Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• ENG EC 556: Optical Spectroscopic Imaging
  Graduate Prerequisites: CAS PY 212; EK 125 or equivalent Matlab; PY 212 or equivalent knowledge of light and waves. Suggested: EC 562, EC 555
  This introductory graduate-level course aims to teach students how electromagnetic waves and various forms of molecular spectroscopy can be used to study a complex biological system by pushing the physical limits on engineering system design.The course will cover fundamental concepts of optical spectroscopy and microscopy, followed by specific topics covering fluorescence-based , absorption-based, and scattering-based spectroscopic imaging. In addition, this course will provide in-depth discussions of linear and nonlinear spectroscopic imaging in the aspects of theory, instrumentation, image data analysis and enabling applications. Students will learn how to give a concise and informative presentation of a recent literature to the class. Students will be able to challenge their creativity in designing advanced imaging instrument of data analysis methods as part of their course assignments. The students will learn how to write and present a convincing proposal for the required final project to be designed by interdisciplinary teams formed among the students. Same as ENG BE 556. Students may not receive credit for both.
• ENG EC 560: Introduction to Photonics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS PY 313.
  Introduction to ray optics; matrix optics; wave optics; Fourier optics; electromagnetic optics including absorption and dispersion. Polarization, reflection and refraction, anisotropic media, liquid crystals, and polarization devices. Guided-wave and fiber optics. Nanophotonics.
• ENG EC 561: Error-Control Codes
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS MA 193.
  Introduction to codes for error detection and correction in communication and computation channels, linear algebra over finite fields, bounds, Shannon?s Theorem, perfect and quasi-perfect codes, probability of error detection, Hamming, BCH, MDS, Reed-Solomon, and non-linear codes. Application of codes to error detection/correction in communication channels, computer memories, processors, and multiprocessor systems. Data compression and data reconciliation by error-detecting or error-correcting codes.
• ENG EC 562: Fourier Optics in Engineering
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS MA 225 ; ENG EK 103 ; CAS PY 313 ; CAS PY 314 ; ENG EK 381 ; ENG EC 401; Proficiency in Matlab programming is expected as well as a backgroundknowledge in electromagnetics. Undergraduate students must talk to the instructor before registering.
  The goal of this course is to present a coherent formulation of wave propagation, radiation and diffraction phenomena in arbitrary linear systems for the engineering design of optical devices in strong partnership with computer simulations and engineering-led design projects. The course will introduce students to the fundamental techniques that are necessary for the quantitative analysis of optics- based engineering systems and devices.
• ENG EC 563: Fiber Optics and Communications Systems
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG EC 311 ; ENG EC 410 ; ENG EC 415 ; ENG EC 560; or consent of instructor
  This course will cover the theory light propagation and manipulation in an optical fiber both in the linear and nonlinear regimes. This theory will be used to introduce design, both of optical fibers for transmission as well as for devices and components. The latter part of the course will use these concepts to illustrate applications in which fibers and fiber devices are used. The emphasis will be on telecommunications systems, but the course will also touch upon other emerging applications such as lasers, sensors, biomedical systems and astrophotonics. Two lectures, two hours a week. 4 cr.
• ENG EC 565: Introduction to Electromagnetics and Photonics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS PY 212 and CAS MA 226.
  Undergraduate Corequisites: ENG EC 401.
  Graduate Prerequisites: Familiarity with undergraduate electromagnetics
  This course familiarizes the student with fundamental concepts in electromagnetics and photonics that govern the generation, propagation, and reception of fields and waves in the optical and radio-frequency domains. Topics include the formulation of Maxwell's equations; propagation in free-space, waveguides, and dispersive or anisotropic media, including metamaterials; lightwave interactions at interfaces; radiation and scattering theory for antennas and from apertures. There will be a strong emphasis on connecting these theoretical concepts to current and emerging applications and technologies.
• ENG EC 566: The Atmosphere and Space Environment
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS MA 226 ; CAS PY 212 ; ENG EK 125.
  Introduction to the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. The dynamic, electrodynamic, radiative, and chemical processes occurring in the atmosphere from ground level to near-space are developed to establish the conditions found in the upper-atmospheric/ionospheric region. Recent offerings have included numerical simulation of the ionospheric electron density profile. Numerical experiments that change the solar input and neutral atmospheric density, composition, winds, and temperature are then run to study the response of the ionosphere to these factors that control the ionosphere. Recommended for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students in engineering, astronomy, and physics and those with interests in environmental topics.
• ENG EC 568: Optical Fibers and WaveGuides
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG EC 455; or consent of instructor
  Whether it be the FIOS? internet connection at our homes, or fiber lasers powerful enough to cut metals (many automobile chassis are now made using fiber lasers), or the ability to perform endoscopic surgery and imaging, or doing frequency metrology with super-continuum sources (the basis of a few recent Nobel prizes)... the optical fiber has played a central, often dominant, role in many applications that impact the way we live. The main function of an optical fiber is to carry an electromagnetic (in the optical frequency) pulse over distances ranging from meters to greater than ten thousand kilometers without distortions. Fibers can also become smart light-pipes when they are intentionally designed to alter, temporally shape or amplify light pulses. Moreover, new developments in this field such as photonic bandgap fibers, fiber nanowires and higher-order mode fibers, are opening up new directions in science and technology. This course will introduce the optical fiber waveguide and its theory of operation. Specifically, the design and impact of the two most important properties in optical fibers -- dispersion and nonlinearity -- that govern the evolution of light in optical fibers, will be covered in detail. The latter part of the course will describe new fibers and fiber-structures that are active research topics today. One lecture of the course will include a tour of an actual, industrial-scale fiber fabrication facility.
• ENG EC 569: Introduction to Subsurface Imaging
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Senior or graduate standing in ENG, PY, CH, MA, or CS.
  Introduction to subsurface imaging using electromagnetic, optical, X-ray, and acoustic waves. Transverse and axial imaging using localized probes (confocal scanning, time of flight, and interferometric techniques). Multiview tomographic imaging: computed axial tomography, diffraction tomography, diffuse optical tomography, electrical impedance tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. Image reconstruction and inverse problems. Hyperspectral and multisensor imaging.
• ENG EC 570: Lasers and Applications
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG EC 455.
  Review of wave optics. Gaussian, Hermite-Gaussian, Laguerre-Gaussian, and Bessel optical beams. Planar- and spherical-mirror resonators; microresonators. Photons and photon streams. Energy levels; absorption, spontaneous emission, and simulated emission. Thermal and scattered light. Laser amplification and gain saturation. Laser oscillation. Common lasers and introduction to pulsed lasers. Photon interactions in semiconductors. LEDs, laser diodes, quantum-confined lasers, and microcavity lasers. Introductoin to photon detectors. Laboratory experiments: beam optics; longitudinal laser modes; laser-diode output characteristics.
• ENG EC 571: Digital VLSI Circuit Design
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG EC 311 and ENG EC 410.
  Graduate Prerequisites: ENG EC 605; or instructor consent
  Very-large-scale integrated circuit design. Review of FET basics. Functional module design, including BiCMOS, combinational and sequential logic, programmable logic arrays, finite-state machines, ROM, and RAM. Fabrication techniques, layout strategies, scalable design rules, design-rule checking, and guidelines for testing and testability. Analysis of factors affecting speed of charge transfer, power requirements, control and minimization of parasitic effects, survey of VLSI applications. Extensive CAD laboratory accompanies course.
• ENG EC 572: Computational Methods in Materials Science
  Graduate Prerequisites: ENG EC 577; consent of instructor
  Introduction to computational materials science. Multi-scale simulation methods; electronic structure, atomistic, micro-structure, continuum, and mathematical analysis methods; rate processes and rare events. Materials defect theory; modeling of crystal defects, solid micro-structures, fluids, polymers, and bio-polymers. Materials scaling theory: phase transition, dimensionality, and localization. Perspectives on predictive materials design. Topics covered include tight binding theory, density functional theory, and many-body perturbation theory. Lectures provide the theoretical framework for computation. Same as CAS CH 455, GRS CH 572, ENG MS 508. Students may not receive credit for both.
• ENG EC 573: Solar Energy Systems
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG EK 408; graduate standing or permission of the instructor. ENG EC 471 is suggested.
  This course is designed for first year graduate and senior undergraduate students from engineering disciplines. It is intended to educate students in the design and applications of solar energy technology. It will focus on fundamentals of solar energy conversion, solar cells, optical engineering, photoelectrochemical cells, thermoelectric generators, and energy storage and distribution systems. The course covers solar energy insolation and global energy needs, current trends in photovoltaic energy engineering, solar cell materials science, design and installation of solar panels for residential and industrial applications and connections to the national grid and cost analysis of the overall system. In addition, basic manufacturing processes for the production of solar panels, environmental impacts, and the related system engineering aspects will be included to provide a comprehensive state-of-the-art approach to solar energy utilization. Same as ENG MS 573. Students may not take credit for both.
• ENG EC 574: Physics of Semiconductor Materials
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS PY 313 or ENG EC 410; or equivalent
  This course teaches the relevant notions of quantum mechanics and solid state physics necessary to understand the operation and the design of modern semiconductor devices. Specifically, this course focuses on the engineering aspects of solid state physics that are important to study the electrical and optical properties of semiconductor materials and devices. Particular emphasis is placed on the analysis of the electronic structure of semiconductor bulk systems and low-dimensional structures, the study of the carrier transport properties and the calculation of the optical response that are relevant to the design and optimization of electronics and photonics semiconductor devices. The students will learn to apply the quantum mechanical formalism to the solution of basic engineering device problems (quantum wells, wires, and dots, 2D electron gas) and to perform numerical calculation on more complex systems (band structure calculation of bulk and low dimensional systems). Same as ENG MS 574. Students may not receive credits for both.
• ENG EC 575: Semiconductor Devices
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG EC 410 ; ENG EC 455 ; ENG EC 574 ; CAS PY 313; or equivalent.
  Fundamentals of carrier generation, transport, recombination, and storage in semiconductors. Physical principles of operation of the PN junction, metal-semiconductor contact, bipolar junction transistor, MOS capacitor, MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor), JFET (Junction Field Effect Transistor), and bipolar junction transistor. Develops physical principles and models that are useful in the analysis and design of integrated circuits.
• ENG EC 577: Electronic Optical and Magnetic Properties of Materials
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS PY 313; or equivalent, and CAS MA 225 or CAS MA 226
  This course provides an in-depth analysis of solid-state physics as it pertains to materials science and electrical engineering applications. Students will develop an understanding of the theory of crystal structures and their determination via diffraction, as well as the thermal, electrical, and optical properties of materials that arise from these structures. Same as ENG MS 577. Students may not receive credit for both.
• ENG EC 578: Fabrication Technology for Integrated Circuits
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG EC 410; Senior standing or permission of the instructor.
  Undergraduate Corequisites: ENG EC 410.
  Presentation of fabrication procedures for silicon-integrated circuits: physical properties of bulk and epitaxially grown silicon; silicon processing, such as oxidation, diffusion, epitaxy, deposition, and ion implantation; silicon crystallography, anisotropic etching, photolithography, piezorestivity, and chemical and plasma techniques. The limitations these processes impose on the design of bipolar and MOS devices and integrated circuits are discussed. Design of an integrated circuit and the required processing. Includes lab.
• ENG EC 579: Nano/microelectronic Device Technology
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Senior standing in the engineering, physics, or chemistry disciplines, or consent of instructor.
  The main physical processes and manufacturing strategies for the fabrication and manufacture of micro and nanoelectronic devices will be covered, mostly for silicon, although exciting materials such as graphene and carbon nanotubes will also be covered. A key emphasis here will be on electron- hole transport, band structure, basic quantum effects, and the use of engineering and physical effects to alter semiconductor device performance. Photolithography, a significant factor in manufacturability, will be covered in some detail, and to a lesser degree, so will doping methods, diffusion, oxidation, etching, and deposition. The overall integration with methods and tools employed by device and circuit designers will be covered. Same as ENG ME579. Students may not receive credit for both.
• ENG EC 580: Analog VLSI Circuit Design
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG EC 412.
  Anatomy of an operational amplifier using chip design techniques. Applications of op amps in wave-shaping circuits, active filters including capacitive switching. Analog multiplexing and data acquisition circuits, A/D, D/A, S/H are examined. Frequency selective circuits and interface circuits such as optocouplers are analyzed.
• ENG EC 582: RF/Analog IC Design Fundamentals
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG EC 412 or ENG EC 571; or consent of instructor.
  Fundamentals related to CMOS and SiGe BICMOS analog circuits for RF applications. Topics include low noise amplifiers, oscillators, mixers, demodulators, phase-locked loop, switched capacitor circuits, A/D and D/A converters, low power design, RF design techniques, and mixed-signal circuitry typical of modern telecommunications technology. VLSI laboratory exercises involving the design, layout, and simulation of RF/analog integrated circuits using Cadence SpectreRF CAD software tools. Real-world examples in advanced mixed-signal integrated circuit applications, such as a single chip radio.