PHYS 313: OPTICS (2lect + 1lab = 3 Units)

1. Purpose of the Course

This course covers various wave phenomena of light and some aspects of geometrical
optics. It also introduces lasers and their applications.

2. Course Objectives

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

a) Describe wave nature of light.

b) Explain Fraunhoffer diffraction by single slit and multiple slits
c) Describe the application of diffraction grating and the Fabry-Perot
interferometer diffraction grating.
d) Explain various geometrical aspects of reflection and refraction using ray
tyracing techniques.
e) Explain laser action and laser application.

3. Course Content

The wave equation and its solutions, properties of waves, wavefront, the electromagnetic
spectrum, light sources (thermionic and atomic).
Characteristics of Light: Polarisation, polarisers, Coherence, coherence length
interference.
Atomic theory of the refractive index: Maxwell's equations in matter - Polarisation of
matter, Absorption and Dispersion functions.
Geometrical Optics: reflection and transmission angles and coefficients, Brewster Angle,
principle of ray tracing, illustrations.
Diffraction: General Kirchhoff - Sommerfield theory, Fresnel and Fraunhofer
approximations, applications (slit and edge diffraction patterns).
Lasers: Einstein's constants, spontaneous and stimulated emissions, laser principle,
properties of laser light and some applications of lasers.

4. Modes of delivery: Lectures and practical; homework

5. References:

a. Eugene Hecht, Optics, 4th ed., Pearson, 2002.

b. B.E.A Saleh and M.C. Teich, Fundamental of photonics, 2007

OPTICS NOTES
COURSE OUTLINE
  The wave equation and its solutions, properties of waves, wavefronts, the
electromagnetic spectrum, light sources (thermionic and atomic)
 Characteristics of Light: Polarisation, polarisers, Coherence, coherence length
interference
 Atomic theory of the refractive index: Maxwell's equations in matter - Polarisation
of matter, Absorption and Dispersion functions.
 Reflection and Transmission at Boundaries: reflection and transmission angles
and coefficients, Brewster Angle, principle of ray tracing, illustrations.
 Interference of light waves: Interference by Division of Wavefront, Interference by
Division of amplitudes, Newton’s Rings, Michelson Interferometer, Mach–Zehnder
Interferometer, Fabry–Perot Interferometer
 Diffraction: Fresnel and Fraunhofer approximations, applications (slit and edge
diffraction patterns).
 Lasers: Einstein's constants, spontaneous and stimulated emissions, laser
principle, properties of laser light and some applications of lasers.

References

Optics, 4th ed by Eugene Hecht.

Fundamentals of Optics F. A. Jenkins

1.0 The wave equation and its solutions

1.1 Nature of light

The concepts of light have undergone several variations during the history of physics.

 Quantum Theory.
o Optical signal consists of discrete units called photons. The energy in a photon
is given as Eg = h, where h is the Planck’s constant
= 6.63 x 10-34J.s and  is the frequency

 Wave Theory–Light travels as a transverse electromagnetic wave ( Physical optics-

describe light in terms of polarization)
o Maxwell theorized that light waves must be electromagnetic in nature and the
wave motion is perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels
(Transverse in nature).
o Optical signal is an electromagnetic signal. It has electric and magnetic fields
that are orthogonal to each other. Typically the frequency of this EM wave is
extremely high ( in the order of THz). Therefore it is more convenient to
measure in terms of wavelength. The relationship is given by:
c = 
where  is the frequency, c is the speed of light,  is the wavelength.

Ex. Find the  if  = 1550nm. Ans : 193.5 THz

 Ray Theory–Light travels along a straight line and obeys laws of geometrical optics.
Ray theory is valid when the objects are much larger than the wavelength

 In 1815, Fresnel gave the correct explanation of diffraction. Fresnel showed that
approximately rectilinear propagation character of light could be interpreted on the
assumption that light is a wave motion and thus the diffraction fringes could thus be
accounted for in detail.
o Later (1864),
 Furthermore observation of polarization effects indicated that light waves are transverse.
This is called, wave or physical optics viewpoint. The e.m. waves radiated by a small
optical source can be represented by a train of spherical wave fronts with the source at
the centre as shown in Fig. 1.1.

Wavefro
nt
  

Spherical wave front Plane wave fronts

o A wavefront is defined as the locus of all points in the wave train which have the
same phase. The wave fronts are separated by one wavelength.

Div, Grad, Curl

Types of 3D vector derivatives:

⃗ ∂ , ∂,∂
∇≡
The Del operator: ∂x ∂ y ∂z

∂f ∂f ∂f
∇f≡ , ,
The Gradient of a scalar function f : ∂x ∂ y ∂z

The gradient points in the direction of steepest ascent.

The Divergence of a vector function:

 ∂ f x ∂f y ∂f z
∇ . ⃗f ≡ + +
∂x ∂ y ∂z

The Divergence is nonzero if there are sources or sinks.

The Laplacian of a scalar function :

2 ⃗ ⃗
∇ f ≡∇ . ∇ f =∇ .
∂f ∂f ∂f
, ,
∂x ∂ y ∂z
= (
∂2 f ∂2 f ∂2 f
+ +
∂ x2 ∂ y2 ∂ z2 )
The Laplacian of a vector function is the same, but for each component of f:

∂2 f x ∂ 2 f x ∂ 2 f x ∂ 2 f y ∂ 2 f y ∂ 2 f y ∂ 2 f z ∂2 f z ∂2 f z
∇ ⃗f = 2 +
2
+ , + + , + +
∂x ∂ y2 ∂ z2 ∂ x2 ∂ y2 ∂ z2 ∂ x2 ∂ y2 ∂ z2

The Laplacian tells us the curvature of a vector function.

The Curl of a vector function f

∂f z ∂f y ∂f x ∂fz ∂f y ∂f x
∇ x ⃗f ≡ - , - , -
∂y ∂z ∂z ∂x ∂x ∂y

The curl can be treated as a matrix determinant:

∇ x ⃗f= ¿
[ ^
x {^
y ¿ {^
z ¿¿ ] [ ]
∂ ∂ ∂¿
∂x ∂y ∂z ¿ ¿
¿
Maxwell’s Equations and Free-Space Solutions

In this chapter, we review the physical principles associated with each of Maxwell’s
equations and illustrate the connection between electromagnetic phenomena and light

ρ ( r, t )
∇ . E ( r,t ) =
Gauss’s law from Coulomb’s law: εo (1.0a)
Gauss’s law states that the total electric field flux extruding through a closed surface S is
proportional to the net charge contained within it.

Gauss’s Law for magnetism from Biot-Savart: ∇ . B ( r,t ) =0 (1.0b)

The Gauss’s law for magnetic field implies that the total magnetic flux extruding through any
closed surface is zero (i.e. there will be as many field lines pointing inwards as pointing
outwards)
 ∇ x E ( r, t )=− ∂ B ( r,t )
Faraday’s Law: ∂t (1.0c)
Faraday showed that a change in magnetic flux through the area of a circuit loop induces an
electric field (usually detected by the current it causes in a wire loop)

B ( r,t )
∇ x =ε 0 ∂ E ( r, t ) + J ( r, t )
Ampère’s Law: μo ∂t (1.0d)
The charge inside a volume must decrease in time if we are to have a net current flowing out
of the volume, and the net current induces magnetic field. A changing electric field behaves
like a current in the sense that it produces magnetic fields.

Polarization of Materials

The current density can be decomposed into three categories.

  The first category is associated with charges that are free to move, such as electrons in
a metal. (Jfree).
 The second category is associated with effective currents inside individual atoms that
give rise to paramagnetic and diamagnetic effects. These are not important in optics
problems, and so we will ignore these types of currents.
 The third type of current occurs when molecules in a material become polarized (i.e.
elongate or orient as dipoles) in response to an applied electric field. (Jp).

Total current is given by

J = Jfree + Jp

The polarization current Jp is associated with a dipole distribution function P(r), called the
polarization (in units of dipoles per volume, or charge times length per volume).

Physically, if the dipoles change their orientation as a function of time in some coordinated
fashion, an effective current density results. (In a static P(r) no charges are moving, so there
is no current.)

∂P
J p=
∂t (1.1)

This local buildup of charge due to the polarization current obeys the continuity equation

∂ ρp
∇ . J p= -
∂t (1.2)
where p is the charge density created by variations in the polarization P(r) and is given by

ρ p= - ∇ . P (1.3)

Total charge density can be written as

 = free + p (1.4)

With (1.3) and (1.4), Gauss’s law (1.0a) becomes

 ρfree - ∇ . P
∇ . E=
εo (1.5)

For typical optics problems (involving neutral materials), we have free = 0.

In electrically neutral non-magnetic materials, Maxwell’s equations are

∇.P
∇ . E= -
Gauss’s Electric Law: εo (1.6a)
Gauss’s Magnetic Law: ∇ .B = 0 (1.6b)
∂B
∇ x E =−
Faraday’s Law: ∂t (1.6c)
∂E ∂P
∇ x B =ε 0 + + J free
Ampère’s Law: ∂ t ∂t (1.6d)

E(r, t) : electric field strength (V/m)

B(r, t) : magnetic field strength (A/m)
P(r, t) : polarization density (C/m2)
J(r, t) : current density (A/m3)
ρ(r, t) : electric charge density (C/m3)

where V is volts, A is amperes, and C is coulombs. The physical constants εoand μoare the
permittivity and permeability of vacuum, respectively. The values and units are

εo= 8.854187817 × 10−12(F/m).

μo= 4π × 10−7(H/m).

The Wave Equation ( Solution to Maxwell’s equation)

The wave equation of the electric field is derived by taking the curl of equation (1.6c).
 ∇ x ∇ x E ( r, t ) = −μ0 ∂ ( ∇ x B ( r,t ) )
∂t (1.7)

Then we eliminate B by substitution for  x B from (1.6d) to obtain the wave equation for
the electric field:
2 ∂J ∂2 P
∇ x ( ∇ x E ) + μ 0 ε 0 ∂ 2 E ( r,t ) = - μ0 free - μ 0 2
∂t ∂t ∂t (1.8)
Using the identity, × (× )=  (·) −2( ), and applying (1.6a), (1.8) becomes

2 ∂2 E ∂J free ∂2 P 1
∇ E −μ 0 ε 0 2 =μ 0 +μ0 2 - ∇ ( ∇ .P )
∂t ∂t ∂t ε 0 (1.9)

 The first term on the RHS (1.9) describes electric currents, which are important for
determining the reflection of light from a metallic surface or for determining the
propagation of light within a plasma.
 The second term on the RHS describes dipole oscillations, which behave similar to
currents. In a non-conducting optical material such as glass, the free current is zero,
∂2 P
2
but ∂ t is not zero, as the medium polarization responds to the light field. This
polarization current determines the refractive index of the material.
 The final term on the RHS is important in anisotropic media such as crystals. In this
case, the polarization P responds to the electric field along a direction not necessarily
parallel to E, due to the influence of the crystal lattice.

Ina vacuum,
2
∇ E ( r,t )= μ0 ε 0 ∂ 2 E ( r,t )
2
∂t (1.10)

This is a form of Helmholtz equation with a constant of proportionality being μ0 ε 0 .

The equation (1.9) also represents a linear wave equation whose monochromatic solution is
given by

E(r, t) = Eocos (ωt − kr) (1.10)

Or in complex terms equation (1.6) is given as

E(r , t )=E o ℓi (ω t - k r )

where k, E0, and  are the propagation constant, electric field amplitude at initial point and
radial oscillatory frequency respectively.

This is the equation of a plane wave whose phase fronts are constant in the plane
perpendicular to rand whose amplitude is likewise constant in that plane.

If a phase position is fixed along the wavefront as it propagates along r, ωt − kr = constant, it

is found that the phase front travels at phase velocity
vph= ω/k.
while the wavelength will be given by

 = 2/k.

The monochromatic electric-field solution (1.10) has a magnetic field counterpart.

B(r , t) =
√ ε0
μ0
k^ x E 0 cos( ωt - kr )
(1.11)
Substitution of the field equations (1.10) and (1.11) into Maxwell’s equations (1.6a-1.6d) for
vacuum yields
k × E = ωμoB (1.12a)
k ×B = −ωεoE (1.12b)
k·E=0 (1.12c)
k ·B = 0 (1.12d)

These equations show the relation of the electric and magnetic field oscillations with respect
to one another and with respect to the propagation direction k. The divergence equations for
the electric and magnetic fields (1.12c,d) show that there are no field components in the
direction of propagation. That is, the longitudinal field components are zero; only transverse
components exist. Both the electric and magnetic field oscillations are therefore
perpendicular to k. Moreover, the electric and magnetic field oscillations are mutually
perpendicular. Calculation of E ·B via (1.12a, b) results in

1
E. B = - 2
(k x B ).( k x E )
ω ε0 μ 0
(1.13)

Application of the vector relation a × b · c = a · b × c shows that E ·B= 0.

The vectors E and B are mutually perpendicular.

The wave is composed of a combination of mutually perpendicular electric E,and magnetic B

fields, and the direction of propagation of the wave k is at right angles to both field directions,
this is known as an TRANSVERSE WAVE (TEM)

Ex
Direction of Propagation k
x

z z
y
Hy

In every interference or diffraction phenomenon, the electric waves will mutually influence
each other in exactly the same way as the magnetic waves. In one respect, however, the
electric component plays a dominant part. Presumably the electric vector is the one that
affects the retina of the eye. In this sense, therefore, the electric wave is part that really
constitutes "light," and the magnetic wave, is less important.

The force on a charge, q, is:

where v is the charge velocity.

Thaking the ration of the magnitudes of the two forces:

F⃗ magnetic qvB
≤
F⃗ electric qE
,

Given that

Since B = E/c:

F⃗ magnetic v
≤
F⃗ electric c

So as long as a charge’s velocity is much less than the speed of light, we can neglect the light’s
magnetic force compared to its electric force.

1.2 Transverse nature of Light vibrations

Light has been proved to be exclusively a transverse wave motion, i.e., the vibrations are
always perpendicular to the direction of motion of the waves. No longitudinal waves of light
have ever been detected.

Light wave is an electromagnetic wave constituting of electric field, E, and magnetic field, B.
Electromagnetic wave is a plane-polarized monochromatic wave. If we consider that the
Lightwave is traveling along the x-direction, then the components of E and the B may for
such a wave be written
 Ey= A sin (t - kx) (1.14)

Bz= A sin (t - kx) (1.15)

j ( ωt - κ .r )
E = Eoℓ

E x ℓ j ( ωt - κ. z ) ^i + E y ℓ j ( ωt - κ . z ) ^j
=

E x cos ( ωt - κ . z ) ^i +E y cos ( ωt - κ .z ) ^j
=

For plane waves propagating in the positive z-direction

2π
κ=
λ ---- wave number
2π c
ω = 2π ν =
λ

Ex, Eyamplitude of the waves in the x and y directions.

The phase velocity

ωt - κ . z = constant
∂z ω ω
= μ0 = = c0
∂t κ κ

1 8
c= = 2 . 998 x 10
√ μ0 ε 0 m/s

Group velocity
Consider two plane waves Ex1and Ex2 propagating in the +ve z-direction

E x1= E0 cos [ ( ω0 + Δω ) t −( κ 0 + Δκ ) z ]

E x2= E0 cos [ ( ω0 −Δω ) t−( κ 0− Δκ ) z ]

The superposition of the waves (wavepacket) is given by

E = Ex 1 + Ex 2= 2E0 cos ( Δω t - Δκ z ) cos ( ω0 t - κ0 z )

Slowly
varying Rapid oscillation
( carrier

p g
Group Velocity

For a point of “constant phase”on the envelope

Δω t - Δκ z = constant
∂ z Δω
=
∂ t Δκ

∂ω c
= o

∂k n Group velocity

n – is the refractive index

Physical meaning of group velocity - speed at which energy (or information) in a wave packet
travels (no information carried by the phase velocity).

Maxwell was able to establish that electromagnetic waves possess the following properties:

1. The magnetic field oscillates in phase with the electric field. In other words, a wave
maximum of the magnetic field always coincides with a wave maximum of the electric
field in both time and space.
2. The electric field is always perpendicular to the magnetic field, and both fields are
directed at right-angles to the direction of propagation of the wave. In fact, the wave
propagates in the direction E x B. Electromagnetic waves are clearly a type of transverse
wave.
3. For a z-directed wave, the electric field is free to oscillate in anydirection which lies in
the x-y plane. The direction in which the electric field oscillates is conventionally termed
the direction of polarizationof the wave. Thus,⃗ E =⃗Eo cos ( ωt − ⃗k . r⃗ ) represent a plane
electromagnetic wave which propagates alongthe z-axis, and is polarized in the x-
direction.