194 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION, VOL. 41, NO. 3, AUGUST 1998 Photonics Laboratory with Emphasis on Technical Diversity Betty Lise Anderson, Senior Member, IEEE, Lawrence J. Pelz, Member, IEEE, Steven A. Ringel, Member, IEEE, Bradley D. Clymer, Senior Member, IEEE, and Stuart A. Collins, Jr. Abstract—We 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: expose students to widest possible variety of technologically important topics in optics, 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. We describe here the experiments, the specific equipment needed to perform them, and the structure of our particular course. We also have produced a detailed laboratory manual that is available to other institutions. Index Terms—Education, fiber optics, laboratory, laser diodes, laser physics, liquid crystals, optical sensing, optics, photonics, quantum well, solar cells. I. INTRODUCTION O PTICS, electrooptics, and optoelectronics, collectively known as photonics, are becoming increasingly impor- tant in the engineering world. For example, high-speed data transmission relies on optoelectronic sources and detectors as well as waveguides. The push toward all-optical computing will require electrical engineers to understand the interaction of light with materials, modulation of light, optoelectronic integrated circuits, and integrated optics. Sensing and trans- duction problems use optical solutions, requiring engineers to understand optical fibers, optical properties of materials, and lasers. Even signal processing tasks and neural networks can be implemented optically. Hence, it is becoming increasingly recognized that there is a critical need in industry for graduates exposed to more photonics topics in the undergraduate curriculum [1]–[5]. In fact, to address this problem, the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION has devoted a special issue emphasizing the strong need for improved optoelectronics education [6]. In that issue, Manuscript received September 6, 1995; revised May 15, 1998. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, under an Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Grant, Award 9351968. B. L. Anderson, S. A. Ringel, B. D. Clymer, and S. A. Collins, Jr. are with the Department of Electrical Engineering, The Ohio State University, 205 Dreese Laboratory, Columbus, OH 43210 USA. L. J. Pelz was with Department of Electrical Engineering, The Ohio State University, 205 Dreese Laboratory, Columbus, OH 43210 USA. He is now with Siemens Telecom Networks, Boca Raton, FL 33487-3527 USA. Publisher Item Identifier S 0018-9359(98)05819-1. a comprehensive undergraduate optics lab was specifically identified as a needed program that is generally missing from electrical engineering curricula throughout the United States [7]. The SPIE also has conferences devoted to optics education [8]. The Ohio State University has recently made a concerted effort to increase its photonics presence, hiring several new faculty members in the area in recent years and adding new optics-related courses. The Department of Electrical Engi- neering now offers separate courses in fiber optics, lasers, optoelectronic materials, medical imaging, and coherent optics, all of which are open to both undergraduates and graduates. Of these, only one (coherent optics) has had a laboratory component, even though our department has a high number of laboratory courses in general. We therefore undertook to develop a modern lab course in photonics, aimed at upper level undergraduates (and open to graduate students as well), that would cover state-of-the-art technology in modern engineering-relevant optics. II. OBJECTIVES We had several objectives in developing this course. The first was to give students hands-on experience in the widest possible range of topics in optics. As part of this, we wanted to expose the students to a large selection of optical equipment, so they would have the opportunity to learn about and use spec- trometers, lasers, CCD cameras, lock-in amplifiers, detectors, fibers, and so forth. We decided that safety would be stressed and that no one would be allowed to use any of the equipment until he or she had demonstrated adequate knowledge of both the dangers and the safety procedures associated with lasers and chemicals. We also felt strongly that a cookbook style lab would be pointless. We wanted to develop a course in which the students are forced to use the library to get some of the information they need, in which they have the opportunity to explore their own ideas, and in which the goals for the lab are left very general, so each student has to decide to some extent, “What would be meaningful to demonstrate or measure here?” Finally, we decided to make technical writing a large component in the course, since we had observed deficiencies in our students in that area. III. STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE The course is open to seniors, advanced juniors, and grad- uate students. The prerequisites are semiconductor physics 0018–9359/98$10.00  1998 IEEE