This unit has hurdle requirements, specifying a minimum standard that must be attained. To pass this unit you must obtain a mark of at least 50% in the unit overall, as well as a 40% hurdle requirement in the final examination, lab reports and lab logbook. 

Assignments

Due: various Weighting: 15%

There will be 6 assignments with equal weight, three from each part of the course. Assignments will be issued on Wednesday of Wks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and will be due 12 days (Mon 5pm) later.

We encourage students to use feedback from Assignment 1 and/or within tutorials to discuss any issues relating to continuation beyond the Census Date. 

Extension Requests

Given the importance placed on assignments as a key aid to learning, we aim to return your assignments, marked and with feedback within 1-2 weeks of their due date. This will allow us to provide you feedback in time to aid your ongoing learning through the course. Extensions will only be considered if requested with valid reasons prior to the due date. Work submitted after the due date without an approved extension will accrue a penalty of 10% per additional day for the first week. Work submitted more than one week late will be marked at the lecturer’s discretion. 

Laboratory Reports

Due: various Weighting: 20% This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

Students must complete 4 experiments and submit two full reports and associated drafts together with their log book and calculations for the other two experiments. Submission of the 2 reports, and a logbook with a record of 4 experiments completed, and the associated calculations and analysis for the two experiments not the subject of a formal report, is mandatory.

Reports

• You should refer to the document “Recommendations for Laboratory Report Writing” when preparing reports. 
• A draft report or report can only be submitted once a satisfactory sign off on your laboratory book record of the experiment has been obtained.
• Draft reports are optional but they represent an important opportunity to improve your report writing by gaining feedback during the writing stage. They will not be formally assessed. They will be returned to you annotated with suggestions for improvement which you should act on in your final report submitted for assessment.
• Any report submitted after a draft phase must submit the original draft with the report.
• Draft reports will be returned no later than one week after submission. Reports for assessment will be returned no later than two weeks after submission.
• Photocopies of all relevant pages for the experiment from your log-book should be submitted with your draft and/or report.
• Submissions should be to Dr Gina Dunford in the third year laboratory by the due date.

Submission Dates

1. Draft first report – 1pm Wed, Week 5
2. First report – 1pm Wed, Week 7
3. Draft second report – 1pm Wed, Week 10
4. Second report – 1pm Wed, Week 12

​Assessment of full reports will be graded according to its conformity to the report Recommendations (see above). The marking scheme will have separate components for Abstract/Conclusions, Introduction, Experiment Description (Methods), Results, Analysis and Discussion, and Overall Presentation.

Satisfactory completion of the laboratory assessment is a hurdle task. You must achieve at least 40% in each of the two assessed tasks to pass the unit. If you fail to reach this mark, you must arrange to retake that assessment item, after discussion with the marker. 

Laboratory Logbook

Due: Mon 5pm Wk 13 Weighting: 10% This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

Logbooks with the record of experimental data are to be kept and submitted by the above due date. The marking criteria are readability, layout, completeness and clarity.

Your submitted laboratory logbook is to include the write-up of all four experiments with graphs, analysis and calculations. The logbook should not have the formal background and polished presentation of a formal report. It should contain all recorded data and your analysis of measurements, as well as your conclusions. It should provide sufficient information for a reader to assess the validity of your experimental procedure and conclusions.

Presentation

Due: Week 10 Weighting: 5% This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

In Week 10, students will provide a short presentation based on one of their laboratory experiments. This will be held in the usual laboratory times-slot. Presentations should aim to:

1. Describe the physics principles that underpin the experiment;
2. What findings were achieved;
3. How these principles have been applied or adapted in recent research.

Students may work alone or in pairs and will have seven minutes per student for the presentation. Assessment will be based on the clarity and effectiveness of presentation, your explanation of the essential physics in your chosen area, and your discussion of why this area is significant.

You may use aids such as PowerPoint or overhead transparencies but this is not required. Some of the most effective presentations use nothing more than the whiteboard. We are more interested in seeing how you can be creative and effective in your communication, than the degree to which you have mastered fancy software tricks. The presentation will be assessed according to the three areas of Scientific Accuracy, Content and Depth, and Style (with equal weighting). Further details on requirements and the assessment will be provided during the semester.

Final Exam

Due: End of Unit Weighting: 50% This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

The examination consists of thirteen questions worth 4 marks each and six questions worth 8 marks each. All questions are to be answered. The exam questions will test knowledge across the material provided in the lectures and assignments only. 

The final examination is a hurdle requirement. You must obtain a mark of at least 40% in the final exam to be eligible to pass the unit. If your mark in the final examination is between 30% and 39% inclusive, you will be given a second and final chance to attain the required level of performance. The mark awarded for the second exam towards your final unit mark will be capped at 40%.

If you receive special consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled after results are released. By making a special consideration application for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a resit during the supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments. Please ensure you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application. Approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination. Second chance exams for hurdle assessments will also be scheduled in this period.

Lecture notes are posted on iLearn. 

Textbook

Introduction to Optics (3rd Edition) by FL Pedrotti and LS Pedrotti (Prentice-Hall, 2007)

Recommended Reading

• Optics by E Hecht (Addison-Wesley)
• Optical Physics (3rd Edition) by SG Lipson and H Lipson and DS Tannhauser (Cambridge University Press)
• The Fabry-Perot Interferometer by JM Vaughan (Adam Hilger)
• Interferometry by WH Steel (Cambridge University Press)
• Optical Holography by P Hariharan (Cambridge University Press)
• Optical Waves in Crystals by A Yariv and P Yeh (Wiley)

Teaching Strategy

This unit is taught through lectures and tutorials and through undertaking laboratory experiments. Lectures aim to provide an interactive and effective learning experience. Questions during and outside lectures are strongly encouraged in this unit – please do not be afraid to ask as it is likely that your classmates will also want to know the answer. You are strongly encouraged to read the relevant sections of the iLearn notes and/or textbook before lectures and to discuss the content with classmates and lecturers.

This unit includes a compulsory experimental component. The experiments are stand-alone investigations and may include topics not covered by the lecture content of this course – They are an important part of the learning for this unit and the skills learned are essential for a well-rounded physics graduate.

You should aim to spend 3 hours per week working on the assignments. You may wish to discuss your assignment problems with other students and the lecturers, but you are required to hand in your own work (see the note on plagiarism below). Assignments are provided as one of the key learning activities for this unit, they are not there just for assessment. It is by applying knowledge learned from lectures and textbooks to solve problems that you are best able to test and develop your skills and understanding of the material. 

Part I: EM propagation through complex media

• Electromagnetic waves in media
• Fresnel reflection coefficients
• Multi-layer optical coatings
• Gaussian beams
• Descriptions of polarisation states and control
• Anisotropic media
• Non-linear optics

Part II: Coherent optics and interference

• Interference
• Fabry-Perot interferometer
• Fourier theory
• Diffraction theory
• Fourier optics
• Fraunhofer (far-field) diffraction
• Fresnel (near-field) diffraction
• Near field optics
• Spatial coherence
• Temporal coherence
• Holography

Required work

You must attend the scheduled laboratory session each week from Week 1 to Week 12.  Access to the laboratory at other times will not normally be possible due to staffing constraints.  You are urged to finish one experiment at a time, aiming to take no more than three laboratory sessions.  

Students must complete 4 experiments and submit two full reports and associated drafts together with their laboratory logbook and calculations for the other two experiments.  Submission of the 2 reports, and a logbook with a record of 4 experiments completed, and the associated calculations and analysis for the two experiments not the subject of a formal report, is mandatory. The logbook in the laboratory class must be updated at each attendance. Students writing experimental results onto loose sheets of paper will have these confiscated in the laboratory. Data etc. collected in electronic formats must be reproduced in hardcopy in the logbook. This original record is the logbook that must be submitted for assessment. 

We expect to mark and return laboratory reports submitted on time, within two weeks at most. 

Available Experiments

• Correlation Interferometer
• Diffraction and Image Formation
• Fabry-Perot Interferometer
• Photon Counting
• Polarised Light and Berry Phase
• Photon Counting
• Tunable diode laser 
• Optical Tweezers 
• Heterodyning/Laser doppler velocimetry

Safety

A condition of entry to the laboratory is a thorough knowledge of the safety requirements in the laboratory, given in the document entitled "Health and Safety Guidelines in the 300 Level Physics Laboratory". Students will be issued with the document in week 2 and will complete a short written quiz to demonstrate their understanding of safety requirements observed during all laboratory sessions. The safety aspects of the laboratory can also be found on posters in the laboratory.

General notes

• The laboratory sessions start in the first week of the semester.
• You must sign in and out using the Attendance Book (your name, date and experiment, legibly).
• Students should make a booking for three laboratory afternoons for each experiment they undertake. A booking gives priority provided the students arrive punctually at the start of the laboratory session.
• Logbooks with the record of experimental data are to be kept.  These will be assessed with criteria for readability, layout, completeness and clarity.  A student must gain a satisfactory sign-off in their experimental log-book before any draft or report submission can be made.