Optical Alignment Lab

The goal of the Optical Alignment lab is to learn how to align optical components on an optical breadboard to make an optical system.

Experimental Parts

Part 1: Align a laser

Using the image layout given, align a laser to reflect off of two mirrors and through two irises.

Part 2: Measure Beam Width

Using a razor blade and mount, observe the effects of a razor blade obstructing the beam.

*Can see that the razor blade caused the light ray to become more dim and eventually obstruct the light completely after 5 rotations of the blade mount (10mm).

Part 3: Install a telescope

Using a telescope, expand the beam width and collimate the beam.

*We found the telescope was successful expanding the beam width

Part 4: Align an optical system

Build an optical system based on the optical diagrams.

*Successfully replicated the system

Optics Experimental Review

What did we learn?

The Optical Alignment Lab helps demonstrate how to set up and align various optical components, including lasers, mirrors, irises, and lenses. It covers different practices such as: aligning the beam, measuring its width and divergence, and using lenses to expand and collimate the light.

Experiment File

OpticalAlignmentLab.docx