# Optical engineering

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{{Short description|Field of engineering encompassing light}}
{{for|the academic journal|Optical Engineering (journal)}}
[[File:The optical system of the ELT showing the location of the mirrors (no annotation).jpg|thumb|300px|The optical system of the [ELT](/source/European_Extremely_Large_Telescope) showing the location of the mirrors.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|title=ESO Awards ELT Sensor Contract to Teledyne e2v|url=https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann17027/|access-date=2021-06-24|website=www.eso.org|language=en}}</ref>]]

'''Optical engineering''' is the field of engineering encompassing the physical phenomena and technologies associated with the generation, transmission, manipulation, detection, and utilization of [light](/source/light).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.nap.edu/read/5954/chapter/3|title=Read "Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century" at NAP.edu|year=1998 |doi=10.17226/5954 |isbn=978-0-309-05991-6 |language=en}}</ref>  Optical engineers use the science of [optics](/source/optics) to solve problems and to design and build devices that make light do something useful.<ref>{{Cite web|title=An Introduction to Optical Design {{!}} Synopsys|url=https://www.synopsys.com/optical-solutions/learn/gentle-intro-to-optical-design.html|access-date=2021-04-11|website=www.synopsys.com|language=en}}</ref>  They design and operate optical equipment that uses the properties of light using [physics](/source/physics) and [chemistry](/source/chemistry),<ref>''Walker, Bruce'' ''H'' (1998). ''Optical Engineering Fundamentals''. SPIE Press. p. 16. {{ISBN|978-0-8194-2764-9}}.</ref> such as [lenses](/source/Lens_(optics)), [microscope](/source/microscope)s, [telescope](/source/telescope)s, [laser](/source/laser)s, [sensors](/source/sensors), [fiber-optic communication](/source/fiber-optic_communication) systems and [optical disc](/source/optical_disc) systems (e.g. [CD](/source/CD), [DVD](/source/DVD)).

Optical engineering [metrology](/source/metrology) uses optical methods to measure either micro-vibrations with instruments like the laser [speckle interferometer](/source/Speckle_imaging), or properties of masses with instruments that measure [refraction](/source/refraction).<ref>''Walker, Bruce H (1998). Optical Engineering Fundamentals, SPIE Press''. p. 16. {{ISBN|978-0-8194-2764-9}}</ref>

Nano-measuring and nano-positioning machines are devices designed by optical engineers. These machines, for example microphotolithographic [stepper](/source/stepper)s, have [nanometer](/source/Nanometre) precision, and consequently are used in the fabrication of goods at this scale.<ref>Manske E. (2019) Nanopositioning and Nanomeasuring Machines. In: Gao W. (eds) Metrology. Precision Manufacturing. Springer, Singapore.  {{doi|10.1007/978-981-10-4938-5_2}}</ref>

==See also==
* [Optical lens design](/source/Optical_lens_design)
* [Optical physics](/source/Optical_physics)
* [Optician](/source/Optician)
* [Photonics](/source/Photonics)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Driggers, Ronald G. (ed.) (2003). ''Encyclopedia of Optical Engineering.'' New York: Marcel Dekker. 3 vols. {{ISBN|978-0-8247-0940-2}}
* Bruce H. Walker, Historical Review, SPIE Press, Bellingham, WA. {{ISBN|978-0-8194-7877-1}}  {{doi|10.1117/3.818136.ch2}}
* FTS Yu & Xiangyang Yang (1997) ''Introduction to Optical Engineering'', [Cambridge University Press](/source/Cambridge_University_Press), {{ISBN|0-521-57493-5}}.
* [https://spie.org/x867.xml?WT.svl=mddp13 Optical Engineering] ([ISSN](/source/International_Standard_Serial_Number) [https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=0091-3286&qt=results_page 0091-3286])

{{Engineering fields}}
{{Authority control}}

Engineering
Category:Engineering disciplines

{{Engineering-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Optical engineering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_engineering) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_engineering?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.