This course is offered each Fall semester by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Aarhus University, as part of its comprehensive Photonics Teaching Program.
This course aims to provide students with a deep understanding of the fundamental principles and practical applications of photonic devices. It covers topics such as light-matter interaction, laser technology, semiconductor optical amplifiers, and more. Students will engage in design studies, hands-on exercises, and lab demonstrations, enhancing practical skills and theoretical knowledge. This course is ideal for those looking to innovate in telecommunications, sensing, and other high-tech industries.
By the end of this course, participants will:
This course offers a comprehensive dive into cutting-edge photonic technologies, covering:
The course combines lectures, exercises, and lab demos, culminating in a design study for the final evaluation.
ECTS credits: 10
Course coordinator: Nicolas Volet
Program requirement: Active participation is mandatory.
Prerequisites: Prior knowledge of electromagnetism and optics.
Course assessment: Evaluation will be based on an oral exam and a written report, centered on a design study you will develop, incorporating one or more photonic devices. Grading will follow the seven-point scale and will include an internal co-examiner.
→ Start survey: We’re excited to begin this semester with you! To help us better tailor the course to your needs and interests, we’d love to hear your expectations and any suggestions you may have. Your feedback is valuable, and the survey is completely anonymous. Please share your thoughts by clicking this link.
Survey results: PDF
Sept. 16 + 19
Silicon, indium phosphide, AlGaAs, InGaAsP, etc.
Wafer fabrication, lattice matching, bandgap engineering.
Distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs), phase shifts.
Process Design Kit (PDK), Multi-Project Wafer (MPW), photonic integration.
→ Sept. 19 (Thursday): Deadline to submit group abstracts
Sept. 30 + Oct. 3
Visible photonics: laser diode technology, green gap challenge, nonlinear optics, second-harmonic generation (SHG), speckle patterns, superluminescent diodes (SLEDs), optical parametric oscillators (OPOs).
Epitaxial growth: Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) vs Metal-Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE), lattice matching, dislocations, quantum dots, wafer bonding, and heterogeneous photonic integration.
Week 42 (Oct. 14 – 18): no teaching at AU.
Oct. 21 + 24
Infrared C-band: scattering, attenuation, and zero-dispersion point.
Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs). Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), coarse and dense WDM, and future integrated amplifiers.
Transverse confinement factor. Net gain and saturation.
Semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs). Small-signal gain factor.
Oct. 23 (Wednesday): R-Day starting at 12:30 at the Peter Bøgh Auditorium in Building 5335, followed by a poster session at 5122-122.
The R-day event is an open forum for engagement and discussions among researchers and students within ECE. It aims at creating awareness and promoting research activities.
Oct. 28 + 31
Confinement factors (transverse and longitudinal), comparison between edge-emitting lasers and VCSELs.
Lasing threshold conditions, gain clamping, rate equations for carrier and photon densities, power-current characteristics, free spectral range (FSR), and practical design considerations for optimizing laser performance.
🎤→ Oct. 28, 2024 (Monday) at 15:15:
Guest lecture by Eric Stanton, Co-Founder of EMode Photonix.
Video: MPG ; Summary: PDF.
🍕→ Nov. 7 (Thursday) at 12:00:
Pizzas and guest lecture by Peter Tønning, Senior System Engineer at UV Medico.
Summary: PDF
Narrow linewidth lasers:
Intrinsic linewidth and coherence length.
Fiber lasers.
Optical feedback.
External-cavity diode lasers (ECDLs).
Ring resonators:
Transmission spectrum. Critical coupling.
Quality factor. Effective phase shift.
Applications: filters, mirrors, isolators, optical frequency combs, and all-optical switches.
→ Nov. 14 (Thursday): Deadline to submit individual abstracts
November 2024: Guest lecture from Asger Sellerup Jensen, Senior Market Development Manager & Head of Quantum at NKT Photonics
Video: MPG
Nov. 18 + 21
→ Nov. 18 (Monday): Feedback on submitted abstracts: PDF – PPT, see all
*Online* session, you can join using this Teams link.
Thin films and anti-reflective (AR) coatings. Distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). Corrugated waveguides. Fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). Fabry-Perot interferometer and etalon. Wavelength stabilization.
Nov. 25 + 28
Mid-infrared lasers: quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) or difference-frequency generation (DFG). HiTran Database.
Speckle effect.
SLEDs: superluminescent light-emitting diodes.
Optical gyroscopes.
Isolators and circulators.
Stabilization loop: Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) method.
Dec. 2 + 5
Modulators. Side-band generation.
→ Dec. 5 (Thursday): Individual presentations (rehearsal)
→ Dec. 12 (Thursday): Deadline to submit final individual reports
Extra topics
Modulation formats. Coherent communications.
Q-switching.
SESAMs: Semiconductor saturable absorber mirror.
Photodetectors.
Solar cells to ultrafast coherent receivers.
Mid-infrared detectors to solar-blind UV sensors.
Brillouin effect and distributed optical sensing.
Raman spectroscopy.
For the numerical simulation of waveguide modes, we will be using EMode Photonix software. This tool is essential for accurately modeling and analyzing waveguide behavior.
Detailed instructions and resources to help you begin using EMode Photonix can be found here.
Evaluation will be based on an oral exam and a written report, centered on a design study you will develop, incorporating one or more photonic devices.
November 14 (Thursday): Deadline to submit your abstract (150–250 words)
December 5 (Thursday): Individual presentations (rehearsal)
December 12 (Thursday): Deadline to submit your final report (5 pages)
For those that would like to attend the exam, please send your abstract and report to Nicolas Volet by email before the above deadlines.
The exam is oral, and the duration is 20 min.
We ask you to prepare a presentation for 10 min, leaving 10 min for questions.
LaTeX files (for booklets and exercises) are available at this Overleaf project.
Slides and other files are available at this SharePoint site.
