Understanding Diffraction Through Single-Slit and Circular Aperture Experiments

Diffraction
Topics
Diffraction and wave theory of light

Single-slit diffraction
Intensity in single-slit diffraction
Diffraction at a circular aperture
Double-slit interference and diffraction
combined
Multiple slits
Diffraction gratings
Dispersion and resolving power
X-ray diffraction
Text Book:
PHYSICS VOL 2 by Halliday, Resnick and Krane (5th Edition)
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BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2011-12
DIFFRACTION AND WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT

The phenomenon of bending of light around the edges of
obstacles or slits, and hence its encroachment into the
region of geometrical shadow is known as diffraction.
For diffraction effects to be noticeable, the size of the
object causing diffraction should have dimensions
comparable to the wavelength of light falling on the
object.
Diffraction pattern of razor blade viewed

in monochromatic light
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Diffraction pattern occurs
when coherent wave-fronts of
light fall on opaque barrier B,
which contains an aperture of
arbitrary shape. The
diffraction pattern can be
seen on screen C.
When C is very close to B a
geometric shadow is observed
because the diffraction effects
are negligible.
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Both the incident and emergent
wave-fronts are plane (the rays
are parallel) i.e., both the source
and the screen are effectively at
infinite distances, from the
aperture causing diffraction.
Fraunhofer diffraction is a special
limiting case of the more general
Fresnel diffraction.
In laboratory Fraunhofer
diffraction is realized by using
converging lenses for conversion
of spherical wavefront into plane
wavefront and vice versa.
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The incident wave fronts are

spherical or cylindrical. i.e.,
the source of light is at a
finite distance from the
diffracting aperture. The
screen on which the
diffraction pattern is
displayed is also at a finite
distance from the diffracting
aperture.
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SINGLE-SLIT DIFFRACTION
All the diffracted rays
arriving at P0 are inphase.
Hence they interfere
constructively and
produce maximum
(central maximum) of
intensity I0 at P0.
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At point P1,
path difference between
r1 and r2 is
(a/2) sin
So the condition for first minimum,

a
sin
2
2
or
a sin
This is satisfied for every pair of rays, one of which is from upper
half of the slit and the other is a corresponding ray from lower
halfMIT-ofMANIPAL
the slit.
7
At point P2,
path difference between
r1 and r2 is (a/4) sin
So the condition for secondminimum,

a
sin
or
a sin 2
4
2
This is satisfied for every pair of rays, separated by a distance a/4.
In general, the condition for mT H minima,
a sin m
m 1, 2, 3, . . .
There is a secondary maximum approximately half way between
each
adjacent pair of minima.
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Problem: SP42-1
A slit of width a is illuminated by white light. For what value

of a does the minimum for red light ( = 650nm) fall at =
15o?
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Problem: SP42-2
In SP42-1, what is the wavelength of the light whose first

diffraction maximum (not counting the central maximum)
falls at 15o, thus coinciding with the first minimum of red
light?
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Problem: E42-5
A single slit is illuminated by light whose wavelengths are

a and b, so chosen that the first diffraction minimum of
a component coincides with the second minimum of the
b component.
(a) What is the relationship between the two
wavelengths?
(b) Do any other minima in the two patterns coincide?
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INTENSITY IN SINGLE SLIT DIFFRACTION

Aim is to find an expression for the intensity of the entire
pattern as a function of the diffraction angle.
The phase difference between two waves arriving at point
P from two points on the slit (with separation x) is,
2

x sin
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Phasor showing
a) Central maximum
b) A direction slightly shifted
from central maximum
c) First minimum
d) First maximum beyond the
central maximum
(corresponds to N = 18)
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From diagram ,
E 2R sin
2
Em
Also
R
Com bining,
Em
E
sin
2
2
sin
Or , E Em
where
2
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is the phase difference
between rays from the top
and bottom of the slit.
So we can write,
a sin
a
So,
sin
2
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The intensity E 2
2 sin
Em
sin
2
m
where m Em is the max. intensity

From the above eqn., for minima,sin 0
m where m 1,2,3,.....
or, a sin m where m 1,2,3,.....

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The intensity distribution in

single-slit diffraction for three
different values of the ratio a/
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Problem: SP42-3
Calculate, approximately, the relative intensities of the

maxima in the single slit Fraunhofer diffraction pattern.
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Problem: SP42-4
Find the width of the central maximum in a single slit

Fraunhofer diffraction. The width can be represented as the
angle between the two points in the pattern where the
intensity is one-half that at the center of the pattern.
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Problem: E42-11
Monochromatic light with wavelength 538 nm falls on a slit

with width 25.2m. The distance from the slit to a screen is
3.48m. Consider a point on the screen 1.13cm from the
central maximum. Calculate (a) (b) (c) ratio of the
intensity at this point to the intensity at the central
maximum.
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DIFFRACTION AT A CIRCULAR APERTURE
DIFFRACTION PATTERN DUE TO A CIRCULAR APERTURE
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The mathematical analysis of diffraction by a circular aperture
shows that the first minimum occurs at an angle from the
central axis given by
sin 1.22
d
where d is the diameter of aperture.
The equation for first minimumin singleslit diffraction is
sin
a
where a is the slit width
In case of circular aperture, the factor 1.22 arises when we divide the
aperture into elementary Huygens sources and integrate over the
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aperture.

Raleighs criterion for optical resolution: The images of two closely
spaced sources is said to be just resolved if the angular separation of
the two point sources is such that the central maximum of the
diffraction pattern of one source falls on the first minimum of the
diffraction pattern of the other.
R sin11.22
d
since R is very small,it can be appoximated as
R 1.22
d
R is the smallest angular

separation for which we
can resolve the images of
two objects.
a. Well resolved
b. Just resolved
c. Not resolved
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Problem: SP42-5
A converging lens 32mm in diameter has a focal length f of 24

cm. (a) What angular separation must two distant point
objects have to satisfy Rayleighs criterion? Assume that =
550nm. (b) How far apart are the centers of the diffraction
patterns in the focal plane of the lens?
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Problem: E42-21
The painting contains small dots (2 mm

in diameter) of pure pigment, as indicated
in figure. The illusion of colour mixing
occurs because the pupils of the
observers eyes diffract light entering
them. Calculate the minimum distance an
observer must stand from painting to
achieve the desired blending of colour.
(wavelength = 475nm, diameter of pupil =
4.4mm)
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DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED
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Interference
I, INT
(co s2 )
Im, INT
Diffraction
I , DIF
si n

m, DIF
Interference + Diffraction
I m
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si n
(cos )
27
Each of the two slits is divided into N zones. Electric field at P is

found by adding the phasors. There is phase difference of =
/N between each of the N phasors where is the phase
difference between1st phasor and Nth phasor.
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Adding all the phasors, we get the resultant E1 due to the first slit.
is the phase difference between the light waves at the point P,
emitted from bottom edge of the first slit and top edge of the
second slit. E2 is the resultant due to the second slit. E is the
resultant
of E1 and E2. BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2011-12
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From the figure,
E 2E1 sin
2
where
2
2
or
( )
Also sin sin

cos
.........( A )
2
2
2
2

and
(d a) sin
2
a
Adding
sin to both sides of above eqn, we get,
2

d sin which is
2
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Substituting this in eqn( A ), we get,
sin cos
2
From single slit diffraction, we have,
the electric amplitude at P due to one slit,
sin
E1 Em
E 2E1 sin
2
sin
ie, E (2Em )
cos

sin
m (cos )2

DOUBLE-SLIT
INTERFERENCE PATTERN
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PATTERN
31

Problem: SP42- 6
Ina double slit experiment, the distance D of the screen
from the slits is 52cm, the wavelength is 480nm, slit

separation d is 0.12mm and the slit width a is 0.025mm.
a) What is the spacing between adjacent fringes?
b) What is the distance from the central maximum to the
first minimum of the fringe envelope?
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Problem: SP42- 7
What requirements must be met for the central maximum
of the envelope of the double-slit interference pattern to

contain exactly 11 fringes?
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Problem: E42-29
(a) How many complete fringes appear between the first

minima of the fringe envelope on either side of the central
maximum for a double-slit pattern if = 557 nm, d = 0.150
mm, and a = 0.030 mm? (b) What is the ratio of the intensity
of the third fringe to the side of the center to that of the
central fringe?
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MULTIPLE SLITS
Multiple slit arrangement

will be the interference
pattern multiplied by the
single slit diffraction
envelope. This assumes

that all the slits are
identical.
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MULTIPLE SLITS
Condition for principal
maxima,
d sin = m
where d is the
separation between
adjacent slits.
Location of principal
maxima is independent
of number of slits.
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MULTIPLE SLITS
Intensity pattern for

(a) Two-slit diffraction
(b) Five-slit diffraction
(diffraction effect is
neglected)
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MULTIPLE SLITS
Width of the maxima: Central maximum
The pattern contains central maximum with minima on
either side.
At the location of central maximum, the phase difference
between the waves from the adjacent slits is zero.
At minima, the phase difference is such that,
2

where N is the number of slits
N
Corresponding path difference is,

L

N
2
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MULTIPLE SLITS
Width of the maxima: Central maximum

L

N
2
Also we know,
L d sin 0
d sin 0
N
sin 0
Nd
0
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Nd
From the equation, for given and

d if we increase number of slits (N),
then the angular width of principal
maximum decreases. ie the
principal
maximum
becomes
sharper.
39
MULTIPLE SLITS
Width of the maxima: Other principal maxima
For the mth principal
maximum at by a
grating: d sin = m .
For the first minimum
at + after the mth
principal maximum
d si n ( )
m
N
MINIMUM AT
+
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mth PRINCIPAL
MAXIMUM AT
40
MULTIPLE SLITS
Width of the maxima: Other principal maxima
d si n ( ) m
N
d sin cos
cos sin
m
d
sin
(
d
cos
m (d cos )

N d cos
m N
m N
ANGULAR HALF WIDTH OF mTH

PRINCIPAL MAXIMUM AT
The principal maximum become sharper as

number of slits (N) increases
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MINIMUM AT
+
mth PRINCIPAL
MAXIMUM AT
41
MULTIPLE SLITS
Problem: SP43- 1
A certain grating has 104 slits with a spacing of d = 2100 nm.

It is illuminated with yellow sodium light ( = 589 nm). Find
(a) the angular position of all principal maxima observed
and (b) the angular width of the largest order maximum.
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MULTIPLE SLITS
Problem: E43- 3
With light from a gaseous discharge tube incident normally on a

grating with a distance 1.73 m between adjacent slit centers, a
green line appears with sharp maxima at measured transmission
angles = 17.6, 37.3, -37.1, 65.2 and -65.0. Compute
wavelength of the green line that best fits the data.
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MULTIPLE SLITS
Problem: E43-5
Light of wavelength 600 nm is incident normally on a

diffraction grating. Two adjacent principal maxima occur at sin
= 0.20 and sin = 0.30. The fourth order is missing. (a) what
is the separation between adjacent slits? (b) what is the
smallest possible individual slit width? (c) Name all orders
actually appearing on the screen with the values derived in (a)
and (b).
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DIFFRACTION GRATINGS
The diffraction grating, a useful device for
analyzing light sources, consists of a large number
of equally spaced parallel slits.
A transmission grating can be made by cutting
parallel grooves on a glass plate with a precision
ruling machine. The spaces between the grooves
are transparent to the light and hence act as
separate slits.
A reflection grating can be made by cutting
parallel grooves on the surface of a reflective
material. The reflection of light from the spaces
between the grooves is specular, and the
reflection from the grooves cut into the material
is diffuse.
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Grating spectrometer
m=0
m=1
m=2
m=3
Sample spectra of visible light emitted by a gaseous source

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Problem: SP43-2
A diffraction grating has 104 rulings uniformly spaced over

25.0mm. It is illuminated at normal incidence by yellow
light from sodium vapor lamp which contains two closely
spaced lines of wavelengths 589.00nm and 589.59nm. (a)
At what angle will the first order maximum occur for the
first of these wavelengths? (b) What is the angular
separation between the first order maxima of these lines?
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Problem: E43-9
Given a grating with 400 rulings/mm, how many orders of

the entire visible spectrum (400-700nm) can be produced?
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Problem: E43-11
White light (400nm < < 700nm) is incident on a grating .

Show that, no matter what the value of the grating spacing d,
the second- and third-order spectra overlap.
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DISPERSION AND RESOLVING POWER

The ability of a grating to produce spectra that permit precise
measurement of wavelengths is determined by two intrinsic
properties of the grating, (1) Dispersion (2) Resolving power

Dispersion
Dispersion is useful quantity in distinguishing wavelengths that are
close to each other, a grating must spread apart the diffraction lines
associated with the various wavelengths.
Dispersion
Angular separationbetween spectral lines

Difference between wavelength of spectrallines
D
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Dispersion
D
d sin = m
Differentiating the above equation,
d cos = m
m
d co s
To achieve higher dispersion we must use a grating of smaller

grating spacing and work in higher order m .
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Resolving power
Ability of the grating to resolve two nearby spectral lines so that

the two Lines can be viewed or photographed as separate lines.
To resolve lines whose wavelengths are close together, the lines
should be as narrow as possible.
For two close spectral lines of wavelength 1 and 2, just
resolved by the grating, the resolving power is defined as
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1 2
1 2
52

Resolving power
We have,
m
d cos
N d cos
Putting second equation in first equation,
N d cos
m
d cos
Nm
Resolving power increases with increasing N

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Resolving power
Intensity patterns of two close

lines due to three gratings A, B, C.
N = 5000
d = 10 m
R = 5000
D = 0.1 rad/m
N = 5000
d = 5 m
R = 5000
D = 0.2 rad/m
N = 10000
d = 10 m
R = 10000
D = 0.1 rad/m
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Problem: SP43-3
A grating has 9600 lines uniformly spaced over a width
3cm and is illuminated by mercury light.

a) What is the expected dispersion in the third order, in
the vicinity of intense green line ( = 546nm)?
b) What is the resolving power of this grating in the fifth
order?
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Problem: SP43-4
A diffraction grating has 1.20 X 104 rulings uniformly spaced

over a width W = 2.50cm. It is illuminated at normal
incidence by yellow light from a sodium vapor lamp. This
light contains two closely spaced lines of wavelengths 589.0
nm and 589.59 nm. (a) At what angle does the first
maximum occur for the first of these wavelengths? (b) What
is the angular separation between these two lines (1st
order)? (c) How close in wavelength can two lines be (in first
order) and still be resolved by this grating? (d) How many
rulings can a grating have and just resolve the sodium
doublet line?
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Problem: E43-17
The sodium doublet in the spectrum of sodium is s pair of
lines with wavelengths 589.0 and 589.6 nm. Calculate the

minimum number of rulings in a grating needed to resolve
this doublet in the second-order spectrum.
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Problem: E43-21
In a particular grating, the sodium doublet is viewed in
third order at 10.2 to the normal and is barely resolved.

Find (a) the ruling spacing and (b) the total width of
grating.
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X-RAY DIFFRACTION
For the observation of diffraction phenomenon by grating, the
grating space should have the dimension of the wavelength of
the wave diffracted. Since the x-ray wavelength and the interplanar spacing in crystals are of the same order, a crystal can be
a suitable grating for observing the diffraction of x-rays.
x-ray diffraction
producing Laues
pattern
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X-ray tube
59
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
When a monoenergetic x-ray beam is

incident on a sample of a single crystal,
diffraction occurs resulting in a pattern
consisting of an array of symmetrically
arranged diffraction spots, called Laues
spots.
The single crystal acts like a grating
with a grating constant comparable
with the wavelength of x-rays, making
the diffraction pattern distinctly visible.
Since the diffraction pattern is decided
by the crystal structure, the study of
the diffraction pattern helps in the
analysis of the crystal parameters.
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A Laue pattern of a
single crystal.
Each dot
represents a
point of
constructive
interference.
60
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
A plane through a crystal of NaCl
NaCl crystal (a0 = 0.563nm)
NaCl unit cell

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X-RAY DIFFRACTION
(a) Electron density contour of an organic molecule

(b) A structural representation of same molecule
The x-rays are diffracted by the electron concentrations in the

material. By studying the directions of diffracted x-ray beam, we
can study the basic symmetry of the crystal. By studying the
intensity, we can learn how the electrons are distributed in a unit
cell.
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X-RAY DIFFRACTION
Braggs Law
In every crystal, several sets of parallel planes called the Bragg
planes can be identified.
Each of these planes have an identical and a definite
arrangement of atoms.
Different sets of Bragg planes are oriented at different angles
and are characterized by different inter planar distances d.
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X-RAY DIFFRACTION
Braggs Law
Glancing angle. ie angle
between the incident x-ray beam
and the reflecting crystal planes.
For constructive interference of
diffracted x-rays the path
difference for the rays from the
adjacent planes, (abc in the
figure) must be an integral
number of wavelength.
ie
2d sin = n
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X-RAY DIFFRACTION
Problem: SP43-5
At what angles must an x-ray

beam with wavelength = 0.110
nm fall on the family of planes
in figure if a diffracted beam is
to exist? Assume material to
be sodium chloride (a0 =
0.563nm)
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X-RAY DIFFRACTION
Problem: E43-25
A beam of x-rays of wavelength 29.3 pm is incident on a

calcite crystal of lattice spacing 0.313 nm. Find the smallest
angle between the crystal planes and the beam that will
result in constructive reflection of the x-rays.
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X-RAY DIFFRACTION
Problem: E43-33
First order Bragg scattering

from a certain crystal
occurs at an angle of
incidence of 63.8, (ref.
figure). Wavelength of xrays is 0.261nm. Assuming
that the scattering is from
the dashed planes, find
unit cell size a0.
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TUTORIAL
Exercise
E42-1, E42-16, E42-19, E42-26, E42-29
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QUESTIONS DIFFRACTION
Discuss the diffraction due to single-slit. Obtain the
locations of the minima and maxima qualitatively. [5]
Obtain an expression for the intensity in single-slit
diffraction pattern, using phasor-diagram.
[5]
Calculate, approximately, the relative intensities of the first

three secondary maxima in the single-slit diffraction
pattern.
[4]
Discuss qualitatively diffraction at a circular aperture. [2]
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Explain Rayleighs criterion for resolving images due to a
circular aperture.
[2]
Obtain an expression for the intensity in double-slit
diffraction pattern, using phasor-diagram.
[5]
Discuss qualitatively the diffraction due to multiple slits

(eg, 5 slits).
[4]
Obtain an expression for the width of the central
maximum in diffraction pattern due to multiple slits. [4]
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Obtain an expression for the width of a principal
maximum at an angle in diffraction pattern due to
multiple slits.
[4]
Obtain an expression for dispersion by a diffraction
grating.
[3]
Obtain an expression for resolving power of a diffraction
grating.
[3]
Discuss Braggs law for X-ray diffraction.
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[3]
71
ANSWERS - DIFFRACTION
E42-1: 690 nm
E42-11: 0.186, 0.478 rad, 0.926
E42-16: 36.2 m
E42-19: 1400 km
E42-21: 15 m
E42-26: (a) d =4a (b) Every 4th fringe
E42-29: (a) 9 (b) 0.255
E43-3: 523 nm
E43-5: (a) 6 m (b) 1.5 m (c) m = 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9
E43-9: 3
E43-17: 491
E43-21: (a) 9.98 m (b) 3.27 nm
E43-25: 2.68 degree
E43-33: 0.206 nm
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Diffraction

Diffraction and wave theory of light

DIFFRACTION AND WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT

Diffraction pattern of razor blade viewed

DIFFRACTION AND WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT

DIFFRACTION AND WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT

DIFFRACTION AND WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT

The incident wave fronts are

So the condition for first minimum,

r1 and r2 is (a/4) sin

So the condition for secondminimum,

A slit of width a is illuminated by white light. For what value

In SP42-1, what is the wavelength of the light whose first

A single slit is illuminated by light whose wavelengths are

INTENSITY IN SINGLE SLIT DIFFRACTION

P from two points on the slit (with separation x) is,

INTENSITY IN SINGLE SLIT DIFFRACTION

INTENSITY IN SINGLE SLIT DIFFRACTION

INTENSITY IN SINGLE SLIT DIFFRACTION

INTENSITY IN SINGLE SLIT DIFFRACTION

INTENSITY IN SINGLE SLIT DIFFRACTION

The intensity distribution in

INTENSITY IN SINGLE SLIT DIFFRACTION

Calculate, approximately, the relative intensities of the

INTENSITY IN SINGLE SLIT DIFFRACTION

Find the width of the central maximum in a single slit

INTENSITY IN SINGLE SLIT DIFFRACTION

Monochromatic light with wavelength 538 nm falls on a slit

DIFFRACTION AT A CIRCULAR APERTURE

DIFFRACTION PATTERN DUE TO A CIRCULAR APERTURE

DIFFRACTION AT A CIRCULAR APERTURE

central axis given by

The equation for first minimumin singleslit diffraction is

DIFFRACTION AT A CIRCULAR APERTURE

since R is very small,it can be appoximated as

R is the smallest angular

DIFFRACTION AT A CIRCULAR APERTURE

A converging lens 32mm in diameter has a focal length f of 24

DIFFRACTION AT A CIRCULAR APERTURE

The painting contains small dots (2 mm

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

Each of the two slits is divided into N zones. Electric field at P is

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

Also sin sin

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

Ina double slit experiment, the distance D of the screen

from the slits is 52cm, the wavelength is 480nm, slit

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

What requirements must be met for the central maximum

of the envelope of the double-slit interference pattern to

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

(a) How many complete fringes appear between the first

Multiple slit arrangement

envelope. This assumes

Intensity pattern for

From the equation, for given and

ANGULAR HALF WIDTH OF mTH

The principal maximum become sharper as