Optical fibres now constitute the backbone of the worlds long-distance telecommunications systems and are also being used increasingly in other areas, such as sensing, biophotonics, automotive, etc. The course sets out to provide a basic understanding of optical transmission systems concentrating on light propagation along fibres and light processing using fibre- and planar waveguide-based devises. Light propagation includes: modal propagation and Maxwell?s equations; ray tracing, Snell?s and Fesnel?s Laws; single-mode, multi-mode and special fibres; pulse propagation and dispersions; nonlinear effects; fibre and planar waveguide fabrication; analytical and numerical techniques; birefringence and bend loss. Light processing devices include: couplers and splitters; gratings and arrayed waveguide gratings; Mach-Zehnder and multimode interferometers; optical amplifiers and attenuators; polarisers. Laboratory work covers both hands-on fibre-based experiments and numerical simulations.

On satisfying the requirements of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Explain the operation of sensor systems
2. Explain the use of fibres in medicine and nanophotonics
3. Quantify the above.

Assessment will be based on:

• Assignments (20% in total; LO 1-3)
• Labs (30%; LO 1-3)
• Exam (50%; LO 1-3)