Interference

See Chapter 9 of Hecht

 This picture does not This is the
show an interference interference pattern of
A single point two waves.The two
pattern. It is simply
creates waves add or
the concentric waves
waves with subtract to form the
of two points sources
concentric light and dark regions
drawn in the same
circles of light of the interference
plane. Contrast
and dark pattern
this with the image
bands.
to the right
Waves are not simple two dimensional objects.
When they interfere with each other, peaks and
valleys are formed. Many interference patterns
look like two-dimensional systems of light and dark
bands because they are being viewed from above.
In this picture the system tilted so it can be viewed
from the side.
E1 Consider two waves intersecting at some location

E1 E01 cos k1 r 1t 1


E2 E02 cos k 2 r 2t 2
E2 At the point where the waves intersect the total
electric field will be:





ET E01 cos k1 r 1t 1 E02 cos k2 r 2t 2
Almost always the intensity of the radiation is detected
2
I 0c E TA = Time Average
TA

For convenience, neglect constants and say:

2
I E
TA
 2 2 2
I E E1 E2 2 E1 E2
TA TA TA TA

I1 I 2 I12
Interference may, or may not, arise depending in the nature of I12
Getting interference is not easy.

I12 2 E01 E02 cos k1 r 1t 1 cos k2 r 2t 2
TA

cos k1 r 1 cos 1t sin k1 r 1 sin 1t
2 E01 E02





cos k2 r 2 cos 2t sin k2 r 2 sin 2t TA

I12 0 if E01 E02 0
The two beams must have some common polarization
 Temporal Coherence
Waves should have the same frequency for interference. We will
need:
1 T
cos 1t cos 2t TA

T
0
dt cos 1t cos 2t

0
 sin T
T
dt cos t cos t
1
T0 2T
This term decays away in a time called the coherence time:

Tcoh 2

Coherence Length:

Lcoh cTcoh 2c 2c f
This is the length for which wavetrains stay in phase.
 It is extremely difficult to maintain coherence for two beams
UNLESS they come from the same laser.

Consider two different, but similar lasers. At l=850 nm one can

lock laser to an atomic Cs transition.

Possible to have two lasers with:

f 100kHz f 3.53 1014 Hz
Lcoh c f 3 108 m / s 100kHz 3km
Tcoh 1 / f 10s

Long, but not infinite.

What is worse Mode Hops
Every s or so a laser will randomly shift its phase. Two lasers
will do this independently and interference shifts.
 Back to Interference Criteria
Assume two light beams from the same source.


I12 2 E01 E02 cos k1 r t 1 cos k 2 r t 2
TA

cos k1 r 1 cos t sin k1 r 1 sin t
2 E01 E02





cos k 2 r 2 cos t sin k 2 r 2 sin t TA


1 cos k1 r 1 cos k 2 r 2
2 E01 E02



2 sin k1 r 1 sin k 2 r 2



E01 E02 cos k1 r 1 k 2 r 2

E01 E02 cos Depends on the phase difference of 2 waves
 Note that:

I12 E01 E02 cos
2 2 2 2
I1 E1 E01 2 I 2 E2 E02 2
TA TA

I I1 I 2 2 I 2 I 2 cos
Constructive interference:

I I1 I 2 2 I 2 I 2 for 0,2 ,4 ,...

Destructive interference:

I I1 I 2 2 I 2 I 2 for ,3 ,5 ,...
 Spatial Coherence
Source 1

Observation
point
Source 2

Rays coming from extended source will have different

phases. Hard to get interference between sources 1 and
2. Phase of light all mixed up.

Source 1

Source 2 Observation
point
For point sources, arriving light has well defined phase.
 2 Pinhole Sources

Grimaldis experiment of 1665

Observation
screen no
Sun interference
observed. No
fringes

2 pinholes
or slits

Sun is an extended source no spatial coherence. No interference

 Young
Thomas Young, 1805. Used the sun, but an additional pinhole
creates a (small) source with spatial coherence

Sun
2 pinholes
1 pinhole
Observation
screen
 Difference in path lengths is:

r2 r1 r2 d sin d
r1 But y / L

Constructive interference when

r1 r2 ml
where m is an integer
Peaks and troughs on observing screen.
Correctly predicts location of peaks of troughs,
But not envelope (next week).
lL
4 I cos 2
0
dy
2 2lL
I 4 I cos 2 4 I cos
k r1 r2
0 0
2 2yd

I1 I 2 I 0 I 2 I 0 2 I 0 cos k r1 r2
Waves versus particles (or so we think)
 Cool demonstration of double slit on the web. See:

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/doubleslit/

You can change wavelength of laser and the distance

between the two slits.
 Light & Matter, Waves &
Particles de Broglie
Wave and interference effects can be seen with matter too!
Quantum wave properties:
E hf , p hf / c h / l for photons

De Broglie said, why not matter too?!?

l h/ p
Interference properties seen with electrons, neutrons,
atoms, and now even molecules like C60 and C70!

Interferometers or the Double Slit: Interference seen even

when only one particle is in system. Particle (be it
electron, photon, atom, etc) goes through both slits at
once.
Observed interference of C 60 and C 70

See results of Prof. Anton Zeilinger and his group

http://www.quantum.univie.ac.at/research/
 Standing Waves
Consider two counter-propagating waves from a single laser.
Say too that they have equal amplitudes.
 Standing Waves
Consider two counter-propagating waves from a single laser.
Say too that they have equal amplitudes.

Etotal E0 coskz t E0 cos kz t

I I1 I 2 2 I 2 I 2 cos2kz
2 I 0 2 I 0 cos2kz 4 I 0 cos 2 kz / 2
 I 4 I 0 cos kz / 2
2

Two traveling waves produces a standing wave.

 Microwave Ovens
Standing microwaves

Peaks and troughs => Hot spots and cold spots

=> Nodes and anti-nodes

Spinning dish hopefully brings all parts of food into

contact with nodes

Demo with marshmallows and a microwave

 Beamsplitters
In order to create multiple beams from a single laser one
needs to use a beamsplitter

R*I0 r*E0

E0 t*E0
Laser
I0 T*I0

Usually (but not always) us 50-50 beamsplitter; half the light

transmitted, half reflected. Example- half silvered mirror.
 Polarizing Beamsplitters
Some beamsplitters separated light according to polarization

E//

E E E//
Laser
E
Mach-Zender Interferometer
 Mach-Zender Interferometer
Say that the length for the top
path is L1 and L2 for the bottom.
E0 t * E0

r * E0
At detectors
D1 and D2
ikL1 ikL2
E1 rtE0e rtE0e k L1 L2
ikL ikL I1 I 0 cos
2

E2 t E0e 1 r E0e 2
2 2
2
If other factors would change the 2 k L1 L2
I1 I 0 sin
acquired phase for the two paths it 2
would affect counts at D1 and D2.
 L1
Mirror 2
BS2
L2
L2

Mirror 1
BS1
L1

Atoms or neutrons: Say interferometer is in a gravitational field.

The arms of length L1 are parallel to the ground, while when
particles are in the arms of length L2 they climb up against gravity.

Interferometer pivoted about bottom arm by angle .

Changed phase between two interferometer paths by insertion of Al in
one path, or rotating interferometer in Earths gravitational field.
 Atom Interferometry
Overlapping Na atoms from
Bose-Einstein Condensate

Atom Laser: Results from Wolfgang Ketterles group, MIT.

Ketterle shares 2001 Noble Prize in Physics
Michelson Interferometer
 L2

E0 L1
I0

I out I 0 sin 2 k L1 L2

For equal arm lengths => L1 = L2

No light out of that beamsplitter port for all wavelengths
White Light Fringe
Michelson-Morleys Search for
the Aether
 Homework 7, problem 1
Mirror 2

L
Mirror 1
Incident light
L

Beamsplitter
Calculate time for
light to traverse each
arm, according to Ether wind of speed v
ether theory. Take v
to be Earths orbital
velocity.
Gravitational Radiation Detection

Laser Interferometric Gravitational Wave Observatory

LIGO
HANFORD
Washington

MIT
Boston

CALTECH
Pasadena

LIVINGSTON
Louisiana
 Hanford Observatory

4 km

2 km
Livingston Observatory

4 km
 LIGO Interferometers
Power Recycled
Michelson
end test mass
Interferometer
With Fabry-Perot
Cavities Light bounces back
and forth along arms
about 30 times

Light is recycled
about 50 times input test mass

Laser

signal beam splitter

4 km Fabry-Perot arm cavity

Vibration Isolation Systems
Core Optics
Core Optics Suspension and
Control
Core Optics Installation and
Alignment
 Washington 2k Pre-stabilized
Laser

Custom-built Stabilization cavities

10 W Nd:YAG for frequency
Laser and beam shape
 Fabry-Perot Interferometer
Mirror 1 Mirror 2
Er
Et

E0
L

Cavity of length L, incident light of amplitude E0 and

wavelength l, k=2/l

Et E0t1t2eikL E0t1r2 r1t2eik 3 L E0t1r2 r1r2 r1t2eik 5 L ...

Er r1E0 E0t1r2t1eik 2 L E0t1r2 r1r2t1eik 4 L ...
 Real Mirrors have losses

Mirror
Er Ir
Et

E0 It
I0

R T A 1
A is the loss coefficient. For a very good mirror A~10-4 to 10-3
 Free Spectral Range

When 2kL changes by 2 we get another resonance

2L 4Lf
2 2m 2m
l c
Where m is some integer
c c
f m f
2L 2L

Free Spectral Range (FSR) = c/2L

L=2cm => FSR=7.5GHz

Cavity resonances function as fence posts or references

 Fabry-Perot Interferometer as an
Optical Spectrum Analyzer
Whats going on with a laser???

c
f laser n
2L
where n is an integer

An integral number of half-wavelengths fit into a

laser cavity
 gain

frequency=(c/2L)n, n an integrer

The laser medium will have some gain profile,

as a function of frequency.
Overlap of gain profile and possible longitudinal modes
Resulting observed laser modes at various frequencies.
 Fabry-Perot mirror mounted to a piezo-electric crystal
Vary cavity length, and scan frequencies that resonate

Mirror 1 Mirror 2 AC Voltage

PZT

L
The Speckle Effect