Photonics is the branch of science that deals with the technical applications of light. Photonics is used in the manufacture of a wide range of products, including barcode scanners, television remote controls, and laser leveling devices. A photonics engineer works on concepts involving light generation, transmission, amplification, and detection in close collaboration with photonics.
Photonics has been studied by many inventors throughout history. In the early 1960s, the invention of lasers — photonics devices that generate light in most fiber optics systems — essentially marked the start of widespread interest in photonics, with laser diodes promoting photonics inventions through the 1970s. The Internet’s infrastructure, which consists of information-transmitting optical fibers, revolutionized the telecommunications industry in the late twentieth century. Engineers who specialize in photonics have played a key role in the development and application of these technologies.
Fiber optics is a technology that involves transmitting light and data through thin glass fibers; a large amount of data can be transmitted quickly using fiber optics. Because fiber optics systems are so widely used around the world, many photonics engineers collaborate with fiber optics manufacturers. The largest employers of photonics engineers are high-volume telecommunications companies and fiber optics manufacturers. Because impure optical fibers can be inefficient and contribute to energy loss, certain photonics engineers are employed strictly to refine optical fiber purity.
A firm that designs or tests photonics components and systems may hire a photonics engineer. These engineers may also be responsible for developing optical image products and signal processing technologies, as well as analyzing the performance of photonics systems. Many photonics engineers develop and test newer, more advanced photonics technologies for future applications, as well as conduct research into existing photonics systems.
Photonics engineers use a variety of tools on a daily basis. Different types of lasers, such as tunable diode lasers, tunable dye lasers, and argon-ion lasers, may require close collaboration from a photonics engineer. Photonics engineers frequently use electron microscopes as well as a variety of fluorescent microscopes such as deconvolution fluorescent microscopes, confocal microscopes, and total internal reflection fluorescent microscopes. Wavelength meters, optical spectrum analyzers, and digital storage oscilloscopes are some of the other tools used by the average photonics engineer.
Photonics engineers have developed devices that are used in a variety of industries. Almost every construction site has laser range finders and laser leveling devices. Lasers are used in the medical industry to perform surgical endoscopy procedures and laser eye surgeries to correct poor vision. Lasers are used in precision drilling, cutting, and welding applications by many companies in the industrial manufacturing industry.