Syllabus
The course provides hands on experience to complement the lecture material in the Introductory Optomechanical Engineering course (OPTI 421/521). This class consists of one 50 minute class and one 3-hour lab session per week.
The class meets on Friday to go over the upcoming lab, and to discuss results from the previous lab.
The lab work should be done in groups of 2 to 3 students per group, in three-hour weekly sessions, to be arranged. Each group must schedule their lab session with the TA, who will post the schedule, and will assist with the labs You will usually be able to stay past the scheduled time, and you can schedule additional time in the lab. You may have access to the lab after hours, just coordinate this with the TA.
Preparation for the labs is essential. Handouts and references will be available a week before the experiment, available at this website.
Lab Notes
The lab notebook is the most important part of the lab. You need to keep your notebook up to date, and write in it as you do the lab. You must use a bound notebook that has numbered pages that cannot come out. Your notebooks must contain everything needed to reproduce the experiment:
- Date, time, lab partner(s)
- Objective of the experiment
- Diagrams (and/or photo) of any set-ups
- All observations and comments
- Required calculations with equation
- Answers to the questions from the handouts
The notebook must be neat enough that somebody else reading your notebook could understand what you did. All markings in the lab notebook should be made in pen. It is a good idea to cut out and tape relevant material into your notebook where appropriate. Use digital images where appropriate. It is also useful to keep a table of contents for your notebook.
Grading
The grade for this course is based on your lab notebook and the final presentation for the 421L/521L students. The notebooks will be graded on the basis of completeness of the lab write-up and answering the questions. Each lab will be graded for the following:
- Preparation: Before starting the lab, the objective should already be entered into the notebook, along with a summary of the preparation that was completed.
- Diagrams of lab setups, should be concise, yet include important parameters
- Any data, presented in a neat form, including labels
- Observations, should be concise and neat
- Answers to questions
Nominal Syllabus
First order optics, image motion
Basic alignment technique
Singlet lens centering
Introduction to precision metrology
Total station and CMM (coordinate measuring machine)
Inspection of optical components
Kinematics and constraints
Machining, fabrication, & shop tricks
Adhesive and fasteners
Material properties
Vibration
Linear, rotary stages, and motion control