student performs four out of seven possible experiments during the quarter in changing teams. The experiments were designed with the following goals: to expose students to widest possible variety of technologically important topics in optics; to allow students the opportunity to use the widest possible variety of laboratory equipment; to foster a healthy respect for potentially dangerous lasers; to encourage individual thinking and self-reliance; and to provide a significant technical writing experience. The experiments themselves are in fiber-optic communication, optical sensing, laser physics, multiple quantum-well detectors, liquid crystals, acoustooptic modulation and solar cells. The authors describe here the experiments, the specific equipment needed to perform them and the structure of their particular course. They also have produced a detailed laboratory manual that is available to other institutions.