Wave Optics (Unit-I)

Contents:
• Introduction
• Superposition of waves and interference of light
• Young’s double slit experiment
• Newton’s rings
• Mach-Zehnder interferometer
• Polarization-Malus law

• School of Technology
Monday, 07 October 2024 School of Technology • Woxsen University, Telangana, India
1
 Few basic topics

Monday, 07 October 2024 School of Technology 2

Wave: The periodic disturbance that travels through a medium (e.g.
water) from
one location to another location
For
knowledge
 Phase and Phase
difference
Phase: The phase of a wave refers to the position of a point on the wave cycle at a
specific moment in time.

Phase Difference: The phase difference between two points on a wave (or between two
different waves) indicates how much one wave is ahead or behind the other in terms of its
phase.
Superposition of
light
⮚ Superposition refers to the principle that when two or more light waves occupy the
same space, their electric fields add together point-by-point. The resultant wave is
the sum of the individual waves.

Monday, 07 October 2024 School of Technology 6

Superposition of
light
⮚ It is a general principle applicable to all types of waves. When two or more waves
are combined, they do not cancel each other out or alter individually; rather, their
effects simply add up.

⮚ Superposition can lead to constructive or destructive effects depending on

the phases of the combining waves, but it does not inherently cause any
specific pattern like interference fringes.

Monday, 07 October 2024 School of Technology 7

Interference of Light

When two or more light waves of the same frequency and amplitude with a constant
phase difference (Coherence) travel in the same direction, superimpose upon each other, the
resultant intensity of light is distributed in space. This distribution of the light intensity due to the
superposition of light waves is called interference.
Types of interference

1. Division of wavefront: Incident wavefront is divided into two parts by making

use of principle of reflection or refraction. Then the two parts are made to reunite to
produce interference fringes.

Example: Young’s double slit experiment.

Types of interference

2. Division of amplitude. The amplitude (intensity) of the incident light is

divided into two parts either by partial reflection or refraction. These light waves
with divided amplitude reinforce after travelling different distances and produce
interference.
Example: Newton’s rings
 Conditions for (sustained/constructive)
interference
(i) The two sources must have zero phase difference or must have constant phase
difference.
(ii) Same frequency (or wavelength) and same amplitude.

The interfering waves must be

coherent
(iii) The path difference between the waves must be less than or equal to
coherence length.
 Topics from the syllabus

Monday, 07 October 2024 School of Technology 13

Young’s double - slit experiment

Young’s double - slit experiment- Wavefronts view

Monday, 07 October 2024 School of Technology 14
 Young’s double - slit experiment--- fringe width derivation Method 1
P
For bright fringe

β From S1, S2 and N triangle , suing Sin function

S1

d Q From P, Q and R triangle,

S R suing Tan function
N

Monochromatic S2 D
light source
From the equation (1)

Screen

When the slit separation (d) and the screen distance (D) are kept unchanged, to reach P the light waves from s1 and
s2 must travel different distances.
It implies that there is a path difference in Young’s double slit experiment between the two light waves from s 1 and s2.
 Young’s double - slit experiment--- fringe width derivation Method 2
Approximation 1: D > > d:
Since D > > d, the two light rays are assumed to P
be parallel

Approximation 2: d/λ >> 1:

Often, d is a fraction of a millimeter, and λ is a Y
S
fraction of a micrometer for visible light. 1
d d
Under these conditions, θ is small. S /2
Thus, we can use the approximation sin θ = tan d/
θ ≈ θ = λ/d. 2
S
Due to this path difference, some points on the Monochromatic 2 D
screen are bright, and some points are dark. light source
Screen
Position of Bright Fringes
Newton rings:
introduction
⮚ Newton's Rings Experiment holds significant importance in
the field of optics, discovered by Sir Isaac Newton

⮚ Interference Phenomenon:
⮚ It illustrates the interference of light waves,
which is a fundamental concept in the field of
optics

⮚ It is frequently used in educational institutes to

introduce students to the principles of interference and
optics
⮚ It offers a hands-on approach to learning about wave
behavior and provides a visual representation of complex
concepts 21
Newton rings: Experimental
Setup Travelling
microscope

Beam Splitter/glass
Collimating
Mono plate
lens
chromatic light (at 45 angle to incoming
0
Light reflected from the top
source light beam) and bottom surfaces of the
(preferably) air film between lens and the
glass plate interferes to
produce interference pattern

Plano-convex
lens

Plain glass
Plate

22
Newton rings: description and
observations
✔ When a plano-convex lens with its convex surface
is placed on a plane glass plate, an air film of
gradually increasing thickness is formed between
the lens and the glass plate.
✔ The thickness of the air film is almost zero at the
point of contact and gradually increases as one
proceeds
towards the periphery of the lens’.
✔ If monochromatic light is allowed to fall normally
on the lens, and the film is viewed in reflected
light, alternately bright and dark concentric rings
are seen around the point of contact.
✔ Center ring appears dark (in reflected) due to
additional patch difference λ/2 of light
reflected from air-plan glass interface
✔ If it is viewed with white light, then coloured
fringes are obtained.
How are Newton rings
formed?
The locus of points having the
same thickness of the air film
falls on a circle around the
plano-convex lens. Therefore,
fringes take the form of
concentric rings.

Air thin film

with gradually
varying
thickens

25
Background info require to understand Newton
Rings

Optical path difference of reflected light at air-glass

interface
When light is reflected from the surface of an optically
denser medium, like the air-film interface, then the
reflected rays undergoes a path change of λ/2

(This is in the case of reflection only)

Optical path difference of reflected

light at air-glass interface
Thin film interference (reflection case
only)

Optical path
Difference
For constructive interference: path difference = nλ

For constructive interference: path difference =

(2n+1)nλ

For constructive For destructive

interference interference

n= 1, 2, 3, n= 1, 2, 3,
… …

Bright ring Dark ring

27
Background info require to understand Newton
Rings

Optical path difference of Bright ring

reflected light at air-glass

interface

Dark ring
Newton rings: Radius of nth
ring

R- rn R
From the triangle t
ABC B A
t

As ‘t’ is small compared to R, then ‘t2’ erm can be P O Q

neglected

29
Newton rings: Radius of nth bright
ring
Bright ring

30
Newton rings: Radius of nth bright
ring
Bright ring

Radius of bright
ring

Diameter of bright
ring
Newton rings: Radius of nth dark
ring

For destructive interference/dark

ring

Radius of dark
ring

Diameter of dark
ring
32
Newton rings:
Applications

Diameter of dark Diameter of bright

ring ring

✔ Radius of curvature
✔ Wavelength of a monochromatic light
✔ Refractive index of oils
Why central Newton ring is dark? Method 1

Optical path difference of reflected light at air-glass

interface

Monday, 07 October 2024 School of Technology 34

Why central Newton ring is dark? Method 2

Monday, 07 October 2024 School of Technology 35

Newton rings: Problems

Newton rings observed in reflected light of wavelength 5900A. The diameter of 10 th dark
ring is 0.5cm
i). Find the radius of curvature of lens
ii). The thickness of air film

Given wavelength (λ) : 5900x10-10 m, n =10, and Drn =

0.5cm=5x10-3 m
i). Find the radius of curvature of Diameter of dark ring
lens

Ans: 1.059
m

ii). The thickness of air

film
Ans:
2.95mm

Monday, 07 October 2024 School of Technology 36

 Mach-Zehnder interferometer
• The Mach–Zehnder interferometer is a particularly Mach-Zehnder interferometer
simple device for demonstrating interference by
division of amplitude.
• A light beam is first split into two parts by a
beamsplitter and then recombined by a second
beamsplitter.
• Depending on the relative phase acquired by the beam
along the two paths the second beamsplitter will
reflect the beam with efficiency between 0 and 100%.
• The operation of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer is
often used as an example in quantum mechanics
because it shows a clear path-choice problem.
Interference
However, it is not at all obvious at first glance that it pattern observed at
works as claimed, until reflection phase shifts are the output ports of
the Mach-Zehnder
considered in detail. interferometer.

Monday, 07 October 2024 School of Technology 37

 Mach-Zehnder interferometer

Schematic of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer showing the beam splitters, mirrors, and detectors

The Mach-Zehnder interferometer is a type of interferometer that measures the relative phase shift between two
collimated light beams. It is also a beam division interferometer based on amplitude, consisting of two beam splitters and
two mirrors. Each beam follows a different path, and then recombines downstream of the second beam splitter. However,
the interference is still due to the coherent superposition of the two waves.
 Mach-Zehnder interferometer: applications

• The Mach-Zehnder interferometer has become the favored choice for flow visualization
studies due to its spacious and accessible working area and its flexibility in locating fringes.
• It is commonly used in the fields of plasma physics, aerodynamics, and heat transfer to
measure changes in temperature, density, and pressure in gases.
• In addition, it is used in fiber-optic communication applications as electro-optic modulators,
which offer high-bandwidth electro-optic amplitude and phase responses over a multiple-
gigahertz frequency range. They are often incorporated in monolithic integrated circuits.
• Furthermore, it is used to investigate quantum entanglement, which is one of the most
counterintuitive predictions of quantum mechanics.
• Holography, vibrometry, and laser Doppler imaging of blood flow at video-rate cameras.
Example interference pattern observed
at the output ports of the Mach-Zehnder
interferometer.
 Polarization-Malus law

Polarization of light refers to the orientation of the oscillations of the electric field vector in a light wave. Light is a type
of electromagnetic wave that consists of oscillating electric and magnetic fields, which propagate perpendicular to each
other and the direction of wave propagation. Polarization describes how the electric field oscillates in space.

In an unpolarized light wave, the electric field

oscillates randomly in all possible directions
perpendicular to the direction of propagation.
However, when light is polarized, the electric
field oscillates in a specific direction or follows a
specific pattern.

Unpolarized
light wave

Schematic of polarized light passing through a polarizing filter

Polarization-Malus law
Some more Problems

Questions:
1. A Young's double-slit experiment is set up with light of wavelength λ=500 nm. The distance between the
slits is d=0.1 mm. Calculate the angle of the first-order maximum (m = 1) on the screen.
2. What is the angular separation between the second-order maximum and the third-order maximum in
Young's double-slit experiment when the wavelength of light is 550 nm and the slit separation is 0.2
mm?
3. In Newton's rings experiment, if the radius of a dark ring is 2.5 mm and the wavelength of light used is
600 nm, what is the order (n) of the ring?
4. In a Newton's rings experiment, the diameter of the 5th dark ring is measured to be 2 cm. If the
wavelength of the light used is 600 nm, calculate the radius of curvature of the lens.
5. Describe newton rings, and find the spacing between finges.
6. If a Michelson interferometer produces 400 fringes when the wavelength of light is 500 nm, what is the
path length difference between the two arms?
7. A diffraction grating produces a first-order maximum for blue light (λ = 480 nm) at an angle of 20
degrees. Calculate the angular dispersion of the grating.
8. For a telescope with an aperture diameter of 100 mm and green light (λ = 550 nm), calculate the
minimum resolvable angular separation between two stars.
1. Newton rings observed in reflected light of wavelength 5900A. The diameter of 10 th dark ring is 0.5cm
i). Find the radius of curvature of lens
ii). The thickness of air film

Given wavelength (λ) : 5900x10 -10 m, n =10, and Drn = 0.5cm=5x10-3 m

i). Find the radius of curvature of lens

Answer: 1.059 m

ii). The thickness of air film

 End of

Wave Optics (Unit-I)

Monday, 07 October 2024 School of Technology 56