Introduction

In an era where so many specific skills can be quickly learned via YouTube videos and other on-demand tutorials, it is still usually the case that students and researchers who need to develop skills to work in an optics laboratory do so by working 1-on-1 with a more experienced researcher. This master-apprentice mode of training is resource intensive, and in many situations, such as small research groups, limits the ability of new students to become engaged in optics research.

This interactive guide can be used as a practical alternative to the master-apprentice mode of instruction, or it can supplement person-to-person training with on-demand tutorials for many aspects of the construction and operation of an experiment in an optics laboratory. From basics such as how to mount optics or how to operate a photodiode, to more advanced topics such as aligning an extended cavity diode laser or finding the interference in a white-light interferometer, the user can quickly develop the specific skills necessary to perform his or her research independently.

The author draws on years of experience in research and teaching of experimental optics to provide practical tutorials on some of the most common (and often misunderstood) tasks involved in typical optics experiments.

The following interactive tools are available throughout this eBook in various forms, but are also included here in one place for quick and easy access:

Alignment Simulator	Gaussian Beam Parameters
Fabry-Perot Cavity	Mode Matching