UNIT-III( WAVE OPTICS)

INTERFERENCE
By
Dr. Kavita Segwal

by Dr. kavita Segwal 1

BASICS
• WAVES – disturbance in form of energy that travels from one point to
another without displacing particles of medium.
• wavefront- Locus of all points of a medium vibrating in same phase at
same instant of time.
2𝜋
• Phase difference= x path difference
𝜆
• Phase difference is difference between initial phase of two vibrating
particles or waves.
• Path difference is defined as difference in path travelled by two waves
to reach same point in same time.
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Coherence-
• Two waves are said to be coherent if they have same frequency and
constant phase over a large distance and time.
• Two types-spatial coherence & Temporal coherence
• Spatial coherence is a measure of correlation between the phases of
waves at different points transverse to direction of propagation.
• Temporal coherence is a measure of correlation between phases of
waves at different points along the direction of wave propagation.
• Coherence time and length- Time over which phases remain constant
is coherence time and length travelled during time is called coherence
length.
• 𝑙 = 𝜏 × 𝑐, where c is speed of light. 𝑙 is coherence length and 𝜏 is
coherent time.
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Principle of superposition-
• It states when two or more waves overlap then the resultant
displacement at any point can be found by addition of instantaneous
displacements of individual waves at that point.
Interference- The phenomenon of redistribution of light energy due to
superposition of light waves from two or more coherent sources is
called interference.
For constructive interference- path difference between interfering
waves is ∆= 𝑛𝜆.
For destructive interference - ∆= 2𝑛 + 1 𝜆/2.

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Conditions for sustained interference-
• Monochromatic source
• coherence
• path difference< 𝑙 (coherence length)
• If waves are plane polarized, there planes of polarization must be same.
Conditions for good interference pattern
• Monochromatic source
• coherence
• Dark background
• Narrow source
• Far screen
• The difference between maximum and minimum intensity should be as
large as possible.
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Types of Interference
• Interference due to division of wave front-
In this type- the incident wavefront is divided into two or more
wavefronts either by reflection, refraction or diffraction and then
reunite after travelling unequal distances to produce interference.
Example- YDSE, FRESNEL biprism, Lloyd’s mirror etc.
• Interference due to division of amplitude-
In this type- the incident amplitude or intensity is divided into two or
more parts by partial reflection and transmission and then reunite after
travelling unequal distances to produce interference. In such
interference, beam splitters or mirrors and a broad source are used.
Example- parallel thin films, wedge shaped films, Newton’s rings,
Michelson Interferometer etc.

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 𝑦
Path difference =S2P – S1P= d sin θ and sinθ= 𝐷
𝑦𝑑
So path difference = 𝐷
𝑦𝑑
For maxima or bright fringe, 𝐷 = 𝑛𝜆 where y is the width of nth fringes
𝜆𝐷
So fringe width, β = y/n= 𝑑 .
Similarly for dark fringe, ∆= 2𝑛 + 1 𝜆/2.
𝜆𝐷
Again fringe width comes, β= . i.e., the same.
𝑑

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• Intensity distribution
Let Y1 and Y2 be displacements of two wave trains. Then resultant displacement be Y= Y1+Y2 ( from
principle of superposition)

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Fresnel’s Biprism: Based on division of
wavefront
• It is considered as a prism made of two right-angled prisms joined
from base to base with angle of vertex 179° and angle of biprism
30’ each.

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 𝜆𝐷 𝜆(𝑎+𝑏)
β= =
𝑑 𝑑

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Application: Determination of wavelength of light
𝜆𝐷 𝜆(𝑎+𝑏)
β= =
𝑑 𝑑

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Lateral shift:
• Relative shift in fringe pattern with the movement of eye piece is
called lateral shift.
• This happens when the experimental axis and axis of optical bench
are not aligned.

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Determination of d:
• Deviation method:
• Displacement method

In deviation method: we calculate d by using deviation through prism as

δ =(μ-1) α
Total deviation produced is 2δ= 2(μ-1) α
So d= 2aδ= 2a(μ-1) α

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 Displacement method:

M1=-v/u=d1/d

M2= -u/v=d2/d

For conjugate
positions

M1x M2=1

d=sqrt (d1xd2)

𝑑= 𝑑1 𝑑2

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Conceptual Problems:

• What is the effect of increasing the angle of Biprism on fringes?

• What is the effect of increasing slit width on Fresnel fringes?
• How to locate central fringe in Biprism experiment?
• Interference with white light?
• Path difference introduced when a sheet is introduced in path of light= 𝜇 − 1 𝑡

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