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Electronics and Computer Science

Open access and digital archiving

Open access and digital archiving

Southampton’s research into free and open access has improved the way findings are communicated. It has directly influenced UK public policy debates, had an impact on the economy and led to the development of digital archiving techniques.

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Web science discussion

Web science: developing a Web fit for the future

Southampton’s pioneering research not only played a significant part in creating the Web but is also still at the forefront of its development to ensure it continues growing to meet the demands of billions of people around the globe.

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Pylons

Reliable cable systems for energy security

Researchers in Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton are working with major industrial partners to develop revolutionary new high voltage cables that can meet the demands of future energy needs.

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Leading the open data revolution

Leading the open data revolution

Research at Southampton is placing the UK at the forefront of the global data revolution. Opening up data has lowered barriers to data access, increased government transparency and delivered significant economic, social and environmental impact.

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Women in STEM

PhD student Olivia gives advice to female students thinking about going into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths and talks about her experience at ECS

Key facts: Research Excellence Framework 2021

Top 5% in the UK for quality (GPA) and power in engineering.

96% of our research outputs rated as world-leading or internationally excellent in engineering and 95% for computer science.

100% of our Computer Science research impact is recognised as world-leading.

100% of our environment for research is recognised as world-leading for computer science.

OPTO6012 Project

Module Overview

The topics of research projects will cover different concepts in photonic materials and in design, fabrication and testing of device-oriented applications in photonic technology.

Each student will work under a supervision of a senior research/academic staff member. A project will start with a meeting between a student and a supervisor, where technical goals, a workplan and the schedule of work will be agreed. This plan will be written up by a student, checked by his/her supervisor and then submitted for approval to the Project Course coordinator.

Weekly meetings will then take place throughout the project duration with a supervisor or, if a supervisor is unavailable, a delegated deputy. The Project coordinator will need to be notified about such arrangements and know the names of those temporary deputies. Following the research part of the project, a report will be written up by a student that will cover both the results achieved as well as covering in-depth their relevant physics and engineering background.

The students should aim to complete all research and data analysis by the end of August to allow sufficient time for writing up reports. The deadline for submitting the reports is the end of September. In case of late submission, the standard, University approved penalties will apply, except for well justified cases. Any such extensions have to be requested in advance and in writing to the Project Module coordinators.

A part of the project is the “industrial showcase” which involves interaction with the relevant industry (photonic technologies) giving a flavour of the business aspect of the technology to the students. The students learn how to conduct a SWOT analysis to evaluate the performance of a business and are asked to write a short essay. The industrial showcase takes place during the Easter holiday and includes a full week of interacting with local industry. The assignment should be completed within 15 days after showcase week.

The aims of this module are:

develop advanced practical skills and enhance in-depth understanding of relevant background knowledge and in a chosen specialist subject embed the correct approach and methodology for independent work carried out in a research-led environment, and in particular within the cleanrooms and optical labs of the ORC  Train in technical and hands-on research skills to gain technical insight into concepts covered during taught courses to prepare for a career in research and development. Finally, introduces the students to the business aspect of research.

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • A1 Important scientific and technological principles relevant to a chosen topic of a project
  • A2 use and applications of specialist tools, equipment and techniques used to design, fabricate, test or characterise the materials or devices developed in a project.
  • A3. The basic principles of operation of the components used, both in terms of the scientific as well as the technical background
  • A4 Current state of the art, including the research advances as well as in device or fabrication capabilities, relevant to a scope of a project.

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • B1 have confidence and practice in gaining new knowledge and understanding through critical reading of research resources such as scientific papers or books
  • B2 discuss their results, review methods used, draw conclusions and plan future work
  • B3 apply the newly acquired knowledge to solving specialist design or characterisation problems
  • B4 Demonstrate the ability to assess and discuss the research part of the project to evaluate the viability of potential new devices and therefore learning to encompass the principle of concept to device.

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • D1 Experienced in a range of practical and experimental lab-based skills
  • D2 Present specialist technical information in written and verbal forms
  • D3 Able to work independently on a significant research project
  • D4 Able to defend the results and the report in front of senior scientists who will explore both the fundamental and practical understanding as well as abilities.

Subject Specific Practical

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • C1 Operate and control specialist tools and processes with the cleanroom environment
  • C2 Fabricate photonic devices with due care paid to health and safety and current operating procedures relevant to a cleanroom environment
  • C3 Write a project dissertation that will provide a coherent, logical and accurate description of the work carried out and capturing the most important achievements of the project.

Syllabus

The topic or topics covered will be agreed by negotiation between a student and a supervisor who is allocated to support each project.

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

ActivityDescriptionHours
Project supervision20
Demonstration or Examples SessionIntroduction to the Project, and lab induction10

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Dissertation (final)-55%
Report (mid term)-18%
Presentation-18%
Assignment-9%

Referral Method: By set coursework assignment(s)

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OPTO6007 An Introduction to Silicon Photonics

Module Overview

The aim of the course is to provide introductory knowledge and basic understanding of the field of Silicon Photonics. The course will present an introduction to guided waves, optical modes, and propagation characteristics of photonic circuits, using Silicon Technology by way of example. 

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • Gain knowledge on guided waves
  • Understand the motivations for silicon photonics including the technology drivers, and examples of implementation of Silicon photonic circuits
  • Understand characterisation techniques that can be applied to silicon photonic materials
  • Understand the operation of building blocks of an optical circuit at a preliminary level, including waveguides and key photonic devices such as couplers, bends, interferometers, ring resonators, modulators, integrated light sources and detectors.
  • Understand the issues surrounding integration of photonic devices as well as electronic‐photonic integration
  • Learn about fabrication of Silicon Photonic devices, and associated fabrication techniques.

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Follow, understand and appreciate current research in Silicon Photonics.
  • Undertake advanced study in the field of Silicon Photonics

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Efficiently solve scientific problems.
  • Think analytically.
  • Study effectively.

Subject Specific Practical

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Understand the significant differences between short reach and long haul optical communications.
  • Design Silicon Photonics devices and circuits, and identify the appropriate fabrication and characterisation techniques.

Syllabus

  • What is Silicon Photonics? Why is it required? What are the key technological metrics? Applications

  • Fundamentals of guided waves.

  • Modes of planar waveguides, propagation constants, effective index, mode profiles.

  • Modes of 2‐dimensional waveguides, basic waveguides structures, complex refractive index.

  • Coupling to waveguides: grating couplers; butt coupling, mode transformers, inverted tapers.

  • Waveguides loss mechanisms: absorption, scattering, the plasma dispersion effect and the effect of free carriers, the thermo‐optic effect.

  • Device preparation and characterisation: facets, anti‐reflection coatings, waveguide loss measurements. The cut‐back method, the Fabry‐Perot method, scattered light measurement.

  • Waveguide based devices: the Mach Zehnder interferometer, the ring resonator, waveguide‐waveguide couplers, waveguide bends, modulators, variable optical attenuators, multiplexers.

  • Polarisation issues: polarisation independence, polarisation dependent loss, polarisation diversity schemes.

  • Integration issues: advantages and disadvantages of integration, photonic device integration, photonic‐electronic integration, power and power density issues on‐chip.

  • Advanced waveguides structures; Photonic crystals, slot waveguides, mid infrared waveguides.

  • A fabrication example of a Mach‐Zehnder interferometer: process flow for fabrication, photolithography, etching, doping, deposition. 

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

ActivityDescriptionHours
LectureLectures and classroom discussion28
TutorialProblems workshops6
Specialist LabLaboratory observations2

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Two work sheets-25%
Exam2 hours75%

Referral Method: By examination, with the original coursework mark being carried forward

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OPTO6011 Optical Fibre Sensors

Module Overview

Optical fibre sensor technology is playing an increasing role in modern-day life with a range of applications emerging in areas spanning civil engineering, defence and the life sciences. This module focuses on a key area of ORC expertise that has developed in parallel with the other application specific areas of optical communications and fibre laser technologies. 

This module is compulsory for students on the MSc Optical Fibre Technologies. The module builds on the base-concepts of optical fibre technologies (OPTO6008 and OPTO6009) taught in Semester 1, and will teach the key concepts of distributed and point sensing systems. A substantial part of the module will focus on existing and emerging applications, and on the markets of optical fibre sensor technology. The skills and knowledge acquired during this module will be essential for students wishing to take a final project focusing specifically on optical fibre sensor technologies in Semester 3. 

The aim of the course is to provide in-depth description of the two main strands of optical fibre sensor technology together with their key application areas to provide students with a solid foundation and understanding of the field. Following an introduction and overview of the field of optical sensors, and the main sensing principles and parameters of interest, the key operating principles, and key properties of point and distributed sensing technologies will be taught. Being a strongly application focused field of optical fibre technology, several examples of applications will be presented, with specific reference to real-world examples, to give students a better overview and understanding of where optical fibre sensors currently are being used, and where the technology potentially could find application in the future. 

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • Appreciate the physics behind, and key properties of, optical fibre sensors.
  • Appreciate various types of optical fibre sensors and their individual properties.
  • Have basic knowledge about components used in sensing systems.
  • Appreciate methods of characterisation of optical fibre sensors and optical fibre sensor based systems

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Understand how specific fibre parameters are applicable to optical sensing.
  • Be able to assess the suitability of different types of optical fibre sensors for particular applications.
  • Predict the operational properties and understand the limitations of optical fibre sensors based on the knowledge of their design parameters and materials used to form them.
  • Understand the core concepts of optical fibre sensing applied to a specific field, and understand which parameters should be measured to fully analyse the nature of the object being tested.

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Use a variety of information sources (lectures, web, journals) to understand & solve problems (in this case for optical fibre sensors).
  • Use feedback from problem classes to prepare for answering examination questions.

Syllabus

  • Governing standards for sensing systems.
  • Optical sensing principles (temperature, strain, stress, pressure, refractive index, etc.).
  • Fibre types and materials for optical fibre sensing (silica based, polymer based, etc.).
  • Point sensors (Fibre Bragg gratings, long period gratings, and microfibres/nanowires).
  • Design, fabrication and characterisation of point sensors.
  • Distributed sensors (Brillouin scattering based, Raman scattering based, Rayleigh scattering based).
  • Design, fabrication and characterisation of distributed sensors.
  • Fibre gyroscopes.
  • Fibre based gas and chemical sensors.
  • Optical fibre sensors for extreme and harsh environments (high temperature and strain, shock, high radiation).
  • Principles and application of optical fibre sensors in medicine and life sciences. Principles and application of optical sensors in oil and gas exploration.
  • Principles and application of optical sensors in civil engineering, e.g. structural monitoring and aircraft navigation.
  • Emerging markets and economic outlook. 

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

Teaching methods include

The course consists of 2 lectures per week plus a bi-weekly workshop/surgery. Printed lecture notes and self-study packs will be provided for parts of the course.

Learning activities include

Attending lectures, problems classes, laboratory demonstrations, and exam preparation. 

ActivityDescriptionHours
Lecture26
Tutorial10

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Assignments and problem sheets, Fortnightly, and typically 2 pages-20%
Exam2.5 hours hours80%

Referral Method: By examination

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OPTO6008 Optical Fibre Technology I

Module Overview

Knowledge of basic principles of fibre optics will make up a significant part of the necessary skill base for students on the Optical Fibre Technologies MSc. In-depth knowledge of optical fibres as the light guiding medium is vital for understanding most other areas of optical fibre technology (telecommunications, sensors), and as support for the final project work. This module will describe four core areas – the key concepts of light propagation in optical fibre waveguides, various types of optical fibres and how they work, the key concepts of optical fibre fabrication and characterisation, together with the most common fibre components, thus making a foundational introduction for the rest of the modules in the MSc programme. 

This module is introductory, and its material is intended to introduce the field of fibre optics to relative newcomers. The skills and knowledge acquired during this course will form the foundation for much of the material taught in the Semester 2 courses, and for the final projects in Semester 3 of the MSc programme.

The aim of the module is to provide an introduction to passive optical fibre technology. Fundamentals of propagation of light through optical fibres would be introduced first. The operating principles and key properties of a variety of optical fibres will be covered followed by technologies relating to fibre fabrication and fibre characterisation. Finally, fibre components and their conceptual operation will be introduced and two key application areas of optical fibre technology – telecommunications and optical sensors - will be briefly introduced. 

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • Appreciate the physics of propagation of light in optical fibres.
  • Appreciate various types of optical fibres and their key properties.
  • Appreciate basic operational principles and parameters of components made from optical fibres and fibre components used in optical fibre based systems.
  • Appreciate a range of methods of fabrication and characterisation of optical fibres and optical fibre-based components.

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Understand how key fibre parameters influence the fibre waveguiding properties.
  • Be able to assess the suitability of different optical fibres for particular applications.
  • Make quantitative calculations of the properties of optical fibres based on the knowledge of their parameters and materials used.
  • Understand the concept of guided modes in dielectric fibres.

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Use a variety of information sources (lectures, web, journals) to understand & solve problems (in this case for optical fibre technologies)
  • Use feedback from problem classes to prepare for answering examination questions

Syllabus

Part 1: Light propagation through optical fibres

Overview of optical fibre technologies.
Maxwell’s equations, the wave equation, and dispersion relations applied to fibre geometries.
Optical fields in solid-core optical fibres (guided modes, single and multi-mode guidance). Signal guiding in ‘holey’ fibres.

Part 2: Fibre types

Silica fibre basics (germanosilicate, phosphosilicate and aluminosilicate) – single-mode and multimode.
Specialty silica fibres (polarisation-maintaining, highly-nonlinear, polarising, ...). Non-silica fibre basics (soft-glasses (tellurite, chalcogenide, fluoride), bismuth-oxide, polymers, etc.).

Photonic bandgap fibres (solid core, hollow-core).

Part 3: Fibre fabrication and characterisation

Fabrication technology of silica-based fibres.
Fabrication technology of non-silica-based fibres.
Methods for characterising fibres.
Fibre reliability (governing standards, standards for testing, maximum power handling capability, fibre fuse, etc.).

Characterisation of fibre glass material.

Part 4: Fibre components and Introduction to applications

Fibre components (couplers, isolators, circulators, thin film filters, Bragg gratings, long- period gratings, poled fibres, etc.).
Introduction to optical fibre telecommunications.
Introduction to optical fibre sensors. 

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

Teaching methods include

The course consists of 2 lectures per week plus a bi-weekly workshop/surgery. Printed lecture notes and self-study packs will be provided for parts of the course.

Learning activities include

Attending lectures, problems classes, and exam preparation 

ActivityDescriptionHours
Lecture26
Tutorial10

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Fortnightly, and typically 2 pages-20%
-%
Exam2.5 hours hours80%

Referral Method: By examination

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