This MSc is a challenging one-year taught Masters degree programme that provides students with a range of up-to-date advanced topics drawn from optical communication systems and devices and optics related signal processing (including associated enabling technologies). It provides an excellent opportunity to acquire the necessary skills to enter careers in some of the most dynamic fields in optical communications.
Optical fibre communications forms the backbone of all land based communications networks, and is the only viable means to support today’s global information system. Optical fibres currently carry more than 80% of total communications traffic volume, and practically all traffic – telephone (including mobile) calls, internet data – from the access point onwards. The contribution of optical fibre communications to the progress of society has been recognised by the award of 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics to Charles Kao who pioneered modern optical fibre technology while working in the UK.
The imminent deployment of optical access network (fibre to the home: FTTH) technology – already happening in many parts of the world such as Asia-Pacific, Northern Europe, etc, – will bring the next revolutionary step in the information society by providing 10 to 1000 times of today’s bandwidth to the end-user. This deployment will create major market opportunities for the relevant photonic and optical communications industry, and will have a profound impact on people’s lives.
This MSc programme builds on the internationally recognised research strengths of the Photonics Group within the Centre for Communications Research (CCR). Bristol research is contributing to the ever increasing requirement for bandwidth and flexibility through research into optical switch technology, wavelength conversion, high speed modulation, data regeneration and novel semiconductor lasers. The Group at Bristol is a world leader in the new field of Quantum Photonics, with key successes in developing photonic crystals, fibre light sources, quantum secured optical communications and novel quantum gate technologies.
The MSc provides in-depth training in design, analysis and management skills relevant to the theory and practice of the optical communications industry. The programme was accredited by the IET in 2008 and is one of only a handful of accredited programmes in this field within the UK.
Staff members are internationally recognised in their research fields and this is reflected in the unit contents. The facilities available within the Department for individual research projects are outstanding. Many students benefit from working with local industry and thereby attain skills which maximise their employability on graduation. Students have, for example, worked with Oclaro, QinetiQ, Hewlett Packard Research, ST and Toshiba and with state-of-the-art equipment provided by Texas Instruments.
The education, training and assessment of the MSc programmes extend over a 50-week period, starting October each year with the Introductory Week. During this week students meet the programme staff and their personal tutors. The taught modules and their associated assessment (including examinations) occur in the first 35 weeks and the research project runs full-time during the last 15 weeks of the programme. Research projects may be undertaken at the University, in collaboration with one of the programme’s many industrial supporters, or with a student's existing employer.
The taught material is presented over 2 semesters, each of 12 weeks' duration, excluding the Christmas and Easter vacations of 8 weeks in total. The examinations are held in May/June each year over a 3 week period. During the second semester the students are required to begin the background reading phase of their research project.
The taught material is arranged in units extending over a 12-week period (a semester) with 2 lectures per week, each of 50 minutes duration. The assessment of this material is via continuous assessment (usually laboratory assignments) and a formal examination. Each unit is worth 10 credit points (CP) and there are a total of 120 CP in the taught phase of each programme.
A list of the units for each programme is given in Table 1. The research project is worth 60 CP, thereby yielding a total of 180 CP.
|
Period |
Unit Code |
Unit Title |
Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Coding Theory |
10 |
|
|
1 |
Research Methodology & Project Management |
10 |
|
|
1 |
Communication Systems |
10 |
|
|
1 |
Mobile Communications |
10 |
|
|
1 |
Networks and Protocols |
10 |
|
|
1 |
Digital Filters and Spectral Analysis |
10 |
|
|
2 |
Optoelectronic Devices and Systems |
10 |
|
|
2 |
Advanced Optoelectronic Devices |
10 |
|
|
2 |
Optical Communication Systems & Data Networks |
10 |
|
|
2 |
Advanced Mobile Radio Techniques |
10 |
|
|
2 |
Broadband Wireless Communications |
10 |
|
|
2 |
Advanced Networks |
10 |
|
|
3 |
Research Project |
60 |
The programme is usually taken on a full-time basis (twelve months) but may be taken over an extended period (two twelve week blocks plus a separate project). The latter may be attractive to industrially sponsored students.
