After completing the course, the student will be able to:

• Understand the importance of light and photonics
• Understands the nature of light as waves and photons.
• Understands the polarization of light.
• Understands how one can control the polarization of light with different components.
• Understands emission, absorption, and scattering of light.
• Understands reflection and refraction of light
• Can calculate the direction and the magnitude of reflected and refracted light for a planar interface.
• Understands the interference of light.
• Understands the double-slit experiment.
• Understands the principle of and interferometer.
• Can calculate the directions of the diffraction orders after the diffraction grating.
• Can calculate the field after a simple aperture system.
• Understands the connection between the geometrical and wave approach of light propagation.
• Can analyze light in simple optical components like lenses and mirrors.
• Understands imaging in a simple optical system.
• Can calculate imaging in a simple lens or mirror system.
• Understands how one can characterize the quality of imaging.
• Knows what are the aberrations in an imaging system.