PY2004: Optics

Notes by Chris Blair

These notes cover the Senior Freshman course given by
Prof. Jonathan Coleman in Michaelmas Term 2007,
except for multiple beam interference.
Contents
1 Wave Motion 1
2 Light 2
2.1 Electromagnetic Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.2 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.3 Energy Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.4 Plane and Spherical Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.5 Refractive Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.6 Interaction With Matter: Dipole Oscillator Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3 Polarisation 7
3.1 Linear, Circular and Elliptical Polarisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.2 Polarisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.2.1 Dichroism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.2.2 Birefringence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.2.3 Scattering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.2.4 Reection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.2.5 Retarders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.3 Angular Momentum Of Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4 Interference 11
4.1 Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.2 Youngs Slits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.3 Conditions for Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.4 Interferometers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.4.1 Wavefront Splitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.4.2 Amplitude Splitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.5 Types and Location of Fringes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.6 Multiple Beam Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.7 Interference From Non-Point Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5 Diraction 18
5.1 Huygens-Fresnel Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5.2 Single Slit Diraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5.3 Double Slit Diraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.4 Rectangular Slits and Circular Apertures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.5 Fresnel Diraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1
1 Wave Motion
Consider a wave travelling with velocity v in some medium. The displacement is clearly
a function of position and time; = (x, t). However, we can always change our frame of
reference to an axis moving with the wave. In this frame, = (x

), where x

= x vt. We can
then dierentiate as follows:

t
=

x

t
= v

x

= v

x
x
x

t
= v

x
as v could be positive or negative. Now, dierentiating again gives:

t
2
=

t
_
v

x
_
= v

2

tx
= v

2

xt
= v

x
_

t
_
and from

t
= v

x
this gives us the wave equation:
Wave Equation

2

x
2
=
1
v
2

t
2
Now consider a sine wave, its shape given by (x

) = Asinkx

. To describe a travelling sine

wave we use the expression x

= x vt giving (x, t) = Asin[k(x vt)], which is a solution to

the wave equation. Now, the wave must repeat after a wavelength, and also after 2, giving:
Asin
_
k(x vt)
_
= Asin
_
k(x + vt)
_
= Asin
_
k(x vt) + 2
_
Wave Number
k =
2

k is known as the wave number. A similar argument for the wave repeating after one period
gives us:
Period
=

v
The frequency f and the angular frequency are given by f =
1

and = 2f =
2

, and we
also have v = f.
We then have the general expression for a sine wave:
Sine Wave (x, t) = Asin
_
kx t +
_
where is a phase angle, determined by the initial conditions.
2 Light
2.1 Electromagnetic Waves
Maxwells equations of electromagnetism are:
2
_

E d

A =
Q

Gauss Law
_

B d

A = 0 No magnetic monopoles
_

B d

l =
_
I +
d(

A)
dt
_
Amperes Law
_

E d

l =
d(

A)
dt
Faradays Law
where A is area, I is current, is the permittivity and is the magnetic permeability. Now,
from the last two laws, a time-changing electric eld

E(t) generates a time-changing magnetic
eld

B(t), which itself generates a time-changing electric eld, and so on. This gives rise to an
electromagnetic disturbance consisting of time-varying electric and magnetic elds propagating
through space - an electromagnetic wave. It can be shown from Maxwells equations that the

E
and

B elds are always perpendicular to each other and to the direction of motion.
Now consider a plane wave moving parallel to the yz plane as shown below.

z
y
x
.
`

c
.
`

E
a
l
c dt
In time dt the wave travels a distance c dt, sweeping out part of the blue rectangle (which
has length l and height a). The magnetic ux rises by d = Bac dt
d
dt
= Bac. Then from
Faradays law,
_

E

dl = Bac
Ea = Bac
performing the line integral anti-clockwise around the blue rectangle. Hence
E = cB
Similarly, we could place the blue rectangle in the xz plane. As I = 0 in free space, Amperes
law becomes
_

B d

l =
d
dt
(

E

A)
3
and we have that the electric ux through the rectangle increases by d(

E

A) = Eac dt
d
dt
(

E

A) = Ea c. The line integral gives us
_

B d

l = Ba, hence
Ba = Ea c
B = Ec
1 = c
2
as E = cB. Thus we have that
Speed of Light
c =
1

In free space, c =
1

0
3 10
8
ms
1
.
2.2 Light
We can describe light as a pair of oscillating E and B elds

E(x, t) =

E
0
sin(kx t +)

B(x, t) =

B
0
sin(kx t +)
which have the same frequency, wavelength and phase.
2.3 Energy Density
The

E and

B elds carry energy, and have energy density U (unit:
J
m
3
). For an electric eld,
U
E
=

2
E
2
, and for a magnetic eld, U
B
=
1
2
B
2
. Hence for a light wave, U = U
E
+ U
B
=

2
E
2
+
1
2
B
2
or
Energy Density
of Light
U = E
2
=
1

B
2
using E = cB and c
2
=
1

.
As light travels we can also consider S, the amount of energy owing per unit time across a
unit area. Consider light moving through circular area A. In time dt it travels through cylindrical
volume cdtA, then S =
UcdtA
dtA
= Uc, giving
Poynting Vec-
tor
S =
1

EB = c
2
EB
or in vector form,

S = c
2

E

B. This is known as the Poynting vector.
The ow of energy uctuates very rapidly, and instead we see an average over a long time.
Writing

S = c
2

E
0

B
0
sin
2
(kxt) we have that the average value of S is S =
c
2
2

E
0

B
0
=
c
2
E
2
0
n, with n a unit vector in the direction of motion. This denes the average energy per unit
area per unit time falling on a surface, known as the intensity I.
Intensity I =
c
2
E
2
0
= c

E

E
4
2.4 Plane and Spherical Waves
We can describe a light wave moving in three-dimensions by:
Plane Wave

E(r, t) =

E
0
sin
_

k r t
_
where r = x

i +y

j +z

k. This describes a plane wave moving in the direction of the wave vector

k = k
x

i +k
y

j + k
z

k. This can be thought of as an innite set of planes (or wavefronts) moving

in the

k direction, each one representing a surface of constant E. Lines perpendicular to the
wavefront called rays give the direction of motion.
A spherical wave emits rays in all directions. These waves get weaker as they get further from
the source, implying their amplitude is a diminishing function of their position, E
S
= E
S
(r),
giving:
Spherical Wave

E(r, t) =

E
S
(r) sin
_

k r t
_
Now, the total energy per second crossing a sphere a distance r from the light source must
be constant, and is given by P
0
= 4r
2
I where P
o
is the power output of the source, and I is
the intensity, given by I =
c
2
E
2
S
(r). Hence we have
E
2
S
(r) =
2P
0
4c
1
r
2
E
S
(r) =
E
0
r

E(r, t) =

E
0
r
sin
_

k r t
_
A similar analysis for a cylindrical wave gives

E(r, t) =

E
0

r
sin(

k r t).
2.5 Refractive Index
In a material, the permittivity =
r

0
and the magnetic permeability =
r

0
. Hence the
speed of light is
Speed of Light
in Material
v =
1

r
1

0
=
c

r
=
c
n
where n is the refractive index of the material, given by n =

r
. This leads to the
relationships =

0
n
and k = nk
0
. If we consider the interaction of light with non-magnetic
materials, then
r
1 and n

r
.
2.6 Interaction With Matter: Dipole Oscillator Model
We will consider rst dielectric materials (materials with no free electrons, i.e. non-metals).
Recall that an electric dipole moment is given by p = qx where q is the magnitude of each charge
in the dipole, and x is their separation. These dipoles may arise permanently in materials (such
as when ionic bonds are present), or may be caused by the presence of an

E eld. The total
dipole moment per volume is called the electric polarisation, P = Np where N is the number of
dipoles per volume.
5
The model describing the interaction of light with dielectric materials is called the dipole
oscillator model, or Lorenz model. The motion of individual electron of charge q in an external
electric eld of magnitude E can be described by the following equation
Forces on Elec-
tron
m x = qE kx m x
where the kx term is an atomic restoring force proportional to the displacement of the
electron, and the m x term is a frictional force proportional to the velocity. Now, E =
E
0
e
i(kxt)
= E
0
e
ikx
e
it
= E
1
e
it
, as E
0
e
ikx
is approximately constant over the small scale of
an atom. This gives the equation of motion of a damped harmonic oscillator of natural frequency

2
0
=
k
m
, being driven by a driving force F(t) = qE
1
e
it
. It follows that a steady-state solution
is x = Ae
it
, giving
A =

qE
1
m

2
0

2
i
x =

qE
1
m

2
0

2
i
e
it
leading to an oscillating dipole moment p = qx and an oscillating electric polarisation P =
Nqx. Now, for most materials P and E are related by P = (
r
1)
0
E, implying that:
Nq
2
m
1

2
0

2
i
E
1
e
it
= (
r
1)
0
E
Permittivity in
Material

r
= 1 +
Nq
2
m
0
1
(
2
0

2
i)
Hence
r
is a complex number dependent on ,
r
=
1
() +i
2
(). Multiplying the fraction
in our expression above and below by the complex conjugate of the denominator leads to:
Real and
Imaginary
Components of
Permittivity in
Material

1
() = 1 +
Nq
2
m
0

2
0

2
_
(
2
0

2
)
2
+ ()
2
_

2
() =
Nq
2
m
0

_
(
2
0

2
)
2
+ ()
2
_
Now, n

r
so n is also a complex number, n = n
1
+ in
2
. We have
1
= n
2
1
n
2
2
and

2
= 2n
1
n
2
.
Consider now a plane-wave moving in the z-direction in some material, E = E
0
e
i(kzt)
=
E
0
e
i(nk
0
z t)
= E
0
e
i(n
1
+in
2
)(k
0
z)
e
it
. This gives:
E = E
0
e
n
2
kz
e
i(n
1
k
0
zt)
which represents oscillatory motion with a decaying amplitude, E
0
e
n
2
kz
. As the intensity
is proportional to the amplitude squared, we get
Lambert Beer
Law
I = I
0
e
2n
2
kz
I = I
0
e
z
6
where = 2n
2
kz =
4

0
n
2
is the absorption coecient. This is known as the Lambert Beer Law,
and describes the absorption of light in a material.
Note how the real part of n controls the velocity of light in the medium, while the imaginary
part controls the absorption of light. Maximum absorption occurs at =
0
(resonance).
In a transparent material such as glass, there is little absorption, hence n
2
is very small at
visible frequencies, meaning n
2
1

1
.
In a material where the electrons are very tightly bound, again such as glass, the restoring
force constant k is very high, meaning
2
is large, and so that (
2
0

2
) >> ()
2
. Neglecting
the ()
2
term gives
n
2
1
1 +
Nq
2
m
0
1
(
2
0

2
)
or
1
n
2
1
1
=
m
0
Nq
2
(
2
0

2
) =
m
0
Nq
2
_

2
0

(2c)
2

2
_
Note that in reality, a given atom may have a number of dierent
0
.
In metals, the interaction with light is dominated by free electrons, for which k = 0
0
= 0,
and the frictional force is negligible, 0. This gives us:
Components of
Permittivity in
Metal

1
() = 1
Nq
2
m
0
1

2
() 0
For convenience we write
Nq
2
m
0
=
2
p
, where
p
is called the plasma frequency. Hence,
Refractive Index
in Metal
n
2
1

2
p

2
If <
p
then n
2
< 0, so n is imaginary, meaning the wave will be totally absorbed. However,
when a wave is absorbed in a metal most of it tends to be re-emitted immediately. Thus we have
reection of the wave. We dene the reectivity R as the fraction of the incident light intensity
that is reected, given by:
Reectivity
R =
(n
1
1)
2
+n
2
2
(n
1
+ 1)
2
+n
2
2
Then when <
p
, n is imaginary, so n
1
= 0 and R = 1. Conversely, if >
p
, then n is real
and so n
1
= 1, n
2
= 0, giving R = 0. Hence metals are very reective at low frequencies, and are
very transparent at high frequencies. A practical application of this is the use of the ionosphere
(an ionized layer of the atmosphere, with large numbers of free elections, similar to a metal with
little damping) to bounce electromagnetic signals around the Earth.
3 Polarisation
3.1 Linear, Circular and Elliptical Polarisation
The polarisation of light refers to the direction in which the electric eld vector points. If the

E
eld points in a constant direction the wave is linearly polarised. When more than one wave is
7
present, the Principle of Superposition tells us that that the resultant disturbance at any point
is just the vector sum of the individual waves. Hence two in-phase linearly polarised waves will
combine to give a wave that is still linearly polarised, but in a dierent plane of vibration.
Consider two waves of equal amplitude and frequency polarised in the

i and

j directions, but
out of phase by

2
:
Circular Polari-
sation

E
1
=

iE
0
cos(kx t)

E
2
=

jE
0
cos(kx t +

2
) =

jE
0
sin(kx t)

E =

E
1
+

E
2
= E
0
_
cos(kx t)

i + sin(kx t)

j
_
which has constant amplitude E
0
, and describes a vector rotating in a circle with angular fre-
quency . We refer to this as circularly polarised light. If it rotates clockwise as you look towards
the source, the light is right-circularly polarised; if it rotates anti-clockwise it is left-circularly
polarised (phase shift of

2
).
The more general case is to consider two waves of equal frequency but dierent amplitudes
and an arbitrary phase shift :

E
1
=

iE
01
cos(kx t)

E
2
=

jE
02
cos(kx t +)
We can work out the equation of the curve traced out by resultant

E eld vector. We start
with:
E
2
E
02
= cos(kx t +) = cos(kx t) cos sin(kx t) sin
E
1
E
01
= cos(kx t) sin(kx t) =
_
1
_
E
1
E
01
_
2
Subbing the latter two relationships into the rst and squaring out gives:
Elliptical Polar-
isation
_
E
2
E
02
_
2
+
_
E
1
E
01
_
2
2
_
E
2
E
02
__
E
1
E
01
_
cos = sin
2

which is the equation of an ellipse making an angle of with the axis of the E
1
wave, where
tan2 =
2E
01
E
02
cos
E
2
01
E
2
02
For =

2
,
3
2
, . . . the above equation reduces to
_
E
2
E
02
_
2
+
_
E
1
E
01
_
2
= 1
describing a normal ellipse (major axis lying on the E
1
axis). If in this case E
01
= E
02
then the
equation describes a circle, and we have circularly polarised light.
For = 0, 2, 4 . . . we have
E
2
=
E
02
E
01
E
1
and for = , 3, 5 . . .
E
2
=
E
02
E
01
E
1
both describing linearly polarised light.
8
3.2 Polarisers
Natural light consists of waves polarised in random directions, and so is unpolarised. Now for
any polarised wave we can split the

E eld into components parallel and perpendicular to some
axis. A polariser is a device that only transmits the components of light polarised parallel to the
transmission axis of the polariser.
From this it follows that if we place a second polariser (called an analyser) to the right
of the rst polariser then only the component of light parallel to the transmission axis of the
analyser will be transmitted. This depends on the angle between the transmission axes of the
two polarisers. This component is equal to E
1
cos , and as I E
2
we have Malus law for the
intensity of light passing through a polariser:
Malus Law I
2
= I
1
cos
2

Polarisers are based on one of four mechanisms:

Dichroism
Birefringence
Scattering
Reection
3.2.1 Dichroism
A dichroic polariser is made from materials which are plastics composed of aligned polymer
chains. An electric eld parallel to the chains accelerates electrons along the chain, and so energy
is absorbed. However, an electric eld perpendicular to the chain alignment cannot achieve this
as the electrons are bound to an individual chain. Therefore, in this direction energy is not
absorbed and light is transmitted.
3.2.2 Birefringence
Crystalline materials are composed of ordered arrangements of atoms. In some crystals (e.g.
Calcite CaCO
3
) atoms may be arranged dierently in one direction compared to the other two -
this is known as a uniaxial crystal. In this direction, the restoring force constant k for electrons is
dierent, meaning
2
0
=
k
m
is dierent and hence the refractive index in this direction is dierent.
This means that the dierently polarised components of a light wave will experience dierent
refractive indices. Materials in which this occurs are called birefringent, and transmit double
images.
The dierent axis is known as the optic axis of the material. Light rays polarised perpen-
dicular to the optic axis behaves normally, and are called ordinary rays or o-rays. Light rays
polarised parallel to the axis are called extraordinary rays, or e-rays. Rays polarised in other
directions will be deected, similar to refraction. O-rays have one refractive index, n
o
, and e-rays
have another, n
e
.
This can be used to polarise light, using for example a Glan-Foucault or Glan-Thompson
polariser. This consists of two-right angled prisms made of a birefringent material, separated by
a small gap containing air (Glan-Foucault) or another material (Glan-Thompson). When light
is incident on this gap it will be totally internally reected if angle of incidence is greater than
the critical angle
c
= sin
1 n
2
n
1
, where n
1
is the refractive index of the prism and n
2
is that of
9
the material in the gap n
2
. Hence we have total internal reection if sin >
n
2
n1
, and refraction
if sin <
n
2
n
1
. The angle of incidence is also the prism angle.

n
2
n
1
Now, n
1
actually has two values as the prism is birefringent. It can be arranged that the
e-ray is refracted (and so transmitted) and the o-ray is reected (not transmitted). This occurs
if:
Birefringent
Polarisation in
Prism
n
e
<
n
2
sin
< n
0
3.2.3 Scattering
Consider linearly polarised light incident on an air molecule. This causes the electrons in the atom
to oscillate at the same frequency as the incident light. These oscillating dipoles generate their
own oscillating electric eld, and hence an oscillating magnetic eld, and hence an electromagnetic
wave in the form of light. However, this light is not emitted along the axis of the dipole (as the
components of the eld from the two opposite charges cancel out).
Now consider an incident unpolarised wave, which we can describe in terms of its components
- a horizontally polarised component and a vertically polarised component. The horizontally
polarised component causes the electrons in the atom to oscillate horizontally and generate light
in all directions except the horizontal. Similarly, the vertically polarised component causes light
to be generated in all directions but not vertically. The combined eect is that the light scattered
perpendicular to the original direction of propagation is completely linearly polarised.
3.2.4 Reection
When light is incident on a surface of material of higher refractive index, some of it is reected
and some is refracted. The light will also cause the surface atoms to oscillate and radiate light
in all directions except along the dipole axis.

`
`
`
`
`-

n
1
n
2

i

i

r
Suppose the incident light is polarised perpendicular to the page. Then the surface atoms
radiate in all directions except that of the dipole axis (perpendicular to the page). The radiated
light then undergoes interference, with constructive interference occuring in the direction of the
reected light.
10
Now let the light be polarised in the plane of the page. The surface atoms then radiate in all
directions except in the plane of the page - and hence can only radiate weakly in the direction
of the reected wave. If the the reected and refracted directions are perpendicular, no light of
this polarisation will be reected. The angle of incidence at which this occurs is known as the
Brewster angle,
iB
.
Now,
iB
+
r
=

2
, and so from Snells Law
n
1
sin
iB
= n
2
sin
r
= n
2
sin
_

2

iB
_
= n
2
cos
iB
Brewster Angle
tan
iB
=
n
2
n
1
3.2.5 Retarders
A retarder is an optical device that changes the polarisation of a light wave. The simplest of
these are made from plates of birefringent material. Consider such a plate with its optic axis
parallel to the front and back surfaces. An incident linearly polarised wave of light will have
components parallel and perpendicular to the optic axis - these components experience dierent
refractive indices, and so travel at dierent speeds and become out of phase.
When a light wave travels a distance d its phase changes by = kd (where = kxt). In
a material, this is = nk
0
d. The relative phase shift between the ordinary and extraordinary
rays is:
= k
0
d(n
o
n
e
) =
2

d(n
o
n
e
)
We can arrange the thickness of the plate such that = ; this is known as a half-wave
plate. This phase shift is equivalent to a phase shift of a half wavelength, and is also equivalent
to reversing one of the components of a wave, which changes the polarisation. Hence, a half wave
plate can be used to ip the orientation of elliptical light.
Similarly we can have a phase shift of =

2
, equivalent to a shift of a quarter wavelength
- this is known as a quarter wave plate. If light is incident with its polarisation making an angle
of

4
with the optic axis, then after passing through the plate one of its components will have
been shifted relative to the other by

2
, and the light will now be circularly polarised rather
than linearly. Similarly, if the angle of incidence is other than

4
the light will end up elliptically
polarised. These processes can also be reversed.
3.3 Angular Momentum Of Light
Consider circularly polarised light with components in the x and y directions incident on some
material. The electric eld components accelerate the electrons in the material, leading to circular
motion. We can express the power absorbed as
dE
dt
= =
dL
dt
using the torque =
dL
dt
. Hence, if an electron absorbs energy E from light, its angular
momentum will change by L =
E

and we have that the energy of a photon is E = h, so

every photon has an intrinsic angular momentum
Photon Angular
Momentum
L = h
We can think of linearly polarised light as being a combination of right and left circularly
polarised light such that the total angular momentum is zero.
11
4 Interference
4.1 Interference
When two or more light waves are present, the resultant disturbance is the sum of the individual
waves. This is known as interference. In practice, we see the resultant intensity of the combined
waves.
Consider two plane waves of equal frequency

E
1
(r, t) =

E
01
cos
_

k r
1
t +
1
_

E
2
(r, t) =

E
02
cos
_

k r
2
t +
2
_
giving a resultant eld

E =

E
1
+

E
2
. Now, the intensity is dened as I = vE
2
, or
I = v

E

E = v(

E
1
+

E
2
) (

E
1
+

E
2
)
I = vE
2
1
+E
2
2
+ 2

E
1

E
2

I = I
1
+I
2
+I
12
where I
1
and I
2
are just the intensities of the individual waves, and I
12
is known as the interference
term. Computing the dot product:

E
1

E
2
=

E
01
cos
_

k r
1
t +
1
_

E
02
cos
_

k r
2
t +
2
_
=

E
01

E
02
_
cos
_

k r
1
+
1
_
cos t+sin
_

k r
1
+
1
_
sint
__
cos
_

k r
2
+
1
_
cos t+sin
_

k r
2
+
1
_
sint
_
=

E
01

E
02
_
cos
_

k r
1
+
1
_
cos
_

k r
2
+
2
_
cos
2
t +sin
_

k r
1
+
1
_
sin
_

k r
2
+
2
_
sin
2
t
+
_
cos
_

k r
1
+
1
_
sin
_

k r
2
+
2
_
+cos
_

k r
2
+
2
_
sin
_

k r
1
+
1
_
_
sint cos t
_
Now, we know that cos
2
t = sin
2
t =
1
2
while sint cos t = 0, so therefore we have,
using a trigonometric identity, that:
I
12
= v2

E
1

E
2
= v

E
01

E
02
cos
_

k r
1
+
1

k r
2

2
_
or
Interference
Term
I
12
= v

E
01

E
02
cos
where is the phase dierence between the two waves.
If the polarisations of the two waves are the same then

E
01
and

E
02
are parallel and we can
express I
12
in terms of I
1
=
v
2
E
2
01
and I
2
=
v
2
E
2
02
:
I
12
= 2
_
I
1
I
2
cos
12
and if I
1
= I
2
then the total intensity I = I
1
+I
2
+I
12
is
I = 2I
0
(1 + cos ) = 4I
0
cos
2

2
The intensity in all these cases is a maximum when = 0, 2, 4 . . . - this is known as
total constructive interference and occurs when the two waves are perfectly in phase.
The intensity is a minimum when = , 3, 5 . . . - this is known as total destructive
interference and occurs when the two waves are perfectly out of phase.
4.2 Youngs Slits
In the Youngs slit experiment, a single slit acts as a line source of light. This light then falls on
two parallel slits a distance d apart, which act as coherent light sources (light sources are said to
be coherent if they emit light waves that are in phase). The light passes through these slits and
recombines on a screen a distance L away, causing interference.
d

r
1
r
2
L
y

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
\
\
\
The light recombining at any particular point on the screen has travelled dierent distances
and so is out of phase. Here, the path dierence is r
1
r
2
. If d << L we can write the path
dierence as d sin. In this case, is also very small and so sin tan
y
L
, hence the path
dierence is
dy
L
.
We then have that the phase dierence = k(r
1
r
2
) = k
dy
L
=
2dy
L
, giving
I = 4I
0
cos
2

2
= 4I
0
cos
2
dy
L
Constructive interference will occur if the waves are integer multiples of the wavelength out
of phase, that is if (r
1
r
2
) = m = d sin
m
= d
y
m
L
. Hence, we have constructive interference
at:
Constructive
Interference
y
m
=
mL
d
m = 0, 1, 2 . . .
Similarly, destructive interference occurs at (r
1
r
2
) = (m+
1
2
) =
dy
min
L
, or
Destructive In-
terference
y
min
=
(2m+ 1)L
2d
m = 0, 1, 2 . . .
The spacing between maxima is
Fringe Separa-
tion
y
m
= y
m+1
y
m
=
L
d
Hence the interference pattern is composed of alternating bright and dark fringes.
13
4.3 Conditions for Interference
For interference to occur a number of conditions must be met. The waves must be of very nearly
the same frequency, otherwise the phase dierence will oscillate rapidly and the interference term
will average to zero.
The most important condition is that the initial phase dierence between the waves must be
constant in time (i.e. that the waves are coherent). Thus means that the only phase dierences
when the waves combine are due to path length dierences.
In reality, light sources do not emit light of constant phase. A real light source emits a sine
wave for approximately 1 nanosecond before the phase of the wave shifts abruptly. The light of
constant phase emitted is known as a wavetrain or wavepacket. The time for which this wave
is emitted can be thought of as a coherence time, t
c
, and the light travels a coherence length,
l
c
= c t
c
. These properties are measures of the temporal coherence of the source.
We also have spatial coherence, a property associated with light from a point source. All light
waves along a wavefront from such a source have the same phase, and are spatially coherent.
In the propagation direction, the light is spatially coherent only over short distances. We lose
spatial coherence if a source has appreciable size as dierent parts of the source can emit their
own wavepackets.
In order to achieve interference it is necessary to have a source with good temporal and spatial
coherence. For this reason, lasers are often used for interference.
4.4 Interferometers
An interferometer is a device that produces interference between two light waves. They act either
by splitting the wavefront or splitting the amplitude.
4.4.1 Wavefront Splitting
The Youngs slit apparatus is a wavefront splitting interferometer - the rst, single slit acts
as a coherent source, and the two slits isolate two dierent parts of the wavefront, which
then recombine and produce interference.
The Fresnel double mirror uses a single slit to act as a coherent source. Dierent parts
of the wavefront are then reected from two mirrors at a small angle to each other, and
recombine on a screen. The reected waves appear to be coming from two virtual sources
behind the mirrors, located at the positions of the image of the slit in each mirror.
The Lloyds mirror again uses a single slit as a coherent source. Part of the wavefront then
travels straight to the screen, while part of it reects o a mirror and then recombines with
the other part at the screen. The waves appear to be coming from two sources - one real
(the slit) and one virtual (the image of the slit in the mirror).
In all these cases the interferometer is a combination of two coherent sources and a screen, so
the calculations from Youngs slits apply here. In all cases the fringes are equally spaced, with
fringe separation:
Fringe Separa-
tion y
m
= y
m+1
y
m
=
L
d
14
4.4.2 Amplitude Splitting
Amplitude splitting interferometers are based on reection and refraction from dielectrics such
as glass. When light is incident on glass, some is reected and some transmitted, hence the
amplitude (intensity) is split. The two portions can be made to recombine and interfere.
The simplest version consists of two glass slides on top of each each, with a thin air wedge in
between:

'
'
'
'

x
d
`

A B
The ray B travels further than the ray A by a distance 2d, causing a phase dierence =
2kd. A further phase shift results from ray A reecting o a glass-air interface - this induces a
phase shift of . Hence, = 2kd .
Constructive interference occurs when 2m = 2kd, or 2d = (m
1
2
). Using d = xtan
x, we get that the position of each fringe is given by:
x =
(m
1
2
)
2
and the fringe separation by:
Fringe Separa-
tion
x = x
m+1
x
m
=

2
An important amplitude splitter is the Michelson interferometer.

M
0
R
M
2
M
1
A half-silvered mirror M
0
is employed as a beam-splitter to split the wave into two parts
travelling in dierent directions. The parts reect o the mirrors M
1
and M
2
and recombine on
a screen (to ensure that the two beams travel through the same thickness of glass a compensator
plate is placed in the path of the beam reecting o M
2
).
The path dierence between the two beams is controlled by the distance between M
1
and
R, which is the reection of M
2
in M
0
. Consider light from a point source on the beam splitter
with a range of angles of incidence, and one particular angle of incidence .
15
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
//``
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
``-
`
`
`
`
`-

d

d
cos

R
M
1
The path dierence between the two rays is then
d
cos
+
d
cos
2d tan sin = 2d cos . Hence
interference will occur if the mirrors are not equidistant from the beam splitter (d = 0), and if
the rays are not normally incident ( = 0). Constructive interference occurs for 2d cos = m.
For a point source, interference maxima occur for a constant angle of incidence, i.e. for a cone
of light coming from the source. It follows that the fringes are circular.
We can also use a plane wave source. Then if we tilt M
1
at a small angle, the path dierence
will be due to a thin wedge of air (between M
1
and R), and the fringes will now be straight lines.
Also, moving M
1
further from or nearer to R causes the fringes to appear to move parallel to R,
allowing the measurement of very small displacements of M
1
.
4.5 Types and Location of Fringes
Fringes can be real or virtual. Real fringes can be seen on a screen without the use of a lens.
Virtual fringes cannot be seen on a screen without using a lens.
A fringe is called non-localised if it is real and can be found everywhere in a volume of space.
Localised fringes can only be seen at a particular position in space - they are virtual and a lens
is needed to focus the rays of light interfering to cause them. This can be demonstrated using a
Pohl interferometer and a point source.
4.6 Multiple Beam Interference
Consider light of initial amplitude E
0
incident on a dielectric plate (such as glass). We denote
by r the fraction of light reected from the outside surface of the plate, by r

the light reected

from the inside surface, by t the fraction of light transmitted when light enters the material, and
by t

the fraction transmitted of light leaving the material. Clearly, r +t = 1 and r

+t

= 1.
Now, r and r

dier due to the phase change caused by the transmitted light reecting o
the back-surface of the dielectric plate (going from a higher refractive index to a lower). This
is equivalent to the instantaneous reversal of the E eld at the instant of reection and means
the amplitude changes sign. Hence, r = r

. It follows that tt

= 1 r
2
and that T + R = 1
where T = tt

is the transmission coecient and R = r

2
is the reection coecient. In terms of
intensity, I
t
= TI
0
and I
r
= RI
0
.
We assume the light was initially incident on the right; then the rays to the right have
amplitudes E
0
r, E
0
tr

, E
0
tr
3
t

, E
0
tr
5
t

. . ., while the rays leaving to the left have amplitudes

E
0
tt

, E
0
tr
2
t

, E
0
tr
4
t

. . .. The rays on either side are parallel to each other and so form virtual
interference fringes. A lens can be used to focus the rays to a point P, and it is possible to work
out the intensity at P (see Hecht). For the reected rays
Reected Inten-
sity I
r
= I
i
2r
2
(1 cos )
(1 +r
4
) 2r
2
cos
16
where I
i
=
v
2
E
2
0
, the incident intensity, and is the phase dierence between each wave and
the next (this is the same for all the waves). For the transmitted rays,
Transmitted In-
tensity I
t
= I
i
(1 r
2
)
2
(1 +r
4
) 2r
2
cos
or
I
t
=
I
i
1 +
_
2r
1r
2
_
2
sin
2
2
We can work out the phase change to be
4d

0
n
2
cos
t
. Please see the book by Hecht or
Jonathan Colemans lecture notes for further discussion.
4.7 Interference From Non-Point Sources
Consider again the Youngs Slit experiment, but this time with a non-point source. Each part of
the source emits wavetrains that have no relative phase relationship. We can think of the source
as a set of line sources, each forming its own pattern shifted a given distance from the centre of
the screen. As these dierent line sources are incoherent, there is no interference, and so to nd
the resultant pattern we can sum their intensities. For a point source, we had
I = 4I
0
cos
2
_
yd
L
_
and we can modify this to describe a pattern that is not centred at the centre of the screen:
I = 4I
0
cos
2
_
d
L
(y y
0
)
_
where y
0
is the distance from the centre of the pattern to the centre of the screen. To nd the
total intensity distribution we integrate over the size of the source.
dI = A
_
w/2
w/2
cos
2
_
d
L
(y y
0
)
_
dy
0
= A
_
w/2
w/2
_
1
2
+
1
2
cos
_
2d
L
(y y
0
)
__
dy
0
where w is the spatial extent of the centres of the dierent interference patterns, and A =
4I
0
w
.
Integrating, we get
I(y) =
Aw
2
+
A
2
_
sin
_
2d
L
(y y
0
)
_
L
2d
_w
2

w
2
I(y) =
Aw
2
_
1
L
2dw
_
sin
_
2d
L
_
y
w
2
_
_
sin
_
2d
L
_
y +
w
2
_
_
__
I(y) =
Aw
2
_
1
L
2dw
_
sin
_
2dy
L
_
cos
_
dw
L
_
cos
_
2dy
L
_
sin
_
dw
L
_
sin
_
2dy
L
_
cos
_
dw
L
_
cos
_
2dy
L
_
sin
_
dw
L
_
__
17
I(y) =
Aw
2
_
1 +
L
wd
sin
_
dw
L
_
cos
_
2dy
L
_
_
Non-point
source interfer-
ence

I(y)
2I
0
= 1 + sinc
_
dw
L
_
cos
_
2dy
L
_
where sinc x =
sin x
x
. As a result of the sinc term, the light intensity never reaches zero. It
follows that we can rate the coherence of a light source by how pronounced the dierence in light
intensity is between constructive and destructive interference.
Visibility of
Fringes
V =
I
max
I
min
I
max
+I
min
The intensity is at a maximum when cos
_
2dy
L
_
= 1, and a minimum when cos
_
2dy
L
_
= 1.
So,
I
max
2I
0
= 1 + sinc
_
dw
L
_
,
I
min
2I
0
= 1 sinc
_
dw
L
_
and so,
Visibility, Non-
Point Source
V = sinc
_
dw
L
_
If we note that for a given point near the edge of the source S

the centre of the interfence

pattern is at P

near the edge of the pattern, then a line from S

to P

goes through the point

midway between the pinholes. We can then relate the size of the interference pattern w to the
size of the source b:
b
l
=
w
L
where l is the distance from the source to the slits. Then we have
V = sinc
_
d
l
b
_
As b 0, V 1 and the fringes become perfectly visible.
5 Diraction
5.1 Huygens-Fresnel Principle
The Huygens-Fresnel Principle states that every unobstructed point on a wavefront, at a given
instant, serves as a source of spherical secondary wavelets (with the same frequency as the
primary wave). The amplitude of the electric eld at any point beyond is the superposition of
all the wavelets.
This explains how light travelling through a slit is able to spread out and hence interfere.
The spreading out of light as it passes through a slit or around an object is known as diraction.
Consider a slit with width d, then the maximum path dierence is between wavelets emitted
from the slit edges. This path dierence = d sin, and so is less than or equal to d. Now,
constructive interference occurs when the path dierence is much less than the wavelength;
hence this only occurs for small slits (and so we cannot see around corners).
18
5.2 Single Slit Diraction
Consider a single slit of length D and width a << . We can model this as a line of sources of
spherical secondary wavelets, each one emitting a wave given by

E(r, t) =

E
0
r
sin(t kr)
Now consider an innitesimal element of the slit length, dy. If there are N sources of spherical
secondary waves, then dy will contain dy
N
D
such sources. If dy is small enough such that all the
emitters are in phase then we can sum the contributions
dE =
E
0
r
sin(t kr)
Ndy
D
We write E
L
=
1
D
lim
N
E
0
N, so dE =
E
L
r
sin(t kr)dy. To obtain the total eld at
some point beyond the slit we then integrate over the length of the slit:
E = E
L
_
D/2
D/2
sin(t kr)
r
dy
Suppose we want the electric eld at a point P a distance R from the centre of the slit, such
that R >> D.

D
2
D
2
y
dy

r
R
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

P
The cosine rule gives r
2
= R
2
+y
2
2Ry cos(

2
), or
r
R
=
_
1 +
_
_
y
R
_
2
2
y
R
sin
__1
2
We expand this using the Maclaurin series (1 +x)
m
= 1 +mx +
m(m1)
2!
x
2
. . ., to get
r
R
= 1 +
1
2
_
y
R
_
2

y
R
sin
1
8
_
_
y
R
_
4
4
_
y
R
_
3
sin + 4
_
y
R
_
2
sin
2

_
and neglecting terms of cubic order and greater,
r
R
1
y
R
sin+
1
2
_
y
R
_
2
cos
2

We can also neglect the nal term if it contributes little to the phase, i.e. if
19
k
2
y
2
R
cos
2
<< 1
R >>

y
2
cos
2

D
2

The condition R >>

D
2

denes Fraunhofer (fareld) diraction. Hence, we get r R

y sin. Our integral is then
E =
E
L
R
_
D/2
D/2
sin
_
t k(R y sin)
_
dy
where we used r R in the amplitude, as the amplitude is much less sensitive than the phase
to approximations. Integrating gives
E =
E
L
R
1
k sin
_
cos (t kR ky sin)
_D
2

D
2
E =
E
L
R
1
k sin
_
cos
_
t kR
kD
2
sin
_
cos
_
t kR
kD
2
sin
__
E =
E
L
R
2
k sin
sin(t kR) sin
_
kD
2
sin
_
or
E =
E
L
D
R
sin(
kD
2
sin)
kD
2
sin
sin(t kR)
and letting =
kD
2
sin,
Electric Field,
Fraunhofer
Diraction
E =
E
L
D
R
sin

sin(t kR)
and the intensity is then
Intensity,
Fraunhofer
Diraction
I =
c
2
_
E
L
D
R
_
2
sin
2

2
I() = I(0) sinc
2

Note that sinc

2
is small everywhere except around 0. This means that when D >> ,
=
D

sin is very large except when = 0. Hence line sources only radiate perpendicular
to the line, i.e. emission in the forward direction = 0 only. This is quite like a point source
positioned on the axis at the centre of the line.
We can now consider a slit with appreciable thickness. Let the slit have width b and length l.
This can be modelled as an array of many slits of innitesimally small thickness dz and length
l. These slits are eectively line sources, which are eectively point sources. Thus we can model
our slit as an array of point sources positioned along the horizontal axis between
b
2
and
b
2
. This
leads to the same calculation we have just made, and so
Intensity
I() = I(0) sinc
2

20
where =
kb
2
sin. As b is reasonably small (not greatly bigger than the wavelength), is not
always very big, and so we get appreciable light intensity at large angles . Hence the light
spreads out after the slit.
For Fraunhofer diraction, sin tan =
y
L
, so
I() = I(0) sinc
2
_
by
L
_
We nd the positions of maximum and minimum intensity by setting
dI
d
= 0. This gives
minima at sin = 0 = , 2, 3 . . ., and maxima at tan = = 0, 1.43,
2.46, 3.47pi . . .
The values of at which minima occur correspond to special angles where there is total
destructive interference of light coming from all parts of the slit. Consider dividing the slit in
two, then there is always some angle where a ray in the top half of the slit is out of phase
with a ray in the bottom half (path dierence =

2
, so
b
2
sin =

2
). Similarly we could divide
the slit into any even number of sections, hence
b
2m
sin =

2
, or
sin =
m
b
5.3 Double Slit Diraction
We now consider the diraction pattern caused by light passing through two slits of width b. To
do so, we integrate as before for each slit and add the contributions.
Setting y = 0 to be the centre of the upper slit, then y
1
and y
2
are the distances from y = 0
to the portions of each slit dy
1
, dy
2
, and a is the distance between the centres of each slit. The
distances from the centre of each slit to the point P are r
1
and r
2
, while R is the distance from
the centre of the slit system (midway between the slits) to P. We can relate r
1
and r
2
to R using
the cosine rule and Maclaurin approximation as before, obtaining:
r
1
= R
_
a
2
y
1
_
sin
r
2
= R
_
y
2

a
2
_
sin
We then have
dE
1
=
E
L
R
exp
_
i
_
t k
_
R
_
a
2
y
1
_
sin
_
__
dy
1
dE
2
=
E
L
R
exp
_
i
_
t k
_
R
_
y
2

a
2
_
sin
_
__
dy
2
Letting = t kR to simplify the notation a bit, we integrate from
b
2
to
b
2
for the rst
slit and from a
b
2
to a +
b
2
for the second:
E
P
=
E
L
R
_ b
2

b
2
exp
_
i
_
+k
_
a
2
y
1
_
sin
__
dy
1
+
E
L
R
_
a+
b
2
a
b
2
exp
_
i
_
+k
_
y
2

a
2
_
sin
__
dy
2
E
P
=
E
L
R
1
ik sin
_
_
_
exp
_
i
_
+k
_
a
2
y
1
_
sin
__b
2

b
2
+ exp
_
i
_
+k
_
y
2

a
2
_
sin
__
a+
b
2
a
b
2
_
_
_
21
Filling in the limits and letting =
1
2
ka sin and =
1
2
kb sin,
E
P
=
E
L
R
1
ik sin
_
exp
_
i(+)
_
+exp
_
i(++)
_
+exp
_
i(++)
_
exp
_
i(+)
_
_
E
P
=
2E
L
ikRsin
exp(i) exp(i)
_
exp(i) exp(i)
_
E
P
=
2bE
L
R
sinc cos exp
_
i(t kR)
_
taking the real part of exp(i). This then has intensity:
Double Slit In-
tensity
I
P
= 4I
0
sinc
2
cos
2

where I
0
=
1
2
c
_
bE
L
R
_
2
.
For N slits we again add the individual contributions of each slit, and the intensity is given
by
N Slit Intensity
I
P
= I
0
_
sinN
sin
_
2
sinc
2

5.4 Rectangular Slits and Circular Apertures

If the slit is rectangular, we get diraction eects in two dimensions.
When light passes through a circular aperture then the diraction is symmetrical about the
centre of the slit. The intensity can be worked out to be:
I() = I(0)
_
2J
1
_
kD
2
sin
_
kD
2
sin
_
where D is the aperture diameter and J
1
is an oscillating function known as the Bessel function
of order 1.
It can be shown that the rst intensity minimum occurs when sin = 1.22

D
. For small ,
this gives the position of the rst minimum on the screen as
First Minimum,
Circular Aper-
ture
y = 1.22

D
Hence we have that if light from a small source passes through a circular aperture it spreads
out to form a blob on the screen. This means that two closely spaced sources will overlap on
the screen - this is a problem encountered when observing stars with telescopes. The minimum
angular separation such that the images of the two sources will be resolved is given by the
Rayleigh criterion:
sin
min
= 1.22

D
which occurs when the maximum of one diraction pattern coincides with the rst minimum of
the second.
22
5.5 Fresnel Diraction
We will now consider the case where the screen is not far from the slit - this is known as Fresnel
diraction. Consider again the Huygens-Fresnel principle, which states that every point on a
wavefront radiates in all directions. However in reality wavefronts radiate preferentially in the
forward direction. We therefore have an obliquity factor
Obliquity Fac-
tor
K() =
1
2
(1 + cos )
which governs the intensity of wavelet radiation as a function of direction; note K() = 0.
Consider a point source, emitting spherical wavefronts. The electric eld a distance from
the source is
E =
E
0

cos(t k)
We can nd the electric eld at a point P by adding the contributions from all the secondary
wavelets from a given wavefront. To do so, we divide the wavefront into a number of zones (called
Fresnel zones), limited by circles. Each circle is a half wavelength further away from P than the
previous circle.
We take the l
th
zone and mark out within it a ring shaped area, dA. We let r be the distance
from the ring to P, r
0
be the distance from the part of the wavefront closest to P to P, and
be the angular separation of the ring and the source.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

sin
d
P

( + r
0
)
r
The eld at P due to the ring is:
dE = K()
E
A
r
cos
_
t k( +r)
_
dA
where E
A
is the secondary eld strength per unit area. Now, the radius of the ring is sin
and its width is d, giving
dA = 2 sin d
and using the cosine rule,
r
2
=
2
+ ( +r
0
)
2
2( +r
0
) cos
2rdr = 2( +r
0
) sin d
upon dierentiating. This gives
dA =
2rdr
+r
0
and so
23
E
l
= K
l
2E
A

+r
0
_
r
l
r
l1
cos
_
t k( +r)
_
dr
Integrating this and using the limits r
l1
= r
0
+ (l 1)

2
and r
l
= r
0
+l

2
we obtain
E
l
= K
l
2E
A

k( +r
0
)
_
sin
_
t k( +r
0
) k
l
2
_
sin
_
t k( +r
0
) k(l 1)

2
_
_
or using k =
2

E
l
= K
l
E
A

k( +r
0
)
_
sin
_
t k( +r
0
) l
_
sin
_
t k( +r
0
) (l 1)

_
giving
E
l
= K
l
E
A

k( +r
0
)
_
sin
_
t k( +r
0
)
_
cos(l) cos
_
t k( +r
0
)
_
sin(l)
sin
_
tk(+r
0
)
_
cos
_
(l1)
_
+cos
_
tk(+r
0
)
_
sin
_
(l1)
_
_
and as sinn = 0 for n an integer, and using cos Acos B = 2 sin
_
A+B
2
_
sin
_
AB
2
_
, we get
E
l
=
2K
l
E
A

+r
0
sin
_
t k( +r
0
)
_
sin
_

2
(2l 1)
_
and the nal sine term is 1 for even l and +1 for odd l, hence:
E eld, l
th
Fresnel Zone
E
l
= (1)
l+1
2K
l
E
A

+r
0
sin
_
t k( +r
0
)
_
This implies that with each successive zone E
l
changes sign, meaning the eld at P from
adjacent zones tends to cancel. This cancellation is not quite complete as K is not equal for each
zone, but as increases they tend to cancel more. Hence we can think of the contribution from
each pair of zones cancelling, with the exception of the rst zone. Hence
E
P
= E
m
+E
m+1
+. . . +E
3
+E
2
+E
1
= E
1
In fact, detailed analysis gives
E eld, Fresnel
Diraction E
P

|E
1
|
2
or
E
P
=
K
1
E
A

+r
0
sin
_
t k( +r
0
)
_
and this must have the same amplitude as light travelling directly from the source to P, E
P
=
E
0
+r
0
cos[t k( +r
0
)], giving:
K
1
= 1
24
E
A
= E
0
The electric eld due to the secondary eld is given by a sine as there is a phase shift of

2
relative to the primary wave when the secondary source re-radiates.
Now consider the wavefront incident on a circular aperture. Clearly only a nite number m
of zones will pass through. If m is even, then E
P
= 0. If m is odd, E
P
= E
1
, and if m is not an
integer, then 0 < E
P
< E
1
.
We had that the area of a ring was
dA =
2rdr
+r
0
A =
_
r
0
+(n+1)

2
r
0
+n

2
2rdr
+r
0
A =

+r
0
_
_
r
0
+ (n + 1)

2
_
2

_
r
0
+n

2
_
2
_
A =

+r
0
_
r
0
+
n
2

2
+

2
4
_
A

+r
0
r
0

The number of zones in the aperture is then the area of the aperture R
2
divided by the area
of a zone:
m =
R
2
A

( +r
0
)R
2
r
0

=
R
2

_
1 +

r
0
_
For xed , R, , m depends on r
0
, the distance from P to the aperture. Hence the electric
eld oscillates from E
1
to 0 as P moves away from the aperture. As r
0
increases, we approach
Fraunhofer diraction.
We can also consider the eect of placing a circular obstacle in the path of the wavefront.
This blocks the rst l zones, and it follows then that
E
P

|E
l+1
|
2
As odd numbered zones are out of phase with even numbered we have destructive interference.
It follows that if we block out all the odd or even zones, we will have constructive interference.
A Fresnel zone plate is used to achieve this - this is a set of opaque rings with spaces between.
The constructive interference results in much greater light intensity on the axis, and can cause
a parallel beam of light to converge, similar to focusing in a lens.
25