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Diffraction

Imagine passing a monochromatic light beam through a narrow opening - a slit just a little wider
than the wavelength of the light. Instead of a simple shadow of the slit on the screen, you will see
that an interference pattern appears, even though there is only one slit.

Figure 4.1.1: A steel ball bearing illuminated by a laser does not cast a sharp, circular shadow.
Instead, a series of diffraction fringes and a central bright spot are observed. Known as Poisson’s
spot, the effect was first predicted by Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) as a consequence of
diffraction of light waves. Based on principles of ray optics, Siméon-Denis Poisson (1781–1840)
argued against Fresnel’s prediction.

In the chapter on interference, we saw that you need two sources of waves for interference to occur.
How can there be an interference pattern when we have only one slit? In The Nature of Light, we
learned that, due to Huygens’s principle, we can imagine a wave front as equivalent to infinitely
many point sources of waves. Thus, a wave from a slit can behave not as one wave but as an
infinite number of point sources. These waves can interfere with each other, resulting in an
interference pattern without the presence of a second slit. This phenomenon is called diffraction.
Another way to view this is to recognize that a slit has a small but finite width. In the preceding
chapter, we implicitly regarded slits as objects with positions but no size. The widths of the slits
were considered negligible. When the slits have finite widths, each point along the opening can be
considered a point source of light - a foundation of Huygens’s principle. Because real-world optical
instruments must have finite apertures (otherwise, no light can enter), diffraction plays a major
role in the way we interpret the output of these optical instruments. For example, diffraction places
limits on our ability to resolve images or objects. This is a problem that we will study later in this
chapter.

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Diffraction through a Single Slit

Light passing through a single slit forms a diffraction pattern somewhat different from those
formed by double slits or diffraction gratings, which we discussed in the chapter on interference.
Figure 4.2.2 shows a single-slit diffraction pattern. Note that the central maximum is larger than
maxima on either side and that the intensity decreases rapidly on either side. In contrast,
a diffraction grating produces evenly spaced lines that dim slowly on either side of the center.

Figure 4.2.2: Single-slit diffraction pattern. (a) Monochromatic light passing through a single slit
has a central maximum and many smaller and dimmer maxima on either side. The central
maximum is six times higher than shown. (b) The diagram shows the bright central maximum, and
the dimmer and thinner maxima on either side.
The analysis of single-slit diffraction is illustrated in Figure 4.2.2. Here, the light arrives at the slit,
illuminating it uniformly and is in phase across its width. We then consider light propagating
onwards from different parts of the same slit. According to Huygens’s principle, every part of the
wave front in the slit emits wavelets, as we discussed in The Nature of Light. These are like rays
that start out in phase and head in all directions. (Each ray is perpendicular to the wave front of a
wavelet.) Assuming the screen is very far away compared with the size of the slit, rays heading
toward a common destination are nearly parallel. When they travel straight ahead, as in part (a) of
the figure, they remain in phase, and we observe a central maximum. However, when rays travel
at an angle θ relative to the original direction of the beam, each ray travels a different distance to
a common location, and they can arrive in or out of phase. In part (b), the ray from the bottom
travels a distance of one wavelength λ farther than the ray from the top. Thus, a ray from the center
travels a distance λ/2 less than the one at the bottom edge of the slit, arrives out of phase, and
interferes destructively. A ray from slightly above the center and one from slightly above the
bottom also cancel one another. In fact, each ray from the slit interferes destructively with another
ray. In other words, a pair-wise cancellation of all rays results in a dark minimum in intensity at
this angle. By symmetry, another minimum occurs at the same angle to the right of the incident
direction (toward the bottom of the figure) of the light.

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Figure 4.2.3: Light passing through a single slit is diffracted in all directions and may interfere
constructively or destructively, depending on the angle. The difference in path length for rays from
either side of the slit is seen to be a sinθ.
At the larger angle shown in part (c), the path lengths differ by 3λ/2 for rays from the top and
bottom of the slit. One ray travels a distance λ different from the ray from the bottom and arrives
in phase, interfering constructively. Two rays, each from slightly above those two, also add
constructively. Most rays from the slit have another ray to interfere with constructively, and a
maximum in intensity occurs at this angle. However, not all rays interfere constructively for this
situation, so the maximum is not as intense as the central maximum. Finally, in part (d), the angle
shown is large enough to produce a second minimum. As seen in the figure, the difference in path
length for rays from either side of the slit is a sinθ, and we see that a destructive minimum is
obtained when this distance is an integral multiple of the wavelength.
Thus, to obtain destructive interference for a single slit,
a sinθ = mλ (destructive interference)
where, m = ±1, ±2, ±3, ...
a is the slit width,
λ is the light’s wavelength,
θ is the angle relative to the original direction of the light, and
m is the order of the minimum.

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Figure 4.2.3 shows a graph of intensity for single-slit interference, and it is apparent that the
maxima on either side of the central maximum are much less intense and not as wide. This effect
is explored in Double-Slit Diffraction.

Figure 4.2.3: A graph of single-slit diffraction intensity showing the central maximum to be wider
and much more intense than those to the sides. In fact, the central maximum is six times higher
than shown here.

Exercise-1: Calculating Single-Slit Diffraction

Visible light of wavelength 550 nm falls on a single slit and produces its second diffraction
minimum at an angle of 45.0° relative to the incident direction of the light, as in Figure 4.2.5.
• What is the width of the slit?
• At what angle is the first minimum produced?

Figure 4.2.5: In this example, we analyze a graph of the single-slit diffraction pattern.
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Strategy
From the given information, and assuming the screen is far away from the slit, we can use the
equation a sinθ = mλ first to find aa, and again to find the angle for the first minimum θ1.
Solution
We are given that, λ = 550 nm, m = 2, and θ2 = 45.0°. Solving the equation, a sinθ = mλ for a and
substituting known values gives
a = (mλ)/sinθ2 = {2(550nm)}/sin45.0° = 1100×10−9m/0.707 = 1.56×10−6m.
Solving the equation, a sinθ = mλ for sinθ1 and substituting the known values gives
sinθ1 = (mλ)/a = {1(550×10−9m)}/1.56×10−6m.
Thus, the angle θ1 is
θ1 = sin−1(0.354) = 20.7°.
Significance
We see that the slit is narrow (it is only a few times greater than the wavelength of light). This is
consistent with the fact that light must interact with an object comparable in size to its wavelength
in order to exhibit significant wave effects such as this single-slit diffraction pattern. We also see
that the central maximum extends 20.7° on either side of the original beam, for a width of about
41°. The angle between the first and second minima is only about 24° (45.0°−20.7°). Thus, the
second maximum is only about half as wide as the central maximum.
Double Slit Diffraction Pattern
The diffraction pattern of two slits of width aa that are separated by a distance d is the interference
pattern of two, point sources separated by d multiplied by the diffraction pattern of a slit of
width aa.
In other words, the locations of the interference fringes are given by the equation
d sinθ = mλ
the same as when we considered the slits to be point sources, but the intensities of the fringes are
now reduced by diffraction effects.
Interference and diffraction effects operate simultaneously and generally produce minima at
different angles. This gives rise to a complicated pattern on the screen, in which some of the
maxima of interference from the two slits are missing if the maximum of the interference is in the
same direction as the minimum of the diffraction. We refer to such a missing peak as a missing
order. One example of a diffraction pattern on the screen is shown in Figure 4.4.1. The solid line
with multiple peaks of various heights is the intensity observed on the screen. It is a product of the
interference pattern of waves from separate slits and the diffraction of waves from within one slit.

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Figure 4.4.1: Diffraction from a double slit. The purple line with peaks of the same height is from
the interference of the waves from two slits; the blue line with one big hump in the middle is the
diffraction of waves from within one slit; and the thick red line is the product of the two, which is
the pattern observed on the screen. The plot shows the expected result for a slit width a=2λ and slit
separation d = 6λ. The maximum of m = ±3 order for the interference is missing because the
minimum of the diffraction occurs in the same direction.
Exercise-1: Intensity of the Fringes
Figure 4.4.1 shows that the intensity of the fringe for m=3 is zero, but what about the other fringes?
Calculate the intensity for the fringe at m=1 relative to I0, the intensity of the central peak.
Strategy
Determine the angle for the double-slit interference fringe, using the equation from Interference,
then determine the relative intensity in that direction due to diffraction.
Solution
From the chapter on interference, we know that the bright interference fringes occur at
d sinθ = mλ,
or sinθ = (mλ)/d.
From Equation of intensity,
I = I0 {(sinβ)/β}2
Where, β = ϕ/2 = (π a sinθ)/λ.
Substituting from above,

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β = (πasinθ)/λ = (πa/λ)⋅(mλ/d) = (mπa)/d.

For a = 2λ, d = 6λ and m=1,
β = {(1)π(2λ)}/(6λ) = π/3.
Then, the intensity is
I = I0 {(sinβ)/β}2 = I0 [{sin(π/3)}/{π/3}]2 = 0.684 I0.
Significance
Note that this approach is relatively straightforward and gives a result that is almost exactly the
same as the more complicated analysis using phasors to work out the intensity values of the double-
slit interference (thin line in Figure 4.4.1). The phasor approach accounts for the downward slope
in the diffraction intensity (blue line) so that the peak near m=1 occurs at a value of θ ever so
slightly smaller than we have shown here.
Exercise-2: Two-Slit Diffraction
Suppose that in Young’s experiment, slits of width 0.020 mm are separated by 0.20 mm. If the
slits are illuminated by monochromatic light of wavelength 500 nm, how many bright fringes are
observed in the central peak of the diffraction pattern?
Solution
The angular position of the first diffraction minimum is
θ ≈ sinθ = λ/a = (5.0×10−7m)/(20×10−5)m = 2.5×10−2 rad
Using d sinθ = mλ for θ = 2.5×10−2 rad, we find
m = (d sinθ)/λ = {(0.20mm).(2.5×10−2rad)}/(5.0×10−7m) = 10,
which is the maximum interference order that fits inside the central peak. We note that m = ±10 are
missing orders as θ matches exactly. Accordingly, we observe bright fringes for
m = −9, −8, −7, −6, −5, −4, −3, −2, −1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4, +5, +6, +7, +8, and +9
for a total of 19 bright fringes.
X-ray Diffraction
Since X-ray photons are very energetic, they have relatively short wavelengths, on the order
of 10−8 m to 10−12 m. Thus, typical X-ray photons act like rays when they encounter macroscopic
objects, like teeth, and produce sharp shadows. However, since atoms are on the order of 0.1 nm
in size, X-rays can be used to detect the location, shape, and size of atoms and molecules. The
process is called X-ray diffraction, and it involves the interference of X-rays to produce patterns
that can be analyzed for information about the structures that scattered the X-rays.
Perhaps the most famous example of X-ray diffraction is the discovery of the double-helical
structure of DNA in 1953 by an international team of scientists working at England’s Cavendish

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Laboratory—American James Watson, Englishman Francis Crick, and New Zealand-born

Maurice Wilkins. Using X-ray diffraction data produced by Rosalind Franklin, they were the first
to model the double-helix structure of DNA that is so crucial to life. For this work, Watson, Crick,
and Wilkins were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. (There is some debate
and controversy over the issue that Rosalind Franklin was not included in the prize, although she
died in 1958, before the prize was awarded.)
Figure 4.7.1 shows a diffraction pattern produced by the scattering of X-rays from a crystal. This
process is known as X-ray crystallography because of the information it can yield about crystal
structure, and it was the type of data Rosalind Franklin supplied to Watson and Crick for DNA.
Not only do X-rays confirm the size and shape of atoms, they give information about the atomic
arrangements in materials. For example, more recent research in high-temperature
superconductors involves complex materials whose lattice arrangements are crucial to obtaining a
superconducting material. These can be studied using X-ray crystallography.

Figure 4.7.1: X-ray diffraction from the crystal of a protein (hen egg lysozyme) produced this
interference pattern. Analysis of the pattern yields information about the structure of the protein.
Historically, the scattering of X-rays from crystals was used to prove that X-rays are energetic
electromagnetic (EM) waves. This was suspected from the time of the discovery of X-rays in 1895,
but it was not until 1912 that the German Max von Laue (1879–1960) convinced two of his
colleagues to scatter X-rays from crystals. If a diffraction pattern is obtained, he reasoned, then the
X-rays must be waves, and their wavelength could be determined. (The spacing of atoms in various
crystals was reasonably well known at the time, based on good values for Avogadro’s number.)
The experiments were convincing, and the 1914 Nobel Prize in Physics was given to von Laue for
his suggestion leading to the proof that X-rays are EM waves. In 1915, the unique father-and-son
team of Sir William Henry Bragg and his son Sir William Lawrence Bragg were awarded a joint
Nobel Prize for inventing the X-ray spectrometer and the then-new science of X-ray analysis.
In ways reminiscent of thin-film interference, we consider two plane waves at X-ray wavelengths,
each one reflecting off a different plane of atoms within a crystal’s lattice, as shown in Figure 4.7.2.
From the geometry, the difference in path lengths is 2dsinθ2dsinθ. Constructive interference
results when this distance is an integer multiple of the wavelength.

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This condition is captured by the Bragg equation,

mλ = 2d sinθ
for m = 1,2,3, ...
where, m is a positive integer and d is the spacing between the planes. Following the Law of
Reflection, both the incident and reflected waves are described by the same angle, θ, but unlike
the general practice in geometric optics, θθ is measured with respect to the surface itself, rather
than the normal.

Figure 4.7.2: X-ray diffraction with a crystal. Two incident waves reflect off two planes of a
crystal. The difference in path lengths is indicated by the dashed line.
Holography
A hologram, such as the one in Figure 4.8.1, is a true three-dimensional image recorded on film
by lasers. Holograms are used for amusement; decoration on novelty items and magazine covers;
security on credit cards and driver’s licenses (a laser and other equipment are needed to reproduce
them); and for serious three-dimensional information storage. You can see that a hologram is a
true three-dimensional image because objects change relative position in the image when viewed
from different angles.

Figure 4.8.1: Credit cards commonly have holograms for logos, making them difficult to
reproduce.
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The name hologram means “entire picture” (from the Greek holo, as in holistic) because the image
is three-dimensional. Holography is the process of producing holograms and, although they are
recorded on photographic film, the process is quite different from normal photography.
Holography uses light interference or wave optics, whereas normal photography uses geometric
optics. Figure 4.8.2 shows one method of producing a hologram. Coherent light from a laser is
split by a mirror, with part of the light illuminating the object. The remainder, called the reference
beam, shines directly on a piece of film. Light scattered from the object interferes with the
reference beam, producing constructive and destructive interference. As a result, the exposed film
looks foggy, but close examination reveals a complicated interference pattern stored on it. Where
the interference was constructive, the film (a negative actually) is darkened. Holography is
sometimes called lens-less photography, because it uses the wave characteristics of light, as
contrasted to normal photography, which uses geometric optics and requires lenses.

Figure 4.8.2: Production of a hologram. Single-wavelength coherent light from a laser produces a
well-defined interference pattern on a piece of film. The laser beam is split by a partially silvered
mirror, with part of the light illuminating the object and the remainder shining directly on the film.
Light falling on a hologram can form a three-dimensional image of the original object. The process
is complicated in detail, but the basics can be understood, as shown in Figure 4.8.3, in which a
laser of the same type that exposed the film is now used to illuminate it. The myriad tiny exposed
regions of the film are dark and block the light, whereas less exposed regions allow light to pass.
The film thus acts much like a collection of diffraction gratings with various spacing patterns.
Light passing through the hologram is diffracted in various directions, producing both real and
virtual images of the object used to expose the film. The interference pattern is the same as that
produced by the object. Moving your eye to various places in the interference pattern gives you
different perspectives, just as looking directly at the object would. The image thus looks like the
object and is three dimensional like the object.

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Figure 4.8.3: A transmission hologram is one that produces real and virtual images when a laser
of the same type as that which exposed the hologram is passed through it. Diffraction from various
parts of the film produces the same interference pattern that was produced by the object that was
used to expose it.
The hologram illustrated in Figure 4.8.3 is a transmission hologram. Holograms that are viewed
with reflected light, such as the white light holograms on credit cards, are reflection holograms
and are more common. White light holograms often appear a little blurry with rainbow edges,
because the diffraction patterns of various colors of light are at slightly different locations due to
their different wavelengths. Further uses of holography include all types of three-dimensional
information storage, such as of statues in museums, engineering studies of structures, and images
of human organs.
Invented in the late 1940s by Dennis Gabor (1900–1970), who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in
Physics for his work, holography became far more practical with the development of the laser.
Since lasers produce coherent single-wavelength light, their interference patterns are more
pronounced. The precision is so great that it is even possible to record numerous holograms on a
single piece of film by just changing the angle of the film for each successive image. This is how
the holograms that move as you walk by them are produced—a kind of lens-less movie.
In a similar way, in the medical field, holograms have allowed complete three-dimensional
holographic displays of objects from a stack of images. Storing these images for future use is
relatively easy. With the use of an endoscope, high-resolution, three-dimensional holographic
images of internal organs and tissues can be made.

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