List of Photonics and Quantum Courses at UC Riverside


BIEN 245 - Optical Methods in Biology, Chemistry, and Engineering
Instructors: Val Vullev

Target audience:


Course Description:
This course focuses on the molecular nature of photonics, with a brief introduction to the basics of quantum electrodynamics; going heavily into optical spectroscopy and photoinduced processes and ending with introduction to optical imaging.


BIEN 242 - Advanced Biomedical Optical Imaging
Instructors: Hyle Park

Target audience:


Course Description:
Both courses (BIEN 142, BIEN 242) go over the working principles of optical imaging systems, and include a review of basic optics, Gaussian beam optics, confocal imaging, interferometry, and optical coherence tomography. The graduate course goes over largely the same material but at a higher level, and also includes optical phase measurements and some polarization (Jones and Mueller matrices, Poincare sphere representation) as applied to biological measurements.


BIEN 228 - Biophotonics: Optical Diagnosis and Measurements
Instructors: Bahman Anvari

Target audience:
Graduate and senior undergraduate students in engineering, physical and biological sciences


Course Description:
Covers the fundamentals underlying optical diagnostic procedures, including absorption and scattering based techniques. Also addresses physics of optical tweezers and their applications in biological sciences.


BIEN 227 - Biophotonics: Laser Tissue Interactions and Therapeutic Applications
Instructors: Bahman Anvari

Target audience:
Graduate and senior undergraduate students in engineering, physical and biological sciences


Course Description:
Provides an overview of various types of interactions between lasers and biological tissues. Addresses methods of optical properties measurements, mathematical modeling of light propagation, and selected therapeutic applications of lasers. Includes one or two field trips to medical laser centers to observe laser treatment procedures.


BIEN 142 - Introductory Biomedical Optical Imaging
Instructors: Hyle Park

Target audience:


Course Description:
Both courses (BIEN 142, BIEN 242) go over the working principles of optical imaging systems, and include a review of basic optics, Gaussian beam optics, confocal imaging, interferometry, and optical coherence tomography. The graduate course goes over largely the same material but at a higher level, and also includes optical phase measurements and some polarization (Jones and Mueller matrices, Poincare sphere representation) as applied to biological measurements.


EE 205 - Optoelectronics and Photonics Devices
Instructors: Jianlin Liu

Target audience:
All graduate students in Science/Engineering fields who are interested in Optoelectronics and/or fiber-optics and telecommunication


Course Description:
4 units, There are prerequisite but can be waived (consent of instructor). 3h Lecture + 1h discussion weekly. Covers semiconductor optical processes, light generation, modulation and detection. Focus on physics of semiconductor lasers and photodetectors associated with modern fiber-optics and telecommunication applications.


PHYS 237 - Experimental Quantum Computing
Instructors: Boerge Hemmerling

Target audience:
Graduate students in all science and engineering fields


Course Description:
This course covers experimental approaches to quantum computing. Includes the basics of quantum computing and an introduction to physical realizations of a quantum computer. Focuses on ion traps and experimental implementation of quantum gates and quantum algorithms including search algorithms, quantum Fourier transform, and factorization. Also addresses quantum error correction codes. May be taken Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) with consent of instructor and graduate advisor.


Learning objectives:
  • Understanding the basics of quantum computing
  • Basic algorithms, including factorization, Fourier transform, search, Deutsch-Jozsa algorithms
  • Implementation of quantum gates in experimental platforms, e.g. trapped ion architectures
  • Implementation of quantum error correction protocols

PHYS 209 - Quantum Electronics
Instructors: Boerge Hemmerling, Harry Tom, Joshua Lui

Target audience:
Graduate students experimentalists in all science and engineering fields


Course Description:
This course is part of a lecture series (209A, B, C) which aims to address graduate students from all disciplines that work with lasers, built optical setups or run laser spectroscopy experiments. The course is divided into two parts. The first part discusses applied photonics, covering Gaus- sian beam optics, optical resonators, high-finesse cavities, an introduction to commonly used laser systems (cw and pulsed), electro- and acousto-optics, laser frequency locking schemes and fiber optics. The first part of the course will provide you with the principles of typical tools used in optical spectroscopy and optical systems engineering. The second part reviews the basics of quantum mechanics, including the density matrix formulation and the interaction of light and matter. After taking this course, you will be able to grasp the general ideas of papers published in the area of optical science and engineering.


Learning objectives:
  • How Optical components work, what's on the market and in YOUR labs (mirrors, waveplates, modulators, filters, lenses, fiber, etc.,
  • How to select optics and order them from a catalog, damage threshold, etc ...
  • Gaussian Beam optics and measuring beam size and intensities on target.
  • How lasers work (cw and pulsed)
  • Commercial laser products and what the specifications mean
  • Review of common spectroscopies at the “what kind of spectroscopy would be useful in this situation” level and guide to the literature

ME 180 - Optics and Lasers in Engineering
Instructors: Luat Vuong

Target audience:
All junior/senior undergraduate and starting graduate students who want to gain skills in optics, hands-on experience, and broad perspective of optics research and technology.


Course Description:
4 units, There are prerequisite (ME170, currently) but can be waived (consent of instructor). 3h Lecture + 3h lab weekly. Course is not limited to lasers, as we cover LEDs, solar, lamps, blackbody radiation.
The objective of this course is to provide a solid understanding of optics, teach practical lab skills, and offer broad exposure to the exciting, diverse applications of optics in research and technology. This course will not be limited to laser optics: we will also cover solar and blackbody radiation, LEDs, fluorescence/emission and spectroscopy. Today light sources and detectors are increasingly cheap and simple to deploy. Solar energy is also a critical topic. Grounded knowledge of the fundamentals will enable you to keep up with technological developments. By the end of this course, you should have confidence in your analytic skills and hands-on experience—enough to enter a research lab, apply for an internship, or be competitive for a job that combines your engineering expertise with optics.
Topics: Nature of light, intro to emission/radiation, solar, geometric optics, fiber optics, instrumentation, wave equations, interference, diffraction, thin films, polarization, Fourier optics, coherence, production of polarized light, optical properties of materials, nonlinear optics, optical forces, modulation, optical detectors and displays, laser operation, heat and laser ablation/multiple time-scales of laser-induced damage, modeling approaches( paraxial approximations, envelope equations, COMSOL), ultrafast, near-field microscopy, optical trapping, nano-optics.


Learning objectives:
  • Understand the physical nature of light (Maxwell’s equations, wave and particle-like behavior, polarization, optical activity, coherence, Gaussian optics, dispersion)
  • Be able to apply phasor math to analyze optical phenomena (i.e., diffraction, scattering)
  • Have a basic working knowledge of the operation of laser technology (semiconductor, fiber, free-space lasers) and other light sources (sunlight, lamps, and LEDs). Know what mode-locking is.
  • Apply working principles of various optical techniques to typical engineering measurements (spectrometer, FTIR, lifetime measurements, optical tracking)
  • Evaluate the availability of an optical method for solving given problems (error propagation, tolerances, tools, bandwidth considerations, communication technology)
  • Be familiar with the contemporary applications of optics and lasers in the state-of-the-art research
  • Be able to design a spatial filter, image with a lens, set up and calibrate a photodiode for optical experiments, build a basic spectrometer with your smartphone, calculate the optical forces of a laser.