MAS.862 2025

Have you ever wondered:

what's the minimum energy required to think?
why quantum computers can beat classical computers?
how to teleport?
where noise comes from, and how to remove it?
why cameras have a resolution limit, and how to exceed it?
what determines the size and shape of an antenna?
how to make an invisibility cloak?
what causes magnetism?
how atoms are used to tell time and navigate?
how electrons are used to weigh kilograms?
why superconductors have no resistance?

MAS.862 will provide answers to these and many other questions, through a survey of the device mechanisms used in information technologies, and their theoretical foundations. The schedule will be:

	Contents
2/06:	Computation, Interactions, Units, and Magnitudes
2/13:	Noise in Physical Systems
2/20:	Information in Physical Systems
2/27:	Electromagnetic Fields and Waves
3/06:	Circuits, Transmission Lines, and Waveguides
3/13:	Antennas
3/20:	Optics
3/27:	No class (Spring break) Lensless Imaging
4/03:	Semiconductor Materials and Devices
4/10:	Optical Materials and Devices
4/17:	Magnetic Materials and Devices
4/24:	Transducers
5/01:	Measurement and Coding
5/08:	Quantum Computing and Communications
5/15:	Project Development
5/19:	Project Presentation
	References

Relevant background for each of these areas will be covered. They will be developed through weekly problem sets, laboratory demonstrations, and analytical, numerical, or experimental semester projects. The course is based on the text The Physics of Information Technology, with draft revisions for a second edition to be provided throughout the semester.

People