PHY 1001: Engineering Physics, MAHE Dubai Campus

DIFFRACTION
The phenomenon of redistribution of intensity of a wave, in the
form of alternate maxima and minima, in and around the
geometrical shadow of an obstacle placed in the path of a wave is
called diffraction. The pattern of intensity distribution due to
diffraction is called diffraction pattern. Figure 1 shows the
diffraction pattern of light due to a small opaque circular object.
The bright spot in the centre is often called Poisson's spot,
sometimes called Fresnel's spot, and Arago's spot.
A diffraction pattern is the result of interference among the
secondary wavelets originating from the unobstructed part of the
incident wavefront. Figure 1

All kinds of waves show diffraction. All waves tend to

propagate in a straight line but because of diffraction, a wave
deviates from rectilinear propagation and hence enters into
the geometrical shadow of the obstacle. Diffraction pattern
is observable if at least one dimension of the obstacle is
comparable to the wavelength of the wave.
Most of the objects around us have dimensions much larger
than the wavelength of light but are comparable to the
wavelength of sound consequently it is easier to observe the
diffraction of sound than that of light. In order to observe the
diffraction of light, objects like a sharp edge, thin wire,
narrow slit, pin hole, small opaque disc, etc. are suitable Figure 2
obstacles.
Figure 2 shows the diffraction due to an aperture
of arbitrary shape in an opaque barrier B. The
diffraction pattern formed on the screen C depends
on the separation of the source and the screen C
from the aperture B. We can consider three cases:
1. Very small separation- when C is very close to
B (irrespective of source distance) the waves
travel only a short distance after leaving the
aperture and rays diverge very little. The
effects of diffraction are negligible, and the
pattern on the screen is the geometrical
shadow of the aperture.
2. Both S and C are at large distance- i.e., both
incident and the emergent wave-fronts are
plane (the rays are parallel). One can achieve
this condition by using two converging lenses.
This class of diffraction is called Fraunhofer
class of diffraction (Figure 3a & 3b).
Figure 3

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 PHY 1001: Engineering Physics, MAHE Dubai Campus

3. S and C are at finite distance from the aperture

– i.e., incident and emerging wave fronts are
spherical or cylindrical (the rays are
divergent). In this case diffraction produced is
called Fresnel class of diffraction (Figure 4).

Fraunhofer Diffraction at a Single-Slit Figure 4

(Qualitative)
Let us consider a plane wavefront (thus the
constituent rays are mutually parallel) of
monochromatic light, of wavelength ‘λ’, that
falls normally on a slit of width ‘a’ and then
gets diffracted in all possible directions. The
diffraction pattern can be observed on a
screen kept in the focal plane of a convex
lens. It consists of a bright fringe flanked by
much weaker maxima alternating with dark
fringes. According to Huygens’s principle,
each portion of the slit acts as a source of
secondary wavelets. Hence, light from one Figure 5: Formation of the central maximum
portion of the slit can interfere with light
from another portion, and the resultant light intensity on a viewing screen depends on the
direction . Figure 5 shows the diffracted rays that go un-deviated, in the direction  = 0o, through
the slit. These rays arrive at Po by travelling equal optical paths and hence are in-phase (because
the path difference is zero). Therefore, these waves interfere constructively and produce a
maximum (central maximum) of intensity Io at Po.
Further, let’s divide the slit into two halves as shown in Figure 6.
Therefore, the path difference between the rays 1 and 3 is:
   a 2  sin
Similarly, the path difference between rays 2 and 4 is also
   a 2  sin  , as is that between rays 3 and 5. If this path
difference is exactly  2 (the corresponding phase difference
will be 180°), the rays in each of these pairs will cancel each
other due to destructive interference. This cancellation occurs
for any two waves that originate at points separated by a 2
because the phase difference between any two such waves is
180°. Therefore, waves from the upper half of the slit interfere
destructively with waves from the lower half when:
 a 2  sin    2  a sin    sin    a Figure 6

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The above equation gives the direction  in which we get the first minima on the either sides of
the central maximum. Since the central maximum lies between the first minima, therefore, using
this equation we can get the angular width of the central maximum as:
If θ is very small then sinθ  θ     a
 Angular Width of Central Maximum, Wθ = 2  2λ a
Thus, the central maximum becomes wider as the slit is made narrower. If the slit width is equal
to the wavelength of light (i.e. a=  ), the first minimum occurs at  = 90° which implies that the
central maxima fills the entire forward hemisphere.

Figure 7: Formation of the first minimum and second minimum

Now if we divide the slit into four equal parts, then for every pair of rays, separated by a distance
a/4, the path difference is exactly  2 in one particular direction . As a result, while the
corresponding rays from first and second quarters of the slit interfere destructively so does the
rays from third and fourth quarters. As a whole, the secondary wavelets from different parts of the
slit interfere destructively resulting in minimum intensity in that direction.. Thus, the second
minima occur in the direction  , on the either sides of the central maximum, as given below:
 a 4  sin   λ 2  a sin   2λ  sin   2λ a

Likewise, dividing the slit into six equal parts, the third minima occur in the direction  given as:
 a 6  sin   λ 2  a sin   3λ  sin   3λ a
Therefore, in general, the mth minimum occurs in the direction  given as:

sin   mλ a or a sin  mλ where m = 1, 2, 3, …………

Thus, for getting the direction for minima, we divide the slit into an even number of identical
strips.

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 PHY 1001: Engineering Physics, MAHE Dubai Campus

On the other hand, if we divide the slit into three identical strips,
then for every pair of rays, separated by a distance a/3, the path
difference is exactly  2 in one particular direction . Consequently,
the light from the first two adjacent strips interfere destructively
while the light from the remaining third strip produces the first
secondary maximum on either side of the central maximum.
Similarly, if the slit is divided into five identical strips, then the light
from the first two pairs of adjacent strips interfere destructively and
the light from the remaining fifth strip produces the second
secondary maximum.
Therefore, in general, the mth secondary maximum occurs in the
direction  given as:
a sin    2m+ 1 λ 2 where m = 1, 2, 3, …………
Thus, for getting the direction for secondary maxima, we divide
the slit into an odd number of identical strips. Figure 8

Intensity in Single Slit Diffraction

(Quantitative)
Let us consider a plane wavefront of
monochromatic light, of wavelength ‘λ’, that
falls normally on a slit of width ‘a’ and then
gets diffracted (Figure 9). Let the slit be
divided into ‘N’ parallel strips each of very
small width ‘x’ so that all the light from a
given strip arrives in same phase at a point P
on the viewing screen. Then, at point P, the
phase difference between the waves coming
from any two adjacent strips is:

2π
δ = δx sinθ
λ
But the light wave, reaching at point P, due to
Figure 9: A slit of width a divided into N parallel strips
each strip can be represented by a phasor of (Inset shows the condition at second strip)
length δEo (equal to the amplitude of the light
wave). To find the resultant intensity at the point P, we lay N phasors, each differing in phase
from the previous one by 𝛿, head to tail. These N phasors combine together to give the resultant
amplitude Eθ, in the direction θ. The maximum value of Eθ is Em when θ = 0o that corresponds
to the amplitude of the central maximum of the diffraction pattern.

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From the Figure 10,

Eθ 2 Eθ 
sin = =  Eθ = 2Rsin .
2 R 2R 2
Em  arc 
But  =  angle = 
R  radius 
E E E
 R = m  2R = 2 m = m
   2
Em 
 Eθ = sin
 2 2
sin
or Eθ = Em where  =  2

Here,  is the phase difference between rays from
the top and bottom of the slit. Thus,
Figure 10: Phasor diagram to calculate the
2π 
πa sinθ resultant amplitude at point P in the direction 
= a sinθ   =
λ 2 λ
But the intensity is directly proportional to the square of
the amplitude
2  sin 
2

 I θ  Eθ = E m 
2

  

sin2
 Iθ = I m
2
where I m  Em 2 is the maximum intensity .

Conditions for Intensity Minima & Maxima

The intensity due to a single slit in a given direction  is
sin2 πa sinθ Figure 11: Intensity distribution in
given as: I θ = I m where α = a single slit diffraction pattern.
2 λ
1. Minimum possible value of intensity Iis zero that is possible if:
sin α = 0 but   0

 α   mπ or a sinθ =  m λ where m = 1, 2, 3, ......

2. Iis maximum if  sin   is maximum. When  sin   is maximum, its first order
differential coefficient must be zero, i.e.:
d  sin  
 0
d   

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d sin  d
  sin 
d d d sin  d
 0    sin  0
 2
d d
  cos  sin   0   cos  sin 
 tan  
All the values of  that satisfy the above equation gives the directions in which the intensity is
maximum. Such values can be found graphically and these values of  are:
  0, 3π 2 , 5π 2 , 7π 2 , .........
But   0    0 which is the direction for the cental maximum.
The remaining values of  provide the directions for the secondary maxima. In general, we get a
secondary maximum if:
    2m  1 π 2 or a sin    2m  1  2 where m = 1,2,3, .....

Intensity of various Maxima:

1. For the central maximum,   0
d
( sinα )
sin  cosα sin 2 α
 I θ = I m 2 = I m  1 = I m
lim dα 2
  0 lim
= α 0 = αlim
 0
= 1
 d 1 α
(α )
dα
[Note: If we directly put α= 0 then sinα α = 0 0 = an indeterminate number. ]

2. For the 1st secondary maxima,    3 2

sin2 α sin2  3π 2   1  4
 Iθ = I m = I = I m  2   Iθ = 2 I m  0.045 I m
 3π 2    9π 4  
m
α 2 2
9π
Thus, the intensity of a 1st secondary maximum is only 4.5% of that of central maximum.

3. For the 2nd secondary maxima,    5 2

sin2 α sin2  5π 2   1  4
 Iθ = I m = I = Im    Iθ = I m  0.0162 I m
 5π 2    25π 4  
m
α 2 2 2
25π 2
Thus, the intensity of a 2nd secondary maximum is only 1.62% of that of central maximum.

4. For the 3rd secondary maxima,    7 2

sin2 α sin2 7π 2   1  4
 Iθ = I m = I = Im    I = I  0.00827 I m
α 2 m
7π 2  2
  49π
2
4  
θ
49π 2 m

Thus, the intensity of a 3rd secondary maximum is only 0.82% of that of central maximum
which usually is so small that the 3rd secondary maxima are hardly visible.

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 PHY 1001: Engineering Physics, MAHE Dubai Campus

Diffraction at a Circular Aperture

The mathematical analysis of diffraction
by a circular aperture shows that the first
minimum occurs at an angle from the
central axis given by:
λ
sinθ =1.22
d
Here d is the diameter of the aperture.
[The factor 1.22 arises when we divide the
aperture into elementary Huygens sources and
integrate over the aperture]
On the other hand in case of the diffraction
due to a single slit, the first minimum Figure 12: Diffraction pattern due to a circular aperture
occurs at an angle given by:
λ
sinθ = , where a is the width of the slit.
a
The fact that lens images are diffraction patterns is important when we wish to distinguish two
distant point objects whose angular separation is very small as in the case of two neighbouring
stars.
Rayleigh’s 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.
If R is the smallest angular
separation for which we can
resolve the images of two
objects, then we can write:
Figure 13: Images of two distant point sources formed by a
λ
sinθ R = 1.22 converging lens (a) Well resolved (b) Just resolved (c) Not resolved
d
λ
 θR = 1.22 ( sin   if  is very small)
d

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 PHY 1001: Engineering Physics, MAHE Dubai Campus

Double-Slit Interference and

Diffraction Combined
In the analysis of double slit
interference, it was assumed that
the slits were very narrow i.e.,
a << λ and consequently, the
central part of the screen is
uniformly illuminated by the
diffracted waves from each slit.
When such waves interfere, they
produce interference fringes of
uniform intensity. But, in
practice the condition a << λ is
usually not met. For such
relatively wide slits, the
intensity of interference fringes
is not uniform. Instead, the Figure 14: Double slit interference and diffraction combined
intensity of the fringes varies
within an envelope due to the diffraction pattern of a single slit as shown in the Figure 14.
Ignoring diffraction effects, the intensity of interference fringes is given by: I  4Iocos2 β  Imaxcos2 β
sin 2
Ignoring interference effects, the intensity of diffraction pattern is given by I  I m 2

 sin   2
2

The combined effect is the product of the two and is given by I  I m   cos β
 2 

Figure 15: Intensity graphs to illustrate the combined effect of interference and diffraction

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 PHY 1001: Engineering Physics, MAHE Dubai Campus

Multiple Slits
In a double slit interference pattern, the fringes are
quite wide [Figure 16(a)] leading to low precision in
the measurement of the wavelength due to the
uncertainty in locating the mid points of these
fringes.
A device that consists of a periodic arrangement of
large number of identical diffracting bodies is
called grating. Thus, a set of several equidistant
identical slits acts as a grating.
As shown in the Figure 16(b), an increase in the slit
number (N) reduces the fringe width (W) and so the
Figure 16: Intensity graph for:
precision of wavelength measurement improves. (a) Two-slit diffraction (b) Five-slit diffraction
Also, the interference pattern consists two types of
intensity maxima:
(i) Principal maxima that are quite intense.
(ii) Secondary maxima that are faint.
Further, the location of principal maxima is
independent of number of slits.
If the number of the slits is N, then between any two
consecutive Principal maxima there are:
(i) (N-1) minima.
(ii) (N-2) secondary maxima.
Figure 17 shows a five-slit grating illuminated with a
monochromatic light of wavelength .
A principal maximum occurs when the path Figure 17: An arrangement of multiple slits
difference between rays from any pair of adjacent slits (here N = 5)
is an integral multiple of the wavelength, i.e.

(a+b) sinθ =  n λ ,
where (a+b) = d is called grating element (the separation between adjacent slits) and
n = 0, 1, 2, 3, ………is called the order of the principal maximum.
The above equation is called the grating equation.
A minimum occurs in a direction  given by:
N (a+b) sinθ =  m λ ,
where m is an integer such that m ≠ 0, N, 2N, 3N,……nN.
[Thus, between 0 and N, the (N-1) possible values of m are: 1, 2, 3,……(N-1) and so there are
(N-1) minima between any two principal maxima]

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Diffraction Gratings
The diffraction grating, is a useful device for analysing light sources. It consists of a large number
of equally spaced parallel identical slits. A typical grating might contain N = 10,000 slits
distributed over a width of a few centimetres. They are of two kind:
i) Transmission gratings
ii) Reflection gratings.
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 is diffused.

Figure 18: (a) Reflection type grating, (b) Grating spectroscope

Figure 19: Sample spectra of visible light emitted by a gaseous source

Most gratings used for visible light, whether of the transmission or reflection type, are phase
gratings i.e, there is a periodic change in phase (and a negligible change in amplitude) of the light
as a function of position across the grating. The grating equation is same as that of multiple slits
i.e, (a+b) sin  = ± n , where n = 0, 1, 2, 3, …….and is called order of the spectra.

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