PHY 1203: WAVES AND OPTICS BY

OPIO PHILLIP

Course Credit: 3 CU
Brief Course This course introduces general concepts of wave propagation and optics.
Description It covers wave concepts, Fraunhofer diffraction, Huygens’s - Fresnel
diffraction, polarization, lasers and introduction to holography.

Course At the end of the course the student should be able to:
Objectives:
• Distinguish between isotropic and anisotropic media;
• Apply the division of amplitude and division of wave front in solving
problems;
• Distinguish between Fraunhofer and other types of diffraction;
• List a few uses of lasers

Detailed Course Description

1. Wave concepts
 Review of wave motion
 Electromagnetic spectrum
 Distinctions between isotropic and an isotropic media;
 Fermat’s principle
 Principle of superposition
 Interference by division of amplitude and
 Interference by wave front
2. Fraunhofer diffraction
 narrow single slit
 n ≥ 2-slit
 Diffraction grating
 Rayleigh criterion
 circular apertures

3. Huygen’s –Fresnel Diffraction

 1-slit
 Fresnel half-period zones
 zone plate
 Cornu’s spiral
 Fresnel integrals
4. Polarization
 Circular polarization

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  Production of polarized light
 Polaroids
 o– and e – ray
5. Brief mention of laser application
6. Introduction to holography
 Making hologram
 Applications of holography
Assessments

 Assignments and tests (40%)

 Examinations (60%)
 Total Marks (100%)

References
• R.S. Longhurst; Geometrical and Physical Optics; Longman
• Robert D. Gruenther; Modern Optics; John Wiley and Sons
• Marcelo Alonso and Edward J. Finn (1992); Physics; Addison-Wesley

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1.0 BASIC WAVE CONCEPTS

1.1 Waves and Wave Motion

1.1.1 Introduction

When a stone is dropped in a calm pool of water, a circular pattern spreads out from the point of
impact. The impact of the stone creates a disturbance which propagates outwards. In this
propagation, the water molecules do not move outwards with the wave; instead they move in
nearly circular orbits about an equilibrium position. Once the disturbance has passed a certain
point, every drop of water is at its original position.

Wave is a periodic disturbance which travels with finite velocity through a medium and remains
unchanged in type as it travels. It allows energy transfer from one part to another without any
particles of the medium travelling between two points.

Wave motion is a mean of transferring energy from one point to another without any transfer of
matter between the points.

1.1.2 Characteristics of waves through material medium

All waves:

 Have vibrations as their sources

 Transfer energy from one point to another without moving the material of the medium

 Exhibit oscillatory and periodic motion. Parts of the wave or medium repeats oscillatory
motion at equal intervals of time. This gives the wave its profile (shape) which remains
unchanged until the energy is lost.

 Propagate through a given medium with a definite velocity(which may only depend on
the nature of the medium)

 Are described by a mathematical equation called the general wave equation which has the
same form for all forms (regardless of the source).

 Have the particles of the material medium displaced and they execute oscillations of
small amplitude about the mean position.

1.1.3 Classification of waves

Waves are classified according to their modes of transmission and the nature of
transmitting medium.

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Waves are classified according to the nature of transmitting medium as mechanical and
electromagnetic waves.

Mechanical waves

These are waves which require material media for their propagation. They include: sound wave,
water wave, waves in a stretched string, waves in spring, Earth quark’s waves.

Electromagnetic waves

Electromagnetic waves do not require material media for their propagation. They can travel in
vacuum. They consist of electric and magnetic fields oscillating mutually perpendicular to each
other as shown in figure

one

Fig. 1. Shows propagating electromagnetic waves.

They include: infrared, radio waves, X-rays, gamma rays, ultraviolet rays and visible light.

Fig.2. Electromagnetic waves

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Waves may also be classified by energy transfer as progressive and stationary (Standing) waves.

(a)Progressive waves

These are waves travelling/moving waves which transfer energy from the source to a point
within the medium. Progressive waves are generated as pulses that travel away from the source.

Progressive waves are classified according to the particles’ displacement as transverse and
longitudinal waves.

Transverse waves

In transverse waves, the vibrations of the waves are perpendicular to the direction of propagation
of the waves. They consist of crests and troughs. They include: water waves, waves on stretched
string, electromagnetic waves.

Longitudinal waves

These are waves in which the vibrations of the individual particles occur in the same direction as
the direction of travel of the waves. They include; sound waves, waves on springs. In
longitudinal waves, there are regions where the particles crowd together (Compression regions)
and there are regions where the particles are far apart (Rare-faction regions).

(b) Stationary (Standing) waves

These are waves in which maximum displacement of the particles in the medium is independent
of time. They result from overlapping/superposition of two identical waves propagated in the
opposite direction with equal but opposite velocities. They consist of nodes and antinodes. A
stationary wave shows no net transfer of energy in space, but shows continuous interchange of
energy between kinetic and potential energy. Examples include: Waves in fixed strings,
oscillating air column in pipes.

On standing waves there are points where particles are permanently at rest which are referred to
as Nodes; the amplitude at these points is zero. The points where the displacement is highest are
called Antinodes. The distance between two successive nodes or antinodes equals to half the
wavelength.

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Fig. 3 Superposition of incident and reflected waves on a stretched string

1.1.4 Description and representation of waves

The variation of displacement of particles of medium with position (lateral distance) along the
medium or with time can be represented as sinusoidal function below.

Displacement,

Lateral displacement,

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 Displacement,

Time,

Fig.5

Displacement, y. This is the distance a particle has moved from its equilibrium (rest) position.

Amplitude, a. This is the greatest displacement of any particle from its equilibrium (rest)
position. Amplitude is negative when maximum displacement of the particles considered is in the
opposite direction.

Period, T. This is the time taken for wave to make one complete oscillation.

Frequency, . This a number of complete oscillations in one second

Wavelength, . This is the distance between two successive particles which are exactly in the
same selective position to their path and are moving in the same direction. It can also be defined
as the distance between two particles that are in phase.

Wave front. This is a line or section taken through an advancing wave along which all particles
are in phase.

Wave pulse. This is the disturbance that propagates outwards from the source when the medium
is given one time jolt.

Wave train. This is continuous group of waves with features which repeat regularly or wave
pulse generated when the medium is disturbed repeatedly.

Wave speed. This is the distance a wave travels in a periodic time. For one complete oscillation,

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But periodic time,
Therefore,

Properties of waves

All forms of energy propagated by wave motion undergo:

 Reflection
 Refraction as they propagate from one medium to another due to change in velocity.
 Diffraction which occurs when part of the wave motion is obstructed by an obstacle in its
path.
 Interference
 Energy transfer

1.1.5 THE GENERAL WAVE EQUATION (ONE-DIMENSIONAL WAVES)

The essential aspect of a propagating wave is that it is a self-sustaining disturbance of the

medium through which it travels. If a disturbance moves in the direction with constant
speed , then the disturbance must be expressed in terms of both position and time, and can
therefore be written as .

The shape of the disturbance at any instant, say can be found by holding time constant at
that value. In this case, represents the shape or profile of the

wave at that time. Example if where is a constant; the profile is of a bell

(normal distribution curve)

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Consider a wave pulse of an arbitrary shape defined by on a coordinate
system ( ) that is moving along the positive direction with velocity as shown in
the fig.6.

Fig.7

After time, , the pulse and the coordinate system will have translated to the right a
distance A point will be defined by after the translation.

Since the translation is parallel to the the of remains

unchanged. Hence .

The coordinate of after the time is defined by

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Similarly, if the pulse and coordinate system wave propagated with the time same
velocity in the negative coordinate, then it would be defined by

A wave pulse on the coordinate system propagating with the velocity

parallel to the is defined by

……………………………………………..(i)

…………………………………..(ii)

Also ……………………………(iii)

Partially differentiating equation (iii)

, but

………………………………………………………….(iv)

Taking partial derivatives of with respect to

…………………………………………………………….(v)

Similarly,

. But

…………………………………………….(vi)

Taking partial derivatives of with respect to ,

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 …………………………………………….(vii)

From (vi) and (iv)

……………………………………………(vii)

Equation (vii) represents one dimensional general wave equation for a wave propagating with a
velocity along the direction in the plane.

For propagation in space, the lateral distance is given by , the general wave
equation in three dimensions takes the form

………………………………………………………(viii)

Where is called the Laplacian operator.

Note

 The pulses can be represented by sine function, cosine function, or exponential function.
 The displacement may be
i. A vector quantity e.g particle displacement in transverse wave, material
displacement in sound wave.
ii. A scalar quantity e.g. pressure change in the compression and rare-faction of
sound wave.

The solution to the general wave equation takes on the form

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 ………………………………………………..(ix). Where;

is the displacement of the particle from the initial position

is the amplitude of the wave

is the wave number given by

is the lateral displacement from the origin

is the wave velocity

is the time.

From

………………………………………………….(x)

Also ………………………………………(xi)

Similarly, …………………………………………..(xii)

Example one

Given that the general wave equation propagating in direction is given by ,

show that represents a wave.

Solution

…………………………………………………(i)

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 ………………………………..(ii)

Since , is a wave.

HARMONIC WAVES

Harmonic waves are waves whose profile/shapes are sine or cosine functions. They are
sometimes called sinusoidal waves. They are represented by such expressions
and ………………………………..(xiii)

Equation (xiii) becomes

and ……………………………(xiv)
where is the phase angle.

Harmonic waves represent waves generated by undamped harmonical oscillators executing

simple harmonic motion.

Consider two points on an harmonic wave separated by distance .

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Fig.8

The displacements at

is the phase difference between the points

If ; then and are in phase.

Suppose the oscillation of and occurs at small interval,

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Fig.9

The displacements at and is given by

is the phase difference between the points

If ; then and are in phase.

THE COMPLEX REPRESENTATION OF HARMONIC WAVES

The complex number representation of waves offers an alternative description that is

mathematically simpler to use. The complex exponential form of the wave equation is
used extensively in both classical and quantum mechanics as well as in optics.

The complex number has the form ……………………………….(xv)

Where;

are the real and imaginary parts of respectively and are both real numbers.

Graphical illustration on the Argand diagram

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In polar coordinates

………………………………………………………(xvi)

From Euler’s formula, …………………..(xvii)

Where is the magnitude of

is the phase angle of in radians

The complex conjugate indicated by asterisk ( ) is given by

According to Euler’s formula, cosine function is treated as real part while sine function is treated
as imaginary part respectively. Therefore the general solution to the wave equation in one
dimension is written as

……………………………………………(xviii)

Example one

A progressive wave is represented by . All measurements

are in metres and seconds. Calculate;

a) The period of the wave

b) The velocity
c) The number of waves that pass a given section every 10 minutes.

Solutions

a)

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 b)
c)
Total waves

Exercise

1. Read about group waves and phase Velocity.

2. The waves travelling in a medium are given by
and where time and distance are measured in second and
distance respectively, determine in each case the values of;
a) Frequency
b) Wavelength
c) Period
d) Direction of the wave motion
3. Calculate the speed of the wave whose representation in SI units is

4. Show that is a solution to the wave equation.

5. A harmonical oscillator generates a wave of amplitude 1 period
and speed propagating in the positive
direction; given that at the origin the wave has the value 1 ,
formulate the wave equation.
6. Consider a stretched string having tension and density and in its
equilibrium position, the string is horizontal ( If the string is
pulled in the vertical position
a) Show that the transverse waves generated is represented by
where all symbols used have usual meanings.

b) Deduce the expression for the speed of transverse waves and verify
the consistency of your results using dimensional analysis

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1.2 FERMAT’S PRINCIPLE
Consider the actual ray path as shown in Fig 10 and let represent position
dependent refractive index.

Fig.10

The time taken to traverse the geometric path in a medium of refractive index is

given by where represents the speed of light in free space.

The total time taken by the ray to traverse the path along the curve is given by

………………………………………..(i)

Where represent the arc length

the corresponding refractive index

Represents the integration is from the point to through the curve

If is the time taken by the ray travelling along path , then will be either less
than, greater than or equal to for all nearby paths like .

Since is a constant, becomes

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 …………………………………………(ii) which should be
extremum.

Hence the original statement of Fermat’s principle is: The actual path between two points
taken by a beam of light is the one which is traversed in the least time.

The above statement is incomplete and slightly incorrect. The correct form is: The actual
ray path between two points is the one for which the optical path length is stationary with
respect to variations of the path.

……………………………………(iii) Where the

left hand side represents the change in value of the integral due to an infinitesimal
variation of the ray path.

The optical paths may be;

i. Maximum
ii. Minimum
iii. Saddle point

For example, if the medium is homogenous then the rays will be straight lines.

LAWS OF REFLECTION FROM FERMAT’S PRINCIPLE

Cons ider a plane mirror as shown Fig 11.

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 Fig 11

To locate the position of drop a perpendicular from on the mirror and let be a
point on the perpendicular such that

where is another path adjacent to

To verify the laws of reflection, the path from to (via the mirror) should be minimum
(homogenous medium). This means that either the path is minimum or
is minimum, but simple geometrical considerations show that;

i. is minimum
ii.

Thus for minimum optical path length;

(a) The angle of incidence ( ) and the angle of reflection ( ) must be equal.
(b) The normal to the surface, incident ray, and reflected ray at the point of incidence
all lie in the same plane.

LAWS OF REFRACTION FROM FERMAT’S PRINCIPLE

Consider a ray starting from the point intersecting the interface at and proceeding to
along as shown in Fig 12.

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Fig 12

For the minimum optical path, the incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal to the interface
must all lie in the same plane.

To locate for which the optical path length from to is minimum, the perpendiculars
and are dropped from and respectively on the interface .

Suppose , then where

is a fixed quantity.

The optical path length from to , by definition is given by

For minimum optical path ( ),

But

This is the Snell’s law of refraction.

Example

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Consider a spherical refracting surface separating two optical media of refractive indices
and as shown in Fig 13.

Fig 13

The point represents centre of the spherical surface and if two points and such that
the points are straight line, then;

Calculate the optical length in terms of the distances .

Use Fermat’s principle to find the ray connecting the two points (Assuming the angle
is very small)

Solution

(a)From triangle

But and for small angle

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Similarly

Thus the optical path length is given by

(b)For the optical path to be an extremum,

The only ray connecting the points and will be the straight and it’s the straight line .

Exercise

Consider an object point infront of a concave mirror whose centre of curvature is at the point
as shown in Fig 14.

(a) Show that the optical path length is approximately given by

where the distances are
defined in the diagram above.

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 (b) Determine the paraxial image point and show that the result is consistent with the mirror
equation where and are the object and image distances with the sign
convention that all distances to the right of are positive and to its left negative.

1.3 PRINCIPLE SUPERPOSITION OF WAVES

When two waves travel through a medium, their combined effect can be determined by the
principle of superposition. This states the resultant displacement at any point produced by a
number of waves is the vector sum of displacements produced by each wave.

Resultant displacement is a maximum

Fig1. Shows identical waves A and B which are in phase, but are moving in the opposite.

Resultant displacement is zero

Fig 15.Shows identical waves A and B which are in out of phase

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 Consider a stretched vibrating string which is fixed at the points and as
shown in Fig 16 .

Fig 16

A transverse sinusoidal wave is sent down the string along the negative with the
displacement at a point on the string due to this wave defined by …..(i)

The reflected wave propagates in the positive and …(ii)

Using principle of superposition, the resultant displacement is given

where is the amplitude of vibration.

At node

are points marked

At antinodes, the displacement is maximum

are points marked

If the distance , then

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The corresponding frequencies are;

Exercise

Standing waves are formed on a stretched string under tension of . The length of the string is
and it vibrates in 3 loops. If the mass per unit length of the string is , calculate
the frequency of the vibration.

1.5 ISOTROPIC AND ANISOTROPIC MEDIA

ISOTROPIC MEDIUM

Isotropic medium (in a general sense) means that any physical property of the material medium
is the same at any point and in any direction through the material (it is independent of
orientation).

In optics, isotropic refers to the optical properties of the Material medium, which are the same
and independent of the orientation. However, if a mineral is isotropic, it means that ALL of its
physical properties are the same at any point; materials that do not have a geometrical
arrangement of the atoms, so they do not have an internal lattice (e.g. non-crystalline materials),
such as glass, liquids, and gasses.

Accordingly, an isotropic mineral has the same refractive index, the same absorption of light
(and the same for any other physical property) at any point and for any direction in the mineral.

ANISOTROPIC MEDIUM

Anisotropic (in a general sense) means that the properties of the material are not the same at all
points or directions, but may vary continuously with changing direction (orientation) of
observation (all minerals other than cubic are anisotropic).

Anisotropic crystals have variable refractive indices because light travelling through the crystals
will do so at different speeds, depending on the direction of travel (the orientation of the crystal
to the incident light). Examples are wood and polarizer

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1.3 INTERFERENCE OF LIGHT WAVES

Introduction

If two waves superpose, then the variation of energy density is called interference and intensity
distribution is the interference pattern. For example, interference of water waves as shown in Fig
17

Fig 17

However for light waves, due to the process of emission, interference cannot be observed
between independent sources, although interference does take place. Thus, interference can be
derived from a single wave so that the phase relationship is maintained and these methods
include:

(a) A beam is allowed to fall on two closely spaced holes and the two beams emanating from
the two holes interfere (Interference by division of wave front)
(b) A beam is divided at two or more reflecting surfaces and then reflected beams interfere
(Interference by division of amplitude)

1.3.1 INTERFERENCE BY DIVISION OF WAVEFRONT

(a) Young’s double-slit experiment

o A light source illuminates the pinhole
o Light diverging from this pinhole falls on a barrier which contains
which are very close to one another and are located equidistant from
o Spherical waves emanating from are coherent and on the screen
beautiful interference in fringes (bands) are obtained as illustrated in Fig 18.

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Fig 18

Sections of the spherical wavefronts emanating from two coherent sources as in Fig 19

Fig 19

The interference pattern

Consider the two pinholes of the Young’s double-slit experiment. The interference
pattern (about the point 0) consists of series dark bands (destructive interference) and bright
bands(constructive interference) on the screen which is parallel to the and lies in
the plane containing the points . The interference pattern is perpendicular to the plane
of Fig.19: 0 being the foot of the perpendicular from the point on the screen

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Fig 20

For an arbitrary point (on the line ) to correspond to a maximum intensity (bright fringe),

--------------------------(i)

But

Where

If (Since the error is negligible)

From (i) and (ii), ………………………….(iii)

If corresponds to a minimum intensity (dark fringes), then

………………………………………………….(iv)

DISPLACEMENT OF FRINGES

Consider a thin transparent plate of thickness and refractive index which is introduced in the
optical path of one of the two interference beams as shown in Fig 21.

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Fig 21

The light reaching the point from has to traverse a distant in the plate and a distant
in the air. Thus the time required for the light to reach from to the point is given by

where represents the speed of light in the plate

…………………………………………….(v)

The thin plate increases the effective optical path by .

Thus when the thin plate is introduced, the central fringe (which correspondsto equal optical path
from ) is formed at the point where

Thus the frinnge pattern gets shifted by a distance given by ………………..(Vi)

(b) The Lloyd’s Mirror Arrangement

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Fig 22
In this arrangement light from a slit is allowed to fall on a plane mirror at grazing
incidence(see Fig.22).
The light directly from the slit interferes with the light reflected from the mirror
forming an interference pattern in the region of the screen. One may thus consider the
slit and its virtual image to form two coherent sources which produce the
interference pattern.
The central fringe cannot be observed on the screen unless the screen is moved to
the position where it touches the end of the reflector. Indeed, if the central fringe is
observed with white light is found to be dark, then the reflected beam underwent a
sudden phase change of on reflection.
If the point is on the screen, then;
1. is a minima (Destructive interference)

2. is a maxima (Constructive interference)

Example
1. The diagram below represents the layout of Lloyd’s mirror experiment. is a
point source emitting waves of frequency . and represent the
two ends of a mirror placed horizontally and represents the screen. The
distances are respectively.

Fig. 23

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 (a) Determine the position of the region where fringes will be visible and
calculate the number of fringes
(b) Calculate the thickness of a mica sheet ( ) which should be introducd
in the path of the direct ray so that the lowest fringes becomes the central. The
velocity of light is

Solutions

(a)

The region

(b)

2. In the Young’s double slit experiment, the distance between the two holes is
and What will be the fringe width?

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 Solution

Exercise

In a double slit interference arrangement one of the slits is covered by a thin mica sheet whose
refractive index is . The distance between the two holes is and
respectively. Due to the introduction of the mica sheet the central fringe gets shifted by .
Determine the thickness of the mica sheet ( )

1.3.2 INTERFERENCE BY DIVISION OF AMPLITUDE

(a) Interference by a plane parrallel film when illuminated by a plane wave.

Consider a plane wave incident normally on a thin film of uniform thickness using a
partially reflecting plate .

Fig. 24
The waves reflected from the upper surface interfere with the waves reflected from the
lower surface and the interference pattern is observed through photographic plate
The waves reflected from the lower surface of the film traverse an additional optical path
, where is the refractive index of the film.
If the film is placed in air, then the wave reflected from the upper surface of the film will
undergo a sudden change in phase of . This means that,

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 i. is the condition for destructive interference

ii. is the condition for constructive interference; where

and represents the free space wavelength .

Similarly, for the oblique incidence of the plane wave on the thin film, the reflected waves
from the upper surface of the film interferes with the wave reflected from the lower surface of
the film.

Fig. 25

The interference pattern is observed in only small position using naked eyes. The additional
optical path (Path difference) where: is the refractive index of the film, is the
thickness of the film, and is the angle of refraction.

For a film placed in air, a phase change of will occur and this means;

i. is a condition for destructive interference

ii. is a condition for constructive interference

Calculation of the optical path difference (Cosine law)

Consider the oblique incidence of a plane wave on the thin film as shown in Fig 26.

Fig 26

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The optical path difference

Also

Hence …………………………………..(I)

since

It follows that

This the cosine law.

(b) Newton’s rings

When a plano-convex lens on a plane glass surface, a thin film of air is formed between
the curved surface of the lens and the plane glass plate .
The thickness of the air film is zero at the point of contact and increases as one moves
away from the point of contact. If the monochromatic light falls on the surface of the

35
 lens, then the light reflected from the surface interferes with the light reflected from
the surface .

Fig. 27
Considering points very close to the point of contact(near normal incidence), the optical
optical path difference where and are refractive index and thickness of the film
respectively.

is the condition for constructive interference

is the condition for destructive interference

Since the convex side of the lens is spherical surface, the thickness of the air film will be
constant over a circle( whose centre will be ) and hence concentric dark and bright rings are
formed known as Newton’s Rings.

Theory

Let the radius of the dark ring be and the thickness of the film where the dark ring
appears to be formed as shown in Fig 28.

36
Fig. 28

Using well known theorem of chord of a segment,

where is the radius of the curvature of the convex

surface.

But

( is the optical path difference)

For dark ring The radii of the rings vary as the square root
of natural numbers.

For bright ring,

Note: If a liquid of refractive index is introduced between the lens and glass, the radii of the

dark rings is given by

(c) Interference in thin wedge films; Air-wedge theory

Consider an air wedge film of small angle and a bright fringe separation as
shown in Fig. 29.

Fig.29

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For destructive interference, and is the condition for constructive

interference.

If and are two consecutive bright bands,

then extra path difference

in radians.

Example

1. A wedge air film is formed by placing aluminium foil

between two glass slides at a distance of from the line of contact of the slides.
When the wedge is illuminated normally by light of wavelength
interference fringes are produced parallel to the line of contact which have a separation of
. Calculate the angle of the wedge and the thickness of the foil.

Solution

If is thickness of the foil, then

Note. The interference fringes will disappear if the rings almost exactly superpose on each other

38
In the Newton’s ring arrangement , the radius of curvature of the curved side of the plano convex
lens is If light of wavelength is used, calculate the radii of the
bright rings.

Solution

2.0 FRAUNHOFER DIFFRACTION

2.1 Introduction
Consider a plane wave incident on a long narrow slit of width as shown in
Fig 1.

Fig. 1

According to geometrical optics one expects the region of the screen to illuminated and
the remaining portion to be absolutely dark (shadow).

If the width of the slit is made smaller, larger amount of energy reach the geometrical shadow.
This spreading-out of a wave when it passes through a narrow opening is usually referred to as
diffraction and the intensity distribution on the screen is known as the diffraction pattern.

39
 It should be pointed out that there is no specific, and significance physical difference between
interference and diffraction; indeed, interference corresponds to the situation when there is
superposition of waves coming out from a number of point sources and diffraction corresponds
to situation when waves coming out from an area source like circular or rectangular aperture.

The diffraction phenomena usually are classified as;

i. Fresnel diffraction.
ii. Fraunhofer diffraction.
In the Fraunhofer class of diffraction, the source and the screen are at infinite distances
from the aperture; this is easily achieved by placing the source on the focal plane of a
convex lens and placing the screen on the focal plane of another convex lens as shown in
Fig 2.

Screen

Point source

Fig. 2

2.2 Single-slit diffraction pattern

Consider a plane wave assumed to fall normally on the long slit of width
and that the slit consists of a large number of equally spaced point sources
(Huygen’s Principle) with being the distance between two
consecutive points as shown in Fig 3

40
Fig 3.

Fig 4.

Thus, if the number of point sources be , then …………………(i)

We will now calculate the resultant field produced by these sources at the point being an
arbitrary point (on the focal plane of the lens) receiving parallel rays making an angle with the
normal to the slit. Since the slit actually consists of a continuous distribution of sources , in the
final expression, ……………………..(ii)

If the diffracted rays make an angle with the normal to the slit, then the path difference

41
The corresponding phase difference would be given by ………….(iii)

Thus, if the field at the point due to the disturbance emanating from is then from

, …

The resultant field at the point ,

.(iv)

Proof

Using complex representation,

But and may be written as and respectively

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 ……………………………………………(v)

Where is the amplitude of the resultant field.

In the limit of , we have

Further,

But since in radians

where and

The resultant field at ……………………………(vi)

43
The corresponding intensity distribution is given by ……………………..(vii)

where represents the intensity at

Positions of Maxima and Minima

From , the intensity is zero if , provided . Therefore ;

is the condition for minima. The first minimum occurs at ;

the second minimum at .

When , and which corresponds to the maximum intensity.

Fig 5

Inorder to determine the positions of maxima,we differentiate equation (vii) with respect to
and set it to zero.

If (Maximum). The root corresponds to the central maximum. The other roots
can be found by determining the points of intersections of the curves and . The

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intersections occurs at are known as the first maximum and second
maximum respectively.

Fig 6

The first maximum, which is of the central maximum.

Example 1

A parallel beam of light is incident normally on a narrow slit of width .The Fraunhofer
diffraction pattern is observed on a screen which is placed at the focal plane of a convex lens
whose focal length is . Calculate the distance between the first two minima and the first
two maxima on the screen(Assume ) and the lense is placed very close to the
slit.

Solution

For minima,

The first minima,

The second minima,

The distance of separation

For maxima, . The first and second maxima occur at and respectively.

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Distance of separation

Example 2

A plane wave falls normally on a narrow slit of width . Calculate the

angles of diffraction corresponding to the first three minima. Repeat the calculations
corresponding to a slit width of .

The first minima,

Example 3

A convex lens of the focal length is placed after a slit of width . If a plane wave of
wavelength falls normally on the slit, calculate the separation between the second
minima on the either side of the central maxima.

Solution

For the positive side

For the negative side

Distance of separation

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 2.3 N-Slit Fraunhofer Diffraction Pattern
Consider the diffraction pattern produced by parallel slits, each of width
with the distance between two consecutive slits is assumed to be .

Fig 7

Assume that each slit consists of equally spaced point sources with spacing . Thus the field at
an arbitray point P will essentially be a sum of terms.

where

The corresponding intensity distribution will be where is the

intensity produced by a single slit.

Exercise

Work out the expression for the positions of maxima and minima in the case of N-slits

2.4 Diffraction by a circular aperture

The arrangement for observing the diffraction is as shown

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Fig 8

A plane wave is incident normally on the circular aperture and a lens whose diameter is much
larger than the aperture is placed close to the aperture. The Fraunhofer diffraction pattern is

observed on the focal plane of the lens. The intensity is given by

Where and is the radius of aperture

is the Bessel function of the first order. In The intensity at is the

central maximum.

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Thus the successive dark rings in the airy pattern will correspond to

Note. The angular spread of the beam where is the diameter of aperture.

The radius of the dark ring = where is the focal length of the lens.

Example

Calculate the radii of the first two dark rings of the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern produced by a
circular aperture of the radius at the focal plane of a convex lens of the focal length
Assume that the wavelength of light used is

Solution

The first ring occurs at

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The radius of the second dark ring

Exercise

A circular aperture of radius 0.01cm is placed in front of a convex lens of the focal length 25cm
and illuminated by a parallel beam of light of wavelength Calculate the radii of the
first three dark rings.

2.5 THE DIFFRACTION GRATING

An arrangement which essentially consists of a large number of equidistant slits is known as a
diffraction grating. The corresponding diffraction pattern is known as the grating spectrum. Since
the exact positions of the principal maxima in the diffraction pattern depend on the wavelength,
the principal maxima corresponding to different spectral lines (associated with a source) will
correspond to different angles of diffraction. Thus the grating spectrum provides an easily
obtainable experimental set up for determination of wavelengths.
The Grating Spectrum
The positions of the principal maxima are given by This relation
which is also called the grating equation can be used to study the dependence of the angle of
diffraction on the wavelength .
Differentiating with respect in the grating equation,

which implies:

(a) Assuming to be very small ( ) , clearly the angle

is directly pproportional to the order of the spectrum for a given and for a

given is a constant. Such spectrum is known as a normal spectrum and in this, the

difference in angle for two spectral lines is directly proportional to the difference in
wavelength. However if is large, it can easily be shown that the dispersion is greater at
the red end of the spectrum.
(b) is inversely proportional to , and therefore smaller the
grating element, the larger will be the angular dispersion.
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 The angular separation (width) and Resloving power of a grating

From

is called angular separation or width, where is the mean wavelength.

Resolving power of a grating refers to the grating power of distinguishing two nearby spectral

lines and is defined by the equation where is the separation of two wavelengths which

the grating can just resolve.

Using Rayleigh Criterion, Resolving power R is defined as where and are the
number of the spectral lines and order of diffraction respectively.

Example 1
A grating (with ) is illuminated by sodium light. The grating spectrum is
observed on the focal plane of a convex lens of focal length Calculate the separation
between the lines and for the sodium light for first order diffraction (The wavelength of
the and lines are and respectively
solution
Angular separation

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Distance of separation
Example 2
What is the total number of lines a grating must have inorder just to separate the sodium light
spectra of wavelengths and in the third order?
Solution

Exercise
1. A diffraction grating produces a second-order spectrum of
yellow light ( ) at . Determine the spacing between the lines on the
grating.
2. A white light falls normally on a transmission grating
contains 1000lines per centimeter. At what angle will red light of wavelength
emerge in the first order spectrum?

3.0 HYGEN’S-FRESNEL DIFFRACTION

3.1 Introduction
Fresnel class of diffraction is the one in which either the source or the screen (or both) are
at a finite distance from the diffracting aperture. The underlying principle in the entire
analysis is the Huygen’s-Fresnel principle according to which each point on a wavefront
is a source of secondary disturbance and the secondary wavelets emanating from different
points mutually interfere.

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 Consider the incidence of a plane wave n a circular hole of radius as shown in Fig 3.1

Edge of geometrical shadow

Screen
Fig 3.1
The beam undergoes diffraction divergence and the angular spreading is given by

1. When , the intensity at a point (which is deep inside

geometrical shadow) will be negligible.
2. If there will be almost uniform spreading out of the
beam resulting in an (almost) uniform illumination of the screen.
Physical implications
1. If , the secondary wavelets emanating from
different points on the circular aperture so beautifully interfere to produce (almost) zero
intensity in the geometrical shadow and a large intensity inside the circular region.
2. If then the aperture almost acts as a point source
resulting in a uniform illumination of the screen

3.2 FRESNEL HALF-PERIOD ZONE

Consider a plane wavefront propagating in the as shown in Fig 3.2

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Fig 3.3

Inorder to determine the field at an arbitrary point due to the disturbances reaching from
different portions of the wavefront, a perpendicular is dropped on the wavefront.

If PO=d, then with point P as the centre, we draw spheres of radii will

intersect in circles.

The radius of the circle will obviously be given by

since

If is not a very large number, the annular region between the and circles known
as the half period zone is obtained and it’s defined by the area of the half period zone
which is given as

3.4 THE ZONE –PLATE

A beautiful appliction of the concept of Fresnel half-period zone lies in the construction of the
zone plate which consists of a large number of concentric circles whose radii are proportional to
the square of natural numbers and the alternative annular regions of which are blackened.

54
If the radii of the circles are where is a constant which has the dimension
of length, then the corresponding focal points are at distance from the zone plate are

(i) for bright zones

(ii) for dark zones

Example 3.1

Consider a zone plate with formed using light of wavelength

calculate the positions of the various foci.

Solution

The most intense focal point will be at a distance of

The other focal points will be at distances of

Example 3.2

If a zone plate is to have a principal focal length of corresponding to ,

obtain an expression for the radii of different zones. What would be its principal focal length for

Solution

and

3.5 Fresnel’s integrals and Cornu’s Spiral

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The Fresnel’s integrals are the integrals defined by the equations

and

Properties of Fresnel’s integrals

1. and

2. and
3. The integrands are even functions of while the Fresnel’s
integrals and are odd functions of
Cornu’s spiral is a parameter representation of the Fresnel’s integrals. The horizontal and
vertical axes represent and respectively and the numbers written on the spiral
are the values of

4.0 VECTOR NATURE OF LIGHT AND POLARISATION

4.1 Introduction

Consider one end of a string being moved up and down generating a transverse waves. Ecah
point of the string executes a sinusoidal oscillation in a straigth line and the waves is
known as a linearly polarized wave because of its confinement in plane as shown in Fig
4.1

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Fig 4.1

Fig 4.2

The displacement for waves in Fig 4.1 can be written in the form

and …………………………4.1

Where and are the amplitude and phase constant respectively.

If one end of the string is rotated on the circumference of a circle, the each point of the string
moves in a circular path and such wave is known as a circularly polarized wave and the -
corresponding displacement would be given by

and ……………….4.2

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If a linearly polarized transverse wave is incident on a long narrow slit, then the slit will allow
only the component of the displacement which is along the length of the slit to pass through as
shown in Fig 4.3

Fig 4.3

Unpolarized wave is the one whose plane of vibration changes randomly in very short time
intervels.

Consider an unpolarized wave incident on a slit

Fig 4.5

The displacement associated with the transmitted wave will be aling the length of the slit and a
rotation of the slit will not affect the amplitude of the wave although the plane of polarization of
transmitted wave depends on the orientation of the slit. Thus the transmitted wave will be
linearly polarized and the slit is the polarizer. If this polarized beam falls on another slit ,
then the rotation of the slit causes a variation of the transmitted wave amplitude and its called
an analyzer

Qn: Differentiate between polarizer and analyzer

4.2 Production of polarized light

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4.2.1 The wire Grid polarizer and polaroid

The wire grid polarizer essentially consists of a large number of thin copper wires placed parallel
to each other.

Fig 4.6

When an unpolarized electromagnetic wave is incident on it, then the component of the electric
vector along the length of the wire is absorbed and the component of the lectric vector along the
x-axis passing through waves is linearly polarized with the electric vector along the x-axis
passing through without much attenuation. Thus the emergent waves is linearly polarized with
the electric vector along the x-axis.

Similarly, long chain polymer molecules that contains (like iodine) which provide high
conductivity along the length of the chain. These along chain molecules are aligned so that they
are almost parallel to each other. Because of the high conductivity provided by the iodine atoms,
the electric field parallel to the molecules get absorbed. A sheet containing such long chain
polymer molecules(which are aligned parallel to each other) is known as a polaroid.

4.2.2. Polarization by reflection

Consider the incidence of an unpolarized beam on a dielectric material as shown in Fig 4.6

59
If the incident beam is such that the refracted beam makes an angle of to reflected beam at
the point of incidence, then the reflected beam is linearly polarized with its electric vector
perpendicular to the plane of incidence.

Using snell’s law,

and is known as the polarizing angle or the Brewster’s angle. Also the

equation is called the Brewster’s law.

4.3 The phenomenon of double refraction

When an unpolarized light beam is incident on a calcite crystal, it usually splits up into two
linearly polarized beam

60
Fig 4.6

The beam which travels undeviated is known as the ordinary ray (usually abbreviated as the
and obeys snell’s laws of refraction. On the otherhand, the second beam which in
general doesnot obey Snell’s laws is known as the extra-ordinary ray (usually abbreviated as the
). The appearance of the two beams is due to the phenomenon of double refraction and a
crystal like calcite is usually referred to as double refracting crystal. The velocities of the
ordinary and extra-ordinary rays are given by

( ordinary ray)

(extra-ordinary ray)

Where and are constants of the crystal and is the angle that the ray makes with the optic
axis.

5.0 LASER

5.1 Introduction to Laser

LASER is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The light
emitted from a laser often posseses some very special characteristics which include:

61
Directionality. The divergence of a laser beam is usually limited by diffraction and the actual
divergence can be less than radians. This leads to the application of a laser in surveying,
remote sensing etc.

High power. Continuous wave lasers having power levels of and pulse lasers having
total energy . This can have applications in welding, cutting, laser fusion etc

Tight focusing. Because of highly directional properties of the laser beams, they can be focused
to areas of few . This leads to applications in surgery, material processing, compact discs
etc.

Spectral purity. Laser beams can have an extra small spectral width . Because of
high spectral purity, lasers find applications in holography, optical communications,
spectroscopy etc.

5.2 Main components of the laser

1. The active medium

The active medium consists of a collection of atoms, molecules, or ions (in solid, liquid, or
gaseous form), which is capable of amplifying light waves. Under normal circumstances, there
are always a large number of atoms in the lower energy state than those in the excited energy
state. An electromagnetic wave passing through such a collection of atoms would get attenuated.
In order to have optical amplification, the medium has to be kept in a state of population
inversion i.e. in a state in which the number of the atoms in the upper energy level is greater than
that in the lower energy level; this is achieved by means of the pump.

2. The pump source

The pumping mechanism provides means for obtaining such a state of population
inversion between a pair of energy levels of the atomic system and when a state of
population inversion is achieved, input light beam can be amplified by stimulated
emission.

62
Fig 5.1

3. The optical resonator

A medium with population inversion in capable of amplification, however, in order that it
acts as an oscillator, part of the output energy must be fedback into the system. Such
feedback is brought about by placing the active medium in a resonator; the resonator
could just be a pair of mirrors facing each other.
5.3 The lasing action
The onset of oscillations in a laser cavity can be understood as follows:
Through a pumping mechanism, a state of populationinversion in the laser placed inside
the resonator system is created. The spontaneous emission occuring inside the cavity
excites the various modes of the cavity.
The modes for which the gain is higher than the lost get amplified by drawing energy
from the laser medium. The amplitude of the mode increass rapidly until the upper level
population reaches a value when the gain equals the lost, and the mode oscillates in
steady state. When the laser oscillates in the steady state, the losses are exactly
compensated for by the gain provided by the medium, and the wave coming out of the
laser can be represented as a continuous waves
Questions
1. Explain qualitatively the laser’s application in writing CD
2. Distinguish between the fiber laser and Ruby laser

6.0 Introduction to holography

The term holography comes fron the Greek words ‘holos’ meaning ‘whole’ and
‘graphis’ meaning ‘image’. Holography was invented in 1948 by Dr.Dennis Gabor.
A hologram is a three-dimensional image recorded on a special photographic plate by
light from a laser. When developed and illuminated, the image not only looks ‘real’, but
appears to float in space and to move when the viewer moves as with a real object.

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 5.1 Making a hologram

A laser beam is first split into an object beam and a reference beam by a beam splitter

The reference beam is reflected by a mirror on to a lens which spreads it out onto a holographic
plate, set at a certain angle. The object beam is also reflected and spread out , but falls on the
subject(hands). The light waves reflected from the subject meet those of the reference beam at
the surface of the plate where, being coherent, they interfere to produce the hologram.

The plate is developed in much the same way as for a photograph. When it’s illuminated by light
falling on it at the same angle as the reference beam, a three-dimensional image appears floating
in space and looking almost as real as the actual subject.

Some applications of holography

-A phone card. Phone cards contain invisible hologram which keeps a check on the number of
units used in making calls instead of using cash directly to make call
-Scanners at supermarkets checkout are based on a holographic disc which reads and interprets
the bar code on the merchandise.
-In medicine, a hologram of a living brain can reveal to surgeons the exact size and location of a
tumour.
-Holograms are used for the display and marketing of goods in the commercilized world.

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-A credit card may contain a hologram which allows a shop keeper to check if not counterfeit
-A fuel rod in position working in a nuclear reactor can be holographed for inspection to detect
any distortion.

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