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Design of High-Performance Optical Systems
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  2. Physical Science and Engineering
  3. Electrical Engineering
University of Colorado Boulder

Design of High-Performance Optical Systems

This course is part of Optical Engineering Specialization

Robert McLeod

Instructor: Robert McLeod

7,163 already enrolled

Included with Coursera Plus

•Learn more
5 modules
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.6

(49 reviews)

Advanced level
Designed for those already in the industry
Flexible schedule
2 weeks at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace
Build toward a degree
Learn more

5 modules
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.6

(49 reviews)

Advanced level
Designed for those already in the industry
Flexible schedule
2 weeks at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace
Build toward a degree
Learn more
  • About
  • Outcomes
  • Modules
  • Recommendations
  • Testimonials
  • Reviews

What you'll learn

  • Describe how different wavelengths propagate through systems

  • Develop strategies for correcting aberrations and enhancing the performance of optical instruments in various applications

  • Describe the nature and effects of optical aberrations, particularly in high-angle, non-paraxial systems

Skills you'll gain

  • Systems Design
  • Laboratory Equipment
  • Engineering Design Process
  • Human Factors
  • Technical Design
  • Simulation and Simulation Software
  • Engineering Calculations
  • Engineering, Scientific, and Technical Instruments
  • Image Analysis
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Mathematical Modeling

Details to know

Shareable certificate

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Assessments

22 assignments

Taught in English

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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Optical Engineering Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
  • Learn new concepts from industry experts
  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 5 modules in this course

This course can also be taken for academic credit as ECEA 5602, part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree.

Optical instruments are how we see the world, from corrective eyewear to medical endoscopes to cell phone cameras to orbiting telescopes. This course extends what you have learned about first-order, paraxial system design and optical resolution and efficiency with the introduction to real lenses and their imperfections. We begin with a description of how different wavelengths propagate through systems, then move on to aberrations that appear with high angle, non-paraxial systems and how to correct for those problems. The course wraps up with a discussion of optical components beyond lenses and an excellent example of a high-performance optical system – the human eye. The mathematical tools required for analysis of high-performance systems are complicated enough that this course will rely more heavily on OpticStudio by Zemax. This will allow students to analyze systems that are too complicated for the simple analysis thus far introduced in this set of courses.

We now move away from the first order approximations and into real lenses and imperfect optical systems. We begin with a description of how different wavelengths propagate through systems.

What's included

15 videos3 readings2 assignments4 discussion prompts

15 videos•Total 40 minutes
  • Introduction to the course•5 minutes•Preview module
  • Introduction to Chromatic Aberration•1 minute
  • Chromatic Aberration Lab Demonstration•1 minute
  • Abbe Number•4 minutes
  • Prism Dispersion•0 minutes
  • Lens Dispersion•1 minute
  • Lens Dispersion Singlet Dispersion from V•2 minutes
  • Singlet in OS•2 minutes
  • Compare Singlet in OS to Formula•1 minute
  • Achromatic Doublet Introduction•3 minutes
  • Achromatic Doublet Solution•0 minutes
  • Achromatic Doublet in OpticStudio•1 minute
  • Compare Doublet in OS to Formula•2 minutes
  • How to Choose a Glass•6 minutes
  • Huygens Eyepiece•4 minutes
3 readings•Total 30 minutes
  • Course Overview•10 minutes
  • More Course Details•10 minutes
  • Tools and Resources•10 minutes
2 assignments•Total 140 minutes
  • Chromatic Aberrations•120 minutes
  • Abbe Number Practice•20 minutes
4 discussion prompts•Total 40 minutes
  • MATLAB Questions and Concerns•10 minutes
  • Goals for the course•10 minutes
  • Introduce Yourself•10 minutes
  • Achromatic Doublet in OpticStudio or OSLO•10 minutes

This module introduces the many types and causes of monochromatic imperfections in optical systems. We begin with the mathematical background of the causes of aberrations, then introduce a number of common aberrations so that you may recognize them in your own systems.

What's included

20 videos6 assignments4 discussion prompts

20 videos•Total 74 minutes
  • Maxwell's Conditions•2 minutes•Preview module
  • Abbe Sine Condition•5 minutes
  • Airy Tangent Condition•3 minutes
  • Equivalent Refracting Surface•2 minutes
  • Introduction to Aberrations•4 minutes
  • Ray and Wavefront Aberrations•1 minute
  • Longitudinal Ray Aberrations•1 minute
  • Ray Aberration Polynomial I•2 minutes
  • Ray Aberration Polynomial II•2 minutes
  • Defocus and Magnification•3 minutes
  • Spherical Aberration Lab Demonstration•5 minutes
  • Spherical Aberration Introduction•5 minutes
  • Spherical Ray Aberration•3 minutes
  • Spherical Wavefront Aberration•3 minutes
  • Coma Introduction•2 minutes
  • Coma Ray and Wavefront Aberration•4 minutes
  • Astigmatism Introduction•4 minutes
  • Astigmatism Ray and Wavefront Aberration•5 minutes
  • Coma and Astigmatism Lab Demonstration•3 minutes
  • Summary of Ray Aberrations•2 minutes
6 assignments•Total 180 minutes
  • Aberration Identification•20 minutes
  • Wavefront and ray aberrations•90 minutes
  • Ray and Wavefront Aberration Practice•20 minutes
  • Spherical Aberration Background•10 minutes
  • Coma Practice•10 minutes
  • Astigmatism Practice•30 minutes
4 discussion prompts•Total 45 minutes
  • Introduction to ray aberrations•10 minutes
  • Abbe Sine Condition•10 minutes
  • Coma and Astigmatism Lab Demo Follow-up•10 minutes
  • Design with aberrations•15 minutes

This module continues to discuss monochromatic imperfections in optical systems. We introduce field curvature and distortion so that you may recognize them in your own systems and then summarize the causes and effects of 3rd order aberrations along with the mathematical tools to describe them.

What's included

13 videos6 assignments

13 videos•Total 42 minutes
  • Petzval Introduction•4 minutes•Preview module
  • Petzval Wavefront Error•0 minutes
  • Petzval and Astigmatism•3 minutes
  • What is Petzval Radius?•6 minutes
  • Distortion Introduction•3 minutes
  • Distortion Wavefront•0 minutes
  • Summary of Ray Aberrations•4 minutes
  • Impact of Aberrations on Focal Length•2 minutes
  • Zernike Polynomials•3 minutes
  • Strehl Ratio•6 minutes
  • Intro to Seidel Sums•2 minutes
  • Simple Seidel Example•2 minutes
  • Complex Seidel Example•2 minutes
6 assignments•Total 220 minutes
  • Field Curvature and Distortion•90 minutes
  • Petzval Practice•10 minutes
  • Distortion Practice•30 minutes
  • OpticStudio Practice•30 minutes
  • Aberration Practice•30 minutes
  • Seidel practice•30 minutes

The previous three modules have discussed the various types of aberrations you will find in your optical systems. We now move to how to design a system that limits those aberrations.

What's included

10 videos5 assignments

10 videos•Total 37 minutes
  • Stop Down System•3 minutes•Preview module
  • Bending the Lens•5 minutes
  • Refractive Index•2 minutes
  • Stop Shift•2 minutes
  • Symmetry•5 minutes
  • Field Curvature and Negative Power•1 minute
  • Field Flattener•3 minutes
  • Field Lens•2 minutes
  • Conic Mirrors•5 minutes
  • Reflective Telescopes•4 minutes
5 assignments•Total 175 minutes
  • Techniques for Reduction of Aberrations•120 minutes
  • Stop shift OpticStudio or OSLO Practice•20 minutes
  • Symmetric Singlets OpticStudio or OSLO Practice•20 minutes
  • Field Lens Practice•10 minutes
  • Mirror OpticStudio and OSLO Practice•5 minutes

In this last module before the capstone, we change gears from aberrations, and discuss a number of other optical elements that are usual in systems other than lenses. We cover light shaping with prisms, GRIN lenses, diffractive optics such as diffraction gratings and Fresnel lenses. Then we finish with an important optical element to all of us - the human eye. This module covers a lot of material and may take you a bit longer than the others.

What's included

26 videos2 readings3 assignments2 discussion prompts

26 videos•Total 140 minutes
  • Prisms that Fold•7 minutes•Preview module
  • Prism Tunnel Diagrams•5 minutes
  • Prisms for Control I: Anamorphic prisms•4 minutes
  • Prisms for Control II•6 minutes
  • Prisms Laboratory Demonstration•2 minutes
  • GRIN Lens Introduction•11 minutes
  • GRIN Lens Details•3 minutes
  • Diffraction Gratings Introduction•1 minute
  • Diffraction as Momentum Conservation•7 minutes
  • Grating Equation•8 minutes
  • Finite Width Grating•12 minutes
  • Resolving Power of Grating•9 minutes
  • Resolving Power of Grating vs. Prism•6 minutes
  • Gratings vs. Prisms Lab Demo•2 minutes
  • Introduction to Fresnel Lenses•3 minutes
  • Design of Fresnel Lens•7 minutes
  • Wavelength Dependence of a Fresnel Lens•5 minutes
  • Evolution of the Eye•4 minutes
  • Physiology of the Eye•4 minutes
  • Performance of the Eye•5 minutes
  • Aberrations of the Eye•2 minutes
  • Acuity of the Eye•2 minutes
  • Accommodation•2 minutes
  • Reduced Eye Model•3 minutes
  • A Better Eye Model•1 minute
  • Ray Tracing the Eye•5 minutes
2 readings•Total 30 minutes
  • OpticStudio and OSLO Practice with Diffraction Gratings•20 minutes
  • Diffractive Lenses•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 160 minutes
  • Optical Components•120 minutes
  • OpticStudio and OSLO Analysis of a GRIN lens•20 minutes
  • Visual magnification practice•20 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 40 minutes
  • OpticStudio and OSLO Practice•30 minutes
  • More prism exploration•10 minutes

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Build toward a degree

This course is part of the following degree program(s) offered by University of Colorado Boulder. If you are admitted and enroll, your completed coursework may count toward your degree learning and your progress can transfer with you.¹

 

Build toward a degree

This course is part of the following degree program(s) offered by University of Colorado Boulder. If you are admitted and enroll, your completed coursework may count toward your degree learning and your progress can transfer with you.¹

U

University of Colorado Boulder

Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Degree · 2 years

¹Successful application and enrollment are required. Eligibility requirements apply. Each institution determines the number of credits recognized by completing this content that may count towards degree requirements, considering any existing credits you may have. Click on a specific course for more information.

Instructor

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4.2 (18 ratings)
Robert McLeod
Robert McLeod
University of Colorado Boulder
3 Courses•25,363 learners

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University of Colorado Boulder

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University of Colorado Boulder

CU Boulder is a dynamic community of scholars and learners on one of the most spectacular college campuses in the country. As one of 34 U.S. public institutions in the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), we have a proud tradition of academic excellence, with five Nobel laureates and more than 50 members of prestigious academic academies.

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Learner reviews

4.6

49 reviews

  • 5 stars

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  • 3 stars

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Showing 3 of 49

O
OR
5

Reviewed on Jul 21, 2020

Great course.Best online course on optics designing. Hope Coursera will launch more courses like this in future

D
DM
5

Reviewed on Nov 14, 2022

Very useful extension to the material presented in the first course of the specialisation, including much material that was new to me that would be useful in designing real world optical systems.

O
OC
5

Reviewed on Jun 8, 2022

Practical and highly informative engineering course.

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When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.

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