Lecture 3: Observational Avenues in Interference

1 Newton’s Ring

Newton’s rings are a particular example of interference fringes formed by thin films. By placing
plano-convex lens on a plane glass plate, a film of gradually increasing thickness from the point
of contact O can be formed as shown in Figure 1. If it is illuminated by a monochromatic light,
interference fringes in the form of concentric circular rings can be observed. These rings are
known as “Newton’s rings”. These fringes are the loci of points of equal film thickness.

Figure 1: Set up for the Newton’s ring experiment.

Conditions for interference fringe pattern: As shown in Figure 1, the incident light
ray falls normally along P QR and partially reflects back from R. The transmitted part gets
reflected back from S from the upper surface of the glass plate G2 and superposed with the
ray that is reflected from R. As a result the path difference between the two rays becomes 2d,
where d is the width of variable air film at that point. But the transmitted ray is reflected back
by a denser medium. Hence the optical path difference should be
λ
∆ = 2d ± . (1)
2
Hence, the condition for the formation of bright fringes is given by
λ λ
2d ± = 2n ×
2 2

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λ
=⇒ 2d = (2n ± 1) , (2)
2
where, n is a positive integer. Similarly, the condition for the formation of dark fringes becomes
 
λ
2d = 2n , (3)
2

where, n is again a positive integer. Therefore, if the width of the air film is even multiple of
λ/2, then it will form dark fringes, while if the width of the film is an odd multiple of λ/2, then
it will form bright fringes.

Radius of concentric fringes: A fringe of order m will be along the loci of the points
of equal thickness d and hence the fringes will be circular in nature. From the geometry of
Figure 1, we have CR = R, where R is the radius of curvature of the lens and C is the centre of
the circle, depicted on the right side of Figure 1. Also we have CD = R − d. Let the radius of
the mth order bright/dark fringe be rm . So, we have DR = rm . Now from the triangle ∆CDR,
we have

R2 = (R − d)2 + rm
2

=⇒ R2 − (R − d)2 = rm
2

2
=⇒ rm = d(2R − d) ≈ 2Rd [as R  d] . (4)

Hence, the radius of the mth order bright and dark fringe is given by
r
bright (2m ± 1)λR
rm = ; (5)
2
2mλR √
r
dark
rm = = mλR . (6)
2

Fringe width of Newton’s ring: Usually, we express the fringe width of Newton’s ring in
terms of the diameter of the ring. Let the diameter of the mth order fringe be Dm . Then the
fringe width is given by

λR
2
rm+1 − 2
rm ×2 λR
βm = rm+1 − rm = ≈ 2 = . (7)
rm+1 + rm 2rm Dm

Nature of the central fringe: For central fringe, there is no air gap i.e., d = 0. Hence the
order number of the fringe is n = 0. This reflects the fact that the central fringe will be dark
in nature.

Replacing with a medium of refractive index µ: If we replace the air medium present in
the gap between plano-convex lens and the glass, by some other material with refractive index

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µ (less than the refractive index of the glass) then the optical path difference will become 2µd.
Thus the radius of the mth order fringe will be
s
bright (2m + 1)λR
rm = ; (8)
2µ
s
dark mλR
rm = . (9)
µ

And this change in the radius of the fringes will also cause a change in the fringe width, which
is given by,

λR
βm = . (10)
µDm

Applications: As discussed earlier, changing the material of the gap between plano-convex
lens and the glass, changes the fringe width. Hence by measuring the fringe width for different
materials we can determine their refractive indices. Wavelength of a monochromatic light ray
can also be determined by performing the Newton’s ring experiment.

2 Michelson Interferometer

The Michelson interferometer is an amplitude division class of interferometer i.e., the interfer-
ence pattern is observed due to the division of the amplitude of the incident light, which are
made to interfere later. This interferometer is an arrangement of mirrors and beam splitters,
see Figure 2. There are two mirrors M1 and M2 in this set up, out of which the mirror M2
can move. The light ray is reflected from A travels through the glass thrice before reaching the
screen. So, another glass slab C is often introduced in order to compensate for the additional
path length along M2 .

Figure 2: Michelson interferometer set up.

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Here the path difference is given by ∆ = 2d cos θ (see Figure 3). If the bean splitter is an
uncoated slab of glass, then the ray to mirror M2 gets reflected from denser to rarer medium,
while the ray from mirror M1 is reflected from rarer to denser medium. Thus there will a phase
difference of π and the condition of destructive interference will be 2d cos θ being some integral
multiple of λ. On the other hand, if the bean splitter has some coating on its one side, then
both the reflections are from rarer to denser medium and hence no relative phase difference
exists. Thus for constructive interference we have the following condition

2d cos θ = mλ . (11)

where m is an integer. For a fixed value of the angle, the fringes form a circle and hence

Figure 3: Diagrammatic representation of the formation of circular fringes.

concentric fringes are concentric circles in this case. The two sources S1 and S2 , which are
co-linear, combine to give total intensity at P . Thus for constructive interference, we obtain
(recall the computation in the first lecture),
p p
x2 + y 2 + (D + d)2 − x2 + y 2 + (D − d)2 = 2m (λ/2) = mλ
p
=⇒ x2 + y 2 + (D + d)2 = m2 λ2 + x2 + y 2 + (D − d)2 + 2mλ x2 + y 2 + (D − d)2
p
=⇒ 2mλ x2 + y 2 + (D − d)2 = 4Dd − m2 λ2
2 2 2 2 (4Dd − m2 λ2 )2 4D2 d2 m2 λ2
=⇒ x + y + D + d − 2Dd = = 2 2 − 2Dd +
4m2 λ2  mλ 4
2 2 2
  
4d m λ
=⇒ x2 + y 2 = D2 −1 + − d2
m2 λ2 4
m2 λ2 4d2
  
2 2 2
=⇒ x + y = D − −1
4 m2 λ2
4d2
 
2 2 2
=⇒ x + y ≈ D −1 [as D2  m2 λ2 /4]
m2 λ2
s
4d2

bright
=⇒ rm =D −1 . (12)
m 2 λ2

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For dark fringes to be formed, the path difference should be (m + 1/2)λ. Thus the radius of
the dark circular fringes is given by
v" #
u
u 4d 2
dark
rm = Dt
2 − 1 . (13)
m + 21 λ2

3 Applications of Michelson Interferometer

1. Finding wavelength of a monochromatic light: For Michelson interferometer, shift-
ing the movable mirror causes a shift in the fringe position. If we move the mirror by a
distance d, and as a result m number of fringes passes the cross-wire. Then we have,
2d = mλ [here, θ ≈ 0] . (14)
As we can measure m and the amount of distance the mirror got shifted, we can easily
calculate the wavelength of the light ray.
2. Determination of small difference in wavelength: In case of a not-so-pure monochro-
matic light source, Michelson’s interferometer can be used to determine the small differ-
ence in the wavelength. If the maxima of one wavelength coincides with the minima of
the other, then the fringes will be indistinct (known as disonance). While, if the max-
ima of one falls on the maxima of the other, then the fringes become distinct (known as
consonance).
Let us shift the mirror by a distance d, such that they move from one consonance to
another through disonance. Let the position of the mirror before and after the shift, be
x1 and x2 respectively. Thus d = x2 − x1 . Further, suppose before the shift of the mirror,
the mth th
1 order fringe of one wavelength λ1 matches with m2 order fringe of the other
th
wavelength λ2 . Similarly after the shift, the n1 order fringe of one wavelength matches
with the nth
2 order fringe of the other wavelength. Then we have,

2x1 = m1 λ1 = m2 λ2 , (15)
2x2 = n1 λ1 = n2 λ2 . (16)
This yields,
2d ≡ 2(x2 − x1 ) = ∆mλ1 = ∆nλ2 , (17)
where ∆m = n1 − m1 and ∆n = n2 − m2 . As discussed before, the transition from one
consnance to another requires, ∆n = ∆m + 1 and this leads to,
2d 2d
− =1
λ2 λ1
2d
=⇒ ∆λ = 1
λ1 λ2
λ2
=⇒ ∆λ = , (18)
2d
where, we have assumed λ1 ≈ λ2 = λ.

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3. Refractive index and thickness of a film: To determine the refractive index or the
thickness of a thin film, the film is placed in the path of the interfering rays. As a result
an extra (µ − 1)t optical path difference will be introduced, where µ is the refractive index
of the film and t is its thickness. This in turn causes a shift of the central fringe, which
is again made coincident with the cross wire by moving the mirror M2 by a distance d.
In that case (assuming θ ∼ 0), we have,
2d = 2(µ − 1)t
=⇒ d = (µ − 1)t . (19)
So if we have the information of either the refractive index or the thickness of the film,
then the other one can be easily determined.

4 Fabry-Perot Interferometer

The Fabry-Perot interferometer is a high resolving power interferometer. It creates fringes of

equal inclination that are produced by the transmitted light rays after multiple reflection in an
air gap between two parallel reflecting glass plates. This interferometer consists of two glass
slabs ABCD and EF GH. The part of the mirrors AB and EF are silver-coated and parallel
to each other (see Figure 4). However, parts of the individual glass slabs are not parallel, for
example, AB and CD are not parallel. Similarly EF and HG are also not parallel. This is
made so to keep away the stray light from multiple reflections within the slab itself. There is an
air film between AB and EF of width d. So, after multiple reflection when the transmitted rays
get superposed, they develop a path difference of 2d cos θ, where θ is the angle made by the ray
at the air film (see Figure 4). This is like the amplitude division class of interference. Suppose

Figure 4: Set up of Fabry-Perot interferometer.

the amplitude of the incident wave with angle of incidence θ be A. Let r and r0 be the reflection
coefficients for the waves reflected from the outer and inner surfaces respectively. Similarly, let
t and t0 be the transmission coefficients for the waves transmitted inside and outside the film
respectively. Then from Stoke’s theorem, we have
r = −r0 , (20)

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r2 = 1 − tt0 . (21)

Therefore, the amplitudes of the first, second, third, . . . transmitted rays will be Att0 , Att0 r02 eiδ ,
Att0 r04 e2iδ , · · · , respectively where δ is the phase difference between two successive rays. The
phase difference δ is given by
2π
δ= × 2d cos θ . (22)
λ
If the angle of incidence is small then there will be large number of transmitted waves and the
resultant amplitude of the transmitted rays will be

AT = Att0 (1 + r02 eiδ + r04 e2iδ + · · · )

1
= A × (1 − r2 ) × 2 eiδ
[As, tt0 = 1 − r2 , r = −r0 ]
1 − r
1 − r2
 
=A . (23)
1 − r2 eiδ
Hence, the resultant intensity of the transmitted wave is,
(1 − r2 )2
IT = |AT |2 = |A|2
(1 + r4 ) − 2r2 cos δ
( )
(1 − r2 )2
=I
(1 − r2 )2 + 4r2 sin2 2δ


 −1
4r2

2 δ
=I 1+ sin , (24)
(1 − r2 )2 2

where, I = |A|2 is the intensity of the incident light. For notational convenience, let us define
F ≡ {4r2 /(1 − r2 )2 }, which yields,
  −1
IT 2 δ
= 1 + F sin (25)
I 2
It is evident that the resultant intensity varies with the phase difference. When phase difference
is integral multiple of 2π, we have maximum intensity, given by (IT /I)max = 1. As a special
case, let us define the phase difference to be δ1/2 , when we have IT = (I/2). Thus δ1/2 reads,
1 1
=  
2 1 + F sin 2 δ1/2
2
 
δ1/2
=⇒ F sin2 =1
2
 
−1 1
=⇒ δ1/2 = 2 sin √ . (26)
F
On the other hand, if the phase difference is an odd integer multiple of π, then we have the
minimum intensity of the transmitted light, given by
2
1 − r2
  
IT 1
= = . (27)
I min (1 + F ) 1 + r2

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In this context, we can define the visibility (V ) of the fringes as,

(IT /I)max − (IT /I)min
V =
(IT /I)max + (IT /I)min
1
1−
= 1+F = F
1 2+F
1+
1+F
4r2 2r2
= = . (28)
2(1 − r2 )2 + 4r2 1 + r4

5 Applications of the Fabry-Perot Interferometer

1. Comparison of wavelength: Suppose the light source used in the interferometer, con-
tains two closely spaced wavelengths λ1 and λ2 respectively. Then the interferometer
is adjusted, such that the maxima of one wavelength coincides with the maxima of the
other wavelength. Suppose, when the width of the air gap is d1 and mth 1 order fringe of
wavelength λ1 coincides with the mth
2 order fringe of the wavelength λ2 This yields,
.

2d1 = m1 λ1 = m2 λ2 . (29)

Suppose, the width of the gap is increased to d2 from d1 such that the coincidence of the
maxima is achieved again. So, now let (m1 + p)th order fringe of wavelength λ1 coincides
with the (m2 + p + 1)th order fringe of the wavelength λ2 . Hence

2d2 = (m1 + p)λ1 = (m2 + p + 1)λ2 . (30)

Comparing the above two equations, we obtain,

2(d2 − d1 ) = pλ1 = (p + 1)λ2

2(d2 − d1 ) 2(d2 − d1 )
=⇒ − =1
λ2 λ1
λ1 λ2
=⇒ ∆λ = . (31)
2(d2 − d1 )
This result can be used to calculate the small separation of two closely spaced wavelength.
2. Wavelength measurement: To calculate the wavelength of the light source producing
the interference patter, the interferometer is adjusted in order to have a bright fringe at
the centre. Let the width of the air gap be d1 at this moment. Then suppose the air gap
is changed to d2 so that the bright fringe reappear at the centre. Let this change in width
of the air gap causes N numbers of fringe shift. Then

2(d1 − d2 ) = N λ . (32)

Here cos θ = 1, as we are using the central fringe . Therefore having the knowledge of
(d1 − d2 ) and N , we can determine the wavelength λ of the light being emitted from the
source.

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3. Study of hyperfine structure: As Fabry-Perot interferometer has high resolving power,

so it can be used to determine the hyperfine structure of spectral lines. Suppose λ1 is the
main line and λ1 − ∆λ is the satellite line. Then,

2d cos θ1 = mλ1 ,
2d cos θ2 = (m − 1)λ1 [for next bright fringe] .

But, suppose (m − 1)th order fringe of wavelength λ1 coincides with mth order fringe of
wavelength λ1 − ∆λ. Then,

2d cos θ2 = m(λ1 − ∆λ) . (33)

Hence, we have

λ1 = m∆λ ,
λ1 λ21 λ2
=⇒ ∆λ = = ≈ 1 . (34)
m 2d cos θ1 2d
Thus, if we have the information about d and λ1 then the wavelength difference ∆λ can
be easily determined.