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Optical engineering designs devices that use light, such as microscopes, binoculars, and lasers. It relies on the science of optics, including classical and quantum mechanics, and materials science. Optical engineering is essential for fiber optic technology and spectrometers, and is widely used in modern communication and industrial applications.
Optical engineering is the engineering discipline that focuses on the design of equipment and devices that work using light. It is based on the science of optics, a field of physics that studies the properties and behaviors of visible light and its two closest neighbors on the electromagnetic spectrum, infrared and ultraviolet. The practice of optical engineering is ancient, and the use of mirrors, shaped and polished crystals, or containers of clear water for purposes such as magnifying or focusing sunlight to start fires is more than 2,000 years old. In modern times, this field is important for a wide variety of technologies, including optical instruments such as microscopes and binoculars, lasers, and many commonly used electronic and communications devices.
Some practical applications of optics can be made using a model of electromagnetic radiation based on classical physics. This is because the predictions of modern quantum mechanics differ markedly from classical mechanics only at the atomic or subatomic scale or under extremely unusual conditions such as temperatures close to absolute zero. Many modern optical technologies are based on how single photons interact with atoms and particles, where the predictions of classical mechanics cease to be a useful approximation of reality, and therefore the science of quantum optics is needed to understand and master these phenomena. Materials science is also an important knowledge for optical engineering.
The design of many devices that use light to view or analyze objects involves optical engineering. Viewing aids such as binoculars, telescopes, and microscopes use lenses and mirrors to magnify images, while corrective lenses for eyeglasses and contact lenses refract incoming light to compensate for the wearer’s vision impairment. Therefore, their creation requires considerable scientific knowledge of how these optical components will affect incoming light. Successful optical lens design requires an understanding of both how the composition, structure and shape of a lens will affect the operation of an optical device, as well as how the shape and materials of a lens will affect factors such as mass, size, and the weight distribution of the device, as well as its ability to operate in various conditions.
The design of devices called spectrometers cannot be done without optical engineering. A spectrometer uses the properties of incoming photons to discover information about the chemical composition or other characteristics of the matter from which the light was emitted or with which it interacted. Spectrometers exist in a wide variety of different types and are extremely important to modern science and industry, in applications ranging from identifying the composition of minerals to quality control in the metalworking industry to studying the motion of other galaxies.
Optical engineering is equally essential to fiber optic technology, which transmits information over cables using pulses of light rather than electricity. Optical fibers are flexible materials that can be used as waveguides, materials that can guide the direction of light. They guide light as it travels by using a phenomenon called total internal reflection, which keeps the light channeled into the core of the fiber. Fiber optic design requires an understanding of how light is refracted as it travels through different mediums, along with the refractive qualities of different materials. Optical fibers are essential for modern communication technologies, such as telephones, high-speed Internet and cable television, due to their enormous capacity.
The design of lasers, which produce narrow beams of coherent light, also relies heavily on optical engineering. Lasers work by energetically exciting a material, called a gain medium, until it begins releasing energy in the form of photons. Designing a working laser involves understanding both the quantum properties of light and the different materials that can be used as gain media to create photons with the qualities needed for the laser’s intended use, and how optical equipment such as lenses and mirrors can focus that light. Laser technology is widely used in modern life. It is the basis for optical disc media formats such as CDs and DVDs, LIDAR (light beam detection) sensing technology, and in many industrial applications.
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