Notes on Images and Communication

TL;DR

This educational module teaches students about applied optics, imaging, lasers, and communication technologies, combining theory and experiments across classical and quantum domains.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive, practical curriculum on optics and communication, including experimental techniques and instrumentation examples.

Findings

Students gain hands-on experience with optical and radio communication systems.

The module covers both classical and quantum communication technologies.

It integrates theoretical knowledge with practical instrumentation applications.

Abstract

This is an active module taught to Bachelor's and Master's students at the University of Birmingham since 2021, covering selected topics in applied optics with an emphasis on imaging, lasers, and classical and quantum communication. The module covers both the theoretical foundations and experimental aspects of these topics, and explores a range of instrumentation examples, including optical and radio telescopes, adaptive optics, laser cutting systems, optical tweezers, laser interferometers, optical atomic clocks, optical coatings, coaxial cables and optical fibres, frequency combs, and quantum key distribution technologies.