We start with a review of how electric and magnetic fields interact to produce electromagnetic waves. Maxwell’s equations express this interaction mathematically. Radio waves, microwaves, light, and even X-rays are electromagnetic waves, but in this course we focus on light.
In free space the propagation of light is simply described, but when it is confined within cavities, and waveguides, and when it propagates from one medium to other we need to understand how the electric and magnetic fields behave at these boundaries. In addition, the physical properties of the medium in which the light propagates must be taken into account. For example, its index of refraction, its conductivity or absorption, and dispersive properties.
Key concepts covered include:
- Basic electrical and magnetic phenomena
- Dynamic electric and magnetic fields → time-dependent Maxwell’s equations
- Electromagnetic waves → light waves
- Electromagnetic boundary conditions across an interface
- Dielectric constant and refractive index of dielectrics, semiconductors and metals and their dispersion
- Hands-on training on writing codes in Python/Matlab to solve real-life problems