Optics education for now and future from an entropy perspective

Abstract

During the 20th century, the electronics industry has evolved from radio, television, and audio systems to computer systems. The trace of evolution is clearly from linear systems to nonlinear systems. This is by no means accidental, and is due to the fact that nonlinear systems are more versatile than linear systems. As of now, the successful commercial optical instruments are all linear systems. From the entropy point of view, as the knowledge of human beings further expands, we need more powerful computing capabilities such as memory association and self organization. Based on the fundamental differences between the electron and the photon, this paper presents the argument that optical computing will provide memory association and self organization ability (which compliments the current electronic logical computing). Thus, one can infer that the main future thrust of the optical industry will be in nonlinear optical systems and hybrid combinations with nonlinear electronic systems in order to provide both self organization and logical computing (to emulate, more or less, the computing power of the human brain). Currently, the stat of the ar has already demonstrated successful combinations of linear optical system with nonlinear electronic systems (computers). These kinds of hybrid systems are called electro-photonic systems in the following curriculum. Based on the above vision for the future and taking into account the need for immediate employment, the following curriculum is designed to provide a core training to the students who are interested in choosing optics or electro-photonics as their career. This curriculum is being offered in the upper years at the Physics Department of Chung Yuan University. Electronics, Optics, Electro-photonic System Design and Analysis, Optical System Design and Analysis, Introduction to Optical Computing, Holography, Nonlinear Optics, The Experimental Technology for Electro- photonics (I), The Experimental Technology for Electro-photonics (II). The main thrust among all these courses is the system modeling and analysis. In this paper, the design of this curriculum will be elaborated and the topics for each course will be listed in detail.