Basic Optics for Non-Optics Personnel

Level: Introductory Length: 2.5 hours Format: Online Intended Audience: This course is intended for the non-optical professional who needs to understand basic optics and interface with optics professionals. Description: This course will provide the technical manager, sales engineering, marketing staff, or other non-optics personnel with a basic understanding of the terms, specifications, and measurements used in optical technology to facilitate effective communication with optics professionals on a functional level. Topics to be covered include basic concepts such as interference, diffraction, polarization and aberrations, definitions relating to color and optical quality, and an overview of the basic measures of optical performance such as MTF and wavefront error. The material will be presented with a minimal amount of math, rather emphasizing working concepts, definitions, rules of thumb, and visual interpretation of specifications. Specific applications will include defining basic imaging needs such as magnification and depth-of-field, understanding MTF curves and interferograms, and interpreting radiometric terms. The general objective of this course is to enable individuals that need to: read and explain optical system descriptions and papers; ask the right questions about optical component performance; describe basic optical specifications for lenses, filters, and other components; select the right off-the-shelf lenses, filters, and beam directing optics; interpret optical data such as interferogram, MTF and aberration reports. Learning Outcomes: This course has been designed for individuals that need to be able to: - Module 1: The Nature of Light and How It Works - Describe the basic wave nature of light - List the properties of Coherent Light - Compare the differences of diffraction, refraction, divergence, and scatter - Interpret types of surfaces (specular, diffuse, scattering) - Module 2: Imaging Optics Considerations - Describe the basic properties of a lens - Outline the definition of resolution - Explain how to specify a lens - List the basic properties of aberrations - Describe the basic type of commercial lenses - Module 3: Non-Imaging Components - Explain how to specify a mirror or window - Describe different types of beam splitters and prisms - Outline the levels of surface quality - List the properties of reflection and anti-reflection coatings - Module 4: Light Characteristics - Describe the types of polarization and polarizers - Compare colors we see to wavelengths - List what affects the colors we see and sense - Describe the different types of color filters - Module 5: Measuring Light - List the different ways to measure color - Define the basic terms of light level measurement - Module 6: Optics Maintenance - Describe the proper ways to clean optics - Outline the process to check image focus - List the steps to trouble shooting common problems in optical instruments Instructor(s): Kevin G. Harding has been active in the optics industry for over 30 years, and has taught machine vision and optical methods for over 25 years in over 70 workshops and tutorials, including engineering workshops on machine vision, metrology, NDT, and interferometry used by vendors and system houses to train their own engineers. He has been recognized for his leadership in optics and machine vision by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Automated Imaging Association, and Engineering Society of Detroit. Kevin is a Fellow of SPIE and was the 2008 President of the Society. SPIE online courses are on-demand and self-paced, with access for one year. For more information visit: spie.org/education/online-courses