Introduction to Ray, Wave, and Beam Optics with Applications

Optics is integral to our everyday lives, influencing everything from entertainment technologies to life-saving instruments. Despite its importance, optics is often not a core subject in many undergraduate engineering programs. This book aims to introduce the fundamentals of optics, making the subject accessible to all engineers and scientists, regardless of their background. While primarily designed for undergraduate students, it is also suitable for industry professionals who lack a formal optics education. By mastering the basics of optics, engineers will place themselves in a position to communicate more clearly with and better understand their colleagues. Beyond its educational purpose, this book also seeks to inspire a sense of wonder when observing natural phenomena and the fascinating optical effects produced by modern technology. A unique aspect of this textbook is that it includes a chapter on complex light. Beams that fall under this category are transforming the way imaging is done, and understanding how to generate and manipulate such beams is an essential skill for any aspiring optical engineer.

The book's approach, particularly in the first four chapters, is to present essential concepts related to optical systems, design, and aberrations, encouraging readers to simulate or model these ideas using optical design tools like OSLO (a registered trademark of Lambda Research Corporation) or Zemax OpticStudio (a registered trademark of Ansys). Later chapters introduce exercises that can be performed using programming tools like Matlab (a registered trademark of The MathWorks, Inc.), allowing readers to test their understanding.