Technical Modules

The module "Software engineering for scientists" offers an introduction to important techniques in software engineering. We will focus on the special situation of software development in the context of scientific projects and discuss various techniques to achieve a good software design, how to use development tools to debug and maintain your software, as well as how to organize a team of developers.

The following five questions will be addressed:

• What do good interfaces for a modular software design look like?
• What do good overall software structures look like?
• How can we debug software effectively?
• How can we manage different software versions?
• How can we organize the development process and the team of developers?

We will introduce various techniques and tools, including software design patterns, unit tests, software documentation tools, debugging tools, software fuzzing, revision control systems, the waterfall process, the spiral process, Scrum, Kanban, and other agile software engineering techniques. Code examples will mainly be given in C++, however, the concepts and techniques are applicable to other programming languages as well. Participants are expected to be familiar with at least one programming language (not necessarily C++).

Prerequisites:

Participants should be familiar with at least one programming language

Dates (2,5 days):

January 13, 2025 (Morning & afternoon)
January 14, 2025 (Morning & afternoon)
January 15, 2025 (Morning) 

Place: 

Campus South, Room 032, Building 40.32

Lecturer:

Dr. Martin Lauer

Using the quantum mechanical properties of light to exchange keys for data encryption offers enormous potential for tap-proof communication and data transmission.

In this module, you will receive a basic theoretical introduction to quantum cryptography.

In the practical part, you will set up an interferometer to learn how to erase quantum information. You will then carry out an analogy experiment in which you will use the BB84 protocol to distribute a quantum key and exchange an encrypted message.
Afterwards you test the protocol under the influence of an eavesdropping attack.

Date: June 3-4, 2024 (start at 9.00 am)

Place: Light Technology Institute (LTI) (Building 30.34, Room 119 + labs)

Maximum number of participants: 5

Finite element method-based simulations are used in many areas of science and engineering, and COMSOL Multiphysics is one of the most versatile finite element packages available. The course is aimed at people who wish to learn the basics of COMSOL and the finite element method common to all disciplines, emphasizing simulations in optics, electronics, and mechanics.

Date: tba

This module provides an introduction to deep learning techniques and related application areas. The first two days  introduce the core concepts of artificial neural networks, training artificial neural networks, and deep neural networks  (including stacked autoencoders, convolutional neural networks, and region proposal networks). Participants also take a look on more elaborated concepts like generative adversarial networks, recurrent networks, and transformers. The third day focuses on various application areas including autonomous driving and microscopy. Finally, the viewpoint changes to reinforcement learning and biological neural networks and the learning processes in the brain.

Dates: tba

Theoretical and practical introduction to micro- and nanotechnology, overview of technology facilities at KIT.

• Optical lithography for patterning
• Theory of photo resists, photochemical reaction, mask aligners, optical mask technology
• Thin film deposition
• Thermal evaporation, electron gun evaporation, sputtering
• Micro optics and related technologies
• Atomic Force Microscopy
• Introduction in the technique of direct laser writing for fabrication of photonic crystals
• Scanning Electron Microscopy and Focused Ion Beam

Date: tba

Are you interested in the application of basic optical principles in advanced medical equipment? Learn how Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and low coherence light interferometric biometers operate.

Basic optical principles and their application in the design of modern optical medical equipment will be introduced. You will gain insight in the design of optical medical devices. In addition, you will work on exercises as well as a technical challenge. Work will be done in a simulation environment and in a hands-on breadboard setup.

Date: May 28-29, 2024

Microscopy is a core optical technique used in almost every field of modern experimental science. The module will first familiarize you with the working principles of contemporary wide field light microscopes. Building on this foundation, it will dive deeper into methods deploying laser scanning and photon collection via CCD/CMOS cameras as opposed to photon multipliers. Eventually, the concepts of cutting-edge super-resolution techniques, which have revolutionized the field of microscopy in recent years, will be introduced.

The complete course includes ten focused lectures, of which KSOP PhD doctoral researchers have to attend at least five. The lectures offered cover the field of modern microscopic techniques from the basics of image formation up to super-resolution microscopy and image processing. The presentations on Microscopy Basics will be given by a senior ZEISS application specialist and involve impressive live demonstrations. If you choose to attend the lecture in Advanced Laser Scanning Microscopy (LSM) you should hear LSM Basics first.

The exact lecture dates are still preliminary and might be subject to slight modifications. We will confirm exact dates shortly before the module.

In addition to the lectures KSOP doctoral researches will be given the opportunity to gain hands-on experience on our research microscopes in a dedicated lab (1-2 days), for which we will arrange the dates according to your needs.

Lecture menu to choose from:

Microscopy Basics (1) - Mon, July 1st, 10 am - noon
Microscopy Basics (2) - Mon, July 1st, 1-2:30 pm
Microscopy Basics (demonstration) - Tue, July 2nd, 10 am - noon
Sample Preparation - Wed, July 3rd, 10 am - noon
Fluorescence Microscopy - Thu, July 4th, 10 am – noon
Digital Images - Thu, July 4th, 1 – 2:30 pm
Basic Laser Scanning Microscopy (LSM) - Mon, July 8th, 10 am – noon
Advanced LSM - Thu, July 11th, 10 am – noon
Principles of Super-resolution - Fri, July 12th, 10 am – noon
Image Processing - Tue, July 16th, 10 am - noon

This comprehensive two-day course focuses on advanced lithography technologies for nano- and micro-patterning. Participants will develop practical skills in lithography methods at the IMT facilities.

Date: October 16-17, 2024

The module "Computer Vision" offers a 3-days introduction to basic computer vision topics and applications. It introduces image filtering, edge detection techniques, and basic image segmentation methods. It introduces camera models and camera calibration methods. Furthermore, we discuss 3d stereo vision and visual 3d scanning. The module will be composed out of lecture classes and exercises. While the methods and algorithms will be introduced in the lecture classes you will get hand-on experience in the exercises. We will use python in the exercises. The module replaces the formerly offered module "Digital Signal Processing".

Date: March 11-13, 2024

Theory: From 9 am - 12:15 pm (Room 032, Building 40.32)

Exercises: From 1:15 pm - 4:30 pm (Room 064.3, Building 40.33)

Lecturers: Dr. Martin Lauer, Sedef Otlu

• Finding solutions to those equations that describe the properties of light and its interaction with matter in a numerical sense
• Computational methods are often essential to understand actual experiments
• Simplify the design of optical materials and functional devices prior to any fabricatio
• Theoretical lectures and hands-on training using different software package
• Methods that solve rigorously Maxwell’s equations
• The methods and tools we discuss, therefore, can be applied to systems, where wave optical properties are important
• Combination of internal and external scientific and industrial experts that will offer theoretical lectures and hands-on training
• Gain a solid knowledge of the basics of computational photonics and competences to solve a large variety of different problems
• The acquired knowledge will help in your everyday research

Date: tba

• Research on most efficient and cost-effective solar cell possible
• potential active materials
• last advances of (nano)photonics, materials science and applied physics
• insights into the field of photovoltaics by discussing design, fabrication and characterization aspects
• lectures, lab tours or visits of two recognized PV research centers

Dates:
July 15, 2024: 9.15 - 15:00 hrs.
July 16, 2024: 9.15 - 16:00 hrs.

The KSOP-module will cover the National Instruments LabVIEW-courses “Core 1+2".

Date: tba