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ECE 477Photonic Devices and Systems

Units
0.50
Faculty
Engineering
Subject
Electrical and Computer Engineering

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 0 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Review of Maxwell's equations and electromagnetic plane waves, dielectric waveguides, optical fibers, lasers and photonic transmitters, photodetectors and photonic receivers, optical amplifiers, and photonic systems and networks.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Must have completed the following:
      • ECE375 - Electromagnetic Fields and Waves (0.50)
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • ECE206 - Advanced Calculus 2 for Electrical Engineers (0.50)
      • MATH212 - Advanced Calculus 2 for Electrical Engineers (0.50)
    • Students must be in level 4A or higher
    • Enrolled in H-Computer Engineering, or H-Electrical Engineering

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Reviewed on UW Flow

100% liked it100% easy67% useful

From 3 ratings and 1 comment on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Saini made the course easy because he wants to cover more big topics rather than going deeply into one section. This course is just an introduction to photonics.

    Jul 2016 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

One post or comment in 1 thread mentions ECE 477, May 2020 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Spring 2020

What are your top 5 courses at Waterloo? 29 points, 43 comments

“After 3 years of this place, these were my favourite courses that I found (no particular order): CS 341 CS 251 MATH 135 MATH 239 ENGL 332 (Comics) I liked CS 341, MATH 135, and MATH 239 because they …”

u/Frozen-Penis: “ECE 474, ECE 477, ECE 318, ECE 124, HIST 230 in no particular order but if I had to pick 5 it's would be those 474 and 477 I found to be interesting technical electives and I enjoyed the change to more 'system-level' courses rather than the more 'low-level' content I'm used to …”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar