Module 4

Diffraction of Light
Contents

Diffraction of light – Dependence of coherence of source and size of aperture/obstacle - Model

describing the diffraction phenomena - Fraunhofer model, Single slit diffraction- Methods to
improve the dispersive power- Dispersion via refraction and diffraction - Diffraction grating -
Grating equation - Applications - Determination of wavelength of monochromatic and
polychromatic light - Dispersive power of a grating with equations (no derivation) - Crystal as
diffracting element for X-rays.

Introduction
The effects of diffraction are often seen in everyday life. The most striking examples
of diffraction are those that involve light; for example, the closely spaced tracks on a CD or
DVD act as a diffraction grating to form the familiar rainbow pattern seen when looking at a
disc. The hologram on a credit card is another example. Diffraction in the atmosphere by small
particles can cause a bright ring to be visible around a bright light source like the sun or the
moon. A shadow of a solid object, using light from a compact source, shows small fringes near
its edges. All these effects are a consequence of the fact that light propagates as a wave.

Diffraction of light
Diffraction is the slight bending of light as it passes around the edge of an object
and the spreading of light into the geometrical shadow of the obstacle. In other words,
diffraction can be defined as the encroachment of light into the geometrical shadow of an
object due to its property of bending around obstacles. The amount of bending depends on
the relative size of the wavelength of light to the size of the opening.

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(Qn: - Using wave theory of light, how will you explain the phenomenon of diffraction?)

(Qn: - State Huygens’ wave theory of light)

The main postulate of Huygens’ wave theory of light includes every point on the
given wave front at a given instant, called primary wave front, acts as a fresh source of
new disturbance, called secondary wavelets that travel in all directions with the velocity
of light in the medium and with the same frequency as that of the primary wave. It has
been proved experimentally that the phenomenon of diffraction is due to the mutual
interference between the secondary wavelets from the same wavefront. In other words, it
is the interference between light coming from different parts of any aperture.

Comparison of Interference and Diffraction

Interference Diffraction

• Interference is the meeting of two • Diffraction is the bending of

waves. waves.
• Interference occurs between • Diffraction occurs between the
waves originating from two or secondary wavelets originating
more but finite number of from different points (usually
coherent sources. infinite in number) on the same
wave.

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 • In an interference pattern, the • In diffraction pattern, the minima
minima are usually almost may not be perfectly dark.
perfectly dark.
• In an interference pattern, all the • In a diffraction pattern, all the
maxima are of same intensity. maxima are not of same intensity.
• The interference fringes are • The diffraction fringes are never
usually (although not always) equally spaced.
equally spaced.

Both interference and diffraction arise due to superposition effects and often both
are present simultaneously.

Model describing the diffraction phenomena - Fraunhofer model

Diffraction phenomena can be represented using Fraunhofer model of diffraction.
Fraunhofer Model of Diffraction
In Fraunhofer diffraction, the source of light and the screen are effectively at infinite
distance from the obstacle or aperture that causes diffraction. As the source is at infinity, the
waves reaching the obstacle are plane waves. As the screen is at infinity, the interference
pattern produced by secondary waves on the screen is due to parallel rays. In practice, the
arrangement for Fraunhofer diffraction is achieved by using two convergent lenses, one to
make the light beam parallel and the second one effectively makes the rays to converge to a
particular point on the screen.

As the separation between the viewing screen and the aperture increases, the size of the
diffraction pattern changes, but not its shape.

Diffraction grating
A diffraction grating consists of a system of closely spaced slits of equal width. If the
number of slits in an obstacle is large the sharpness of the pattern is improved, the maxima get
narrower. A grating is constructed by making a large number of rulings on a transparent
material like glass or plastic using a diamond pointer. There are two types of grating namely,
reflection grating and transmission grating.

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Plane Transmission Gratings
(Qn: - Explain the action of a plane transmission grating. Derive the grating equation.)
A transmission grating consists of a system of equally
spaced [Link] is made by ruling a series of closely spaced
parallel lines with a diamond pointer on an optically
transparent sheet of material. The distance between the
corresponding points of the adjacent slits is called the
grating element, ‘d’. if the width of the transparent portion
is ‘a’ and opaque portion is ‘b’, then, d=a+b.

If there are N number of lines (slits) per unit length, then

the grating element is given by,

(1)
The condition for maximum intensity is the same as that for a double slit. However, angular
separation of the maxima is generally much greater because the slit spacing is so small for a
diffraction grating.

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The diffraction grating is an immensely useful tool for
the separation of the spectral lines associated with
atomic transitions. It acts as a "super prism",
separating the different colors of light much more than
the dispersion effect in a prism.
The tracks of a compact disc act as a diffraction
grating, producing a separation of the colors of white
light.

Grating Equation
(Qn: - Derive the grating equation.)

Light incident upon a grating will be diffracted

by the lines, producing a series of secondary
wavelets emanating from the gaps between the
lines, as shown in the following figure. As each
diffracted wavefront emerges from a gap, it
reinforces wavefronts from each of the other
gaps, i.e. there is constructive interference, but
only at certain angles

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Let θ be the angle of diffraction corresponding to the first order maximum.

From the figure,

(2)

For the order principal maximum, the path difference must be equal to .
Therefore, equation (15) becomes,

Or,

(3)

Equation (3) is known as the grating equation.

When white light is used, each wavelength will be diffracted through different sets of angles
as defined by the grating equation. The diffraction grating will thus disperse the light incident
upon it into its component wavelengths. It can be seen that the zeroth order is undispersed,
which follows from the grating equation when n = 0, and θ=0 and hence light of all wavelengths
is undeviated. The first orders (n = 1) fall either side of the zeroth order, with the blue light
deviated the least and red the most, opposite to that observed with a prism. This is because
. Following the first order, we can see second, third, fourth,…order spectrum
which appear successively wider and fainter.

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 Therefore, the condition for maxima is,

With n=0,1,2,3,….
And the condition for minima is.

With n=1,2,3….

For n=0 and θ=0 , which corresponds to the central maximum.

For n=1, which corresponds to the first order principal maxima on either
side of the central maximum.

For n=2, which corresponds to the second order principal maxima and
so on.

Also for n=1, which corresponds to the first order minima on either side
of the central maximum.
Seed Idea
• A diffraction grating disperses polychromatic light into its constituent colours via
diffraction, and the extent of this dispersion depends on the spacing between the
grating's lines
• The angle of diffraction carries information about the wavelength of the waves in
a light beam undergoing the phenomenon
• Higher orders of diffraction correspond to larger angles of diffraction, allowing
for better dispersion of light into its constituent colours
• A smaller spacing between lines of a grating produces larger angles of diffraction,
while a larger spacing will produce a smaller angle of diffraction
Grating equation - Applications - Determination of wavelength of monochromatic and
polychromatic light
Please check the Lab material for the experiments Laser Diffraction Grating and
Spectrometer- Characteristic wavelengths for determination of wavelength of monochromatic
and polychromatic light respectively.

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Dispersive Power of a Grating
(Qn :- Define dispersive power of a grating element)
The wavelength dependence in the grating equation shows that the grating separates an
incident polychromatic beam into its constituent wavelength components, i.e., it is dispersive.
Each wavelength of input beam spectrum is sent into a different direction, producing a rainbow
of colors under white light illumination. If a parallel beam of monochromatic light is incident
normally on the face of a plane transmission diffraction grating, bright diffraction maxima are
observed on the other side of the grating. These diffraction maxima satisfy the grating condition

where (a+b) is the grating element which represents the number of rulings per inch of the
grating
is the angle of diffraction of the grating
n is the order of the spectrum which can take values
λ is the wavelength of light used.

For polychromatic source, each order of the spectrum (except the zeroth order) will consist of
different wavelengths depending on the source. Thus, the diffraction pattern will be
symmetrical about .
If dθ is the separation for wavelength differing by dλ, the dispersive power can be obtained
from the grating equation given by equation 4.16 as,

Or, (4)

Dispersive power of a grating is defined as the ratio of the difference in the angle of diffraction
of any two neighbouring spectral lines to the difference in the wavelength between the two
spectral lines. It can also be defined as the angle of diffraction corresponding to a unit change
in wavelength of light used.

In equation (4.20), represents the number of lines per unit length of the
grating.
From equation (4), it is clear that the dispersive power is
1. Directly proportional to the number of lines per unit length of the grating
2. Inversely proportional to the cosine of the diffraction angle
3. Directly proportional to the order of the spectrum

Comparison of grating and prism spectrum

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 Prism Spectrum Grating Spectrum
Typically produces one primary spectrum. Generates multiple spectra known as orders.
The first-order is the most prominent,
followed by higher orders.
Spectrum formation is primarily due to Spectrum formation involves diffraction,
refraction, where different colors are where light interacts with the closely spaced
refracted by different amounts. slits of the grating, causing interference
patterns.
Violet is the most deviated, and red is the The order of deviation is reversed compared
least deviated in a prism spectrum. to a prism. Red is the most deviated, and
violet is the least deviated in a grating
spectrum.
Colors in a prism spectrum are spread out Colors in a grating spectrum result from the
due to varying refractive indices for different interference of diffracted light waves,
wavelengths. producing distinct and well-defined spectral
lines.
The deviation of light in a prism is governed The angular positions of the diffracted orders
by the prism angle and the refractive index of in a grating are governed by the grating
the material. The relationship is described by equation:
Snell's Law. 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 = 𝑛𝑁𝜆
𝛿 = (𝑛 − 1)𝐴 where 𝜃 is the angular deviation
where 𝛿 is the angular deviation n is the order of the spectrum
n is the refractive index N is the number of lines per unit length of the
and A is the angle of the prism grating
and λ is the wavelength of light

Seed Ideas
• A diffraction grating facilitates the dispersion of a polychromatic beam of light via
diffraction, while a prism facilitates dispersion via refraction
• For a given situation, waves with longer wavelengths are deviated more in
dispersion via diffraction (grating dispersion), while waves with shorter
wavelengths are deviated more in dispersion via refraction (prism dispersion)