Optoelectronic laboratory experiments for modern-technology-based courses

To satisfy the growing skilled manpower demands of the modern optoelectronics industry, Strathclyde University in collaboration with OptoSci Ltd have developed a range of optoelectronic laboratory experiments to provide the hands on practical training required by engineers and scientists who will be involved in the design, installation and operation of optoelectronic systems. The hardware and experimental procedures developed so far enable students and trainees to investigate the basic principles, characteristics and design of optical waveguides, optical communications systems, fault location techniques for optical networks and optical amplifiers. The experiments have been designed with the constraints of academic teaching budgets firmly in mind but still enable the investigation of real technical issues such as mode spectrum analysis in optical waveguides and optical pulse dispersion/bit rate limits in fiber communications systems. The design philosophies, hardware and experiments are examined in this paper.