Topics in photonics

Photonics is a branch of optics that involves the application of generation, detection, and manipulation of light in form of photons through emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, and sensing. Photonics is closely related to quantum electronics, where quantum electronics deals with the theoretical part of it while photonics deal with its engineering applications. Though covering all light's technical applications over the whole spectrum, most photonic applications are in the range of visible and near-infrared light. The term photonics developed as an outgrowth of the first practical semiconductor light emitters invented in the early 1960s and optical fibers developed in the 1970s. The word 'Photonics' is derived from the Greek word "phos" meaning light (which has genitive case "photos" and in compound words the root "photo-" is used); it appeared in the late 1960s to describe a research field whose goal was to use light to perform functions that traditionally fell within the typical domain of electronics, such as telecommunications, information processing, etc. An early instance of the word was in a December 1954 letter from John W. Campbell to Gotthard Gunther:Incidentally, I’ve decided to invent a new science — photonics. It bears the same relationship to Optics that electronics does to electrical engineering. Photonics, like electronics, will deal with the individual units; optics and EE deal with the group-phenomena! And note that you can do things with electronics that are impossible in electrical engineering!Photonics as a field began with the invention of the maser and laser in 1958 to 1960. Other developments followed: the laser diode in the 1970s, optical fibers for transmitting information, and the erbium-doped fiber amplifier. These inventions formed the basis for the telecommunications revolution of the late 20th century and provided the infrastructure for the Internet. Though coined earlier, the term photonics came into common use in the 1980s as fiber-optic data transmission was adopted by telecommunications network operators.

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Related exercises (8)

Swiss wrestling

We consider tow Swiss wrestlers of mass m₁ and m₂. The two fighters collide with respective velocities v₁ and v₂ according to the figure displayed below.

Determine the final velocity v₃ (norm and angle) of the two wrestlers knowing that after the impact they remain attached together (n.b. 100% inelastic collision).
Evaluate the kinetic energy dissipation ΔT during the impact. Determine the value of the angle α for which the kinetic energy dissipation is maximum.
Before the im

Yoyo

A yoyo is made up of a disk of radius R and mass M, around which a massless thread is wound up. The thread is attached to the ceiling and remains constantly vertical; gravity acts on the yo-yo which is free to lower down.

Compute the disk’s moment of inertia I around an axis perpendicular to the disk’s plane and going through its center.
Find the acceleration a⃗ of the yo-yo’s center of mass, as well as the thread’s tension T⃗.
A disk’s moment of inertia with respect to its revolution

Stable equilibrium

A solide is made up of a truncated straight homogeneous cone, with a circular base of radius R, set on a homogenous half-sphere of radius R and with the same density ρ, as shown on the diagram. The cone opens downwards with an apex half-angle α. Show that the solid is in a stable equilibrium on the horizontal plane if, and only if αu2004>u200430^(o). Hint: With origin O at the junction between both solids on axis z, the center of mass of the cone with volume

\frac{1}{3}\pi hR^2

is at height $z_{G_c}=\fr

Dielectric in a planar capacitor

We consider a planar capacitor, where d is the separation between the electrodes. In the absence of dielectric material, the capacity is C₀. What becomes this capacity when a layer of dielectric of constant ϵ_(r) and thickness fd (0u2004

Mass in a rotating tube

Inside a horizontal tube, a material point of mass m is attached to an elastic band of null rest length and with spring constant k. The elastic band’s end is attached to the middle of the tube. The tube can rotate around a vertical axis going through its center, at constant angular speed Ω⃗. Any friction is negligible.

Write the mass’ equations of motion in cylindrical coordinates as a function of Ω.
Under which conditions on Ω does the mass have an oscillating motion? What’s the frequency

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