Diffraction

Topics
▪ Diffraction and wave theory of light
▪ Single-slit diffraction
▪ Intensity in single-slit diffraction
▪ Diffraction at a circular aperture
▪ Double-slit interference and diffraction
combined
▪ Multiple slits
▪ Diffraction gratings
▪ Dispersion and resolving power
▪ X-ray diffraction
Text Book:
PHYSICS VOL 2 by Halliday, Resnick and Krane (5th Edition)
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 1
 DIFFRACTION AND WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT
The phenomenon of bending of light around the edges of
obstacles or slits, and hence its encroachment into the
region of geometrical shadow is known as diffraction.
For diffraction effects to be noticeable, the size of the
object causing diffraction should have dimensions
comparable to the wavelength of light falling on the
object.

Diffraction pattern of razor blade viewed

in monochromatic light

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 2

 DIFFRACTION AND WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT

Diffraction pattern occurs

when coherent wave-fronts of
light fall on opaque barrier B,
which contains an aperture of
arbitrary shape. The
diffraction pattern can be
seen on screen C.
When C is very close to B a
geometric shadow is observed
because the diffraction effects
are negligible.

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 3

 DIFFRACTION AND WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT
Both the incident and emergent
wave-fronts are plane (the rays
are parallel) i.e., both the source
and the screen are effectively at
infinite distances, from the
aperture causing diffraction.
Fraunhofer diffraction is a special
limiting case of the more general
Fresnel diffraction.
In laboratory Fraunhofer
diffraction is realized by using
converging lenses for conversion
of spherical wavefront into plane
wavefront and vice versa.
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 4
 DIFFRACTION AND WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT

The incident wave fronts are

spherical or cylindrical. i.e.,
the source of light is at a
finite distance from the
diffracting aperture. The
screen on which the
diffraction pattern is
displayed is also at a finite
distance from the diffracting
aperture.

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 5

Diffraction
◼ The results of the
single slit cannot be
explained by
geometrical optics
◼ Geometrical optics
would say that light
rays traveling in
straight lines should
cast a sharp image of
the slit on the screen
 Huygen’s Principle
•Any wave (including electromagnetic waves) is able to propagate
because the wave here affects nearby points there
•In a sense, the wave is the source for more of the wave
•A wave here creates waves in all the forward directions
•For a plane wave, the generated waves add up to make more plane
waves

•Mathematically, this works, but for

plane waves, no one does it this way
 SINGLE-SLIT DIFFRACTION
All the diffracted rays
arriving at P0 are in-
phase.
Hence they interfere
constructively and
produce maximum
(central maximum) of
intensity I0 at P0.

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 8

 SINGLE-SLIT DIFFRACTION
At point P1,
path difference between
r1 and r2 is
(a/2) sin

So the condition for first minimum,

a 
sin  =
2 2
or a sin  = 
This is satisfied for every pair of rays, one of which is from upper
half of the slit and the other is a corresponding ray from lower
halfMIT-ofMANIPAL
the slit. BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 9
 SINGLE-SLIT DIFFRACTION
At point P2,
path difference between
r1 and r2 is (a/4) sin

So the condition for second minimum,

a 
sin  = or a sin  = 2
4 2
This is satisfied for every pair of rays, separated by a distance a/4.
In general, the condition for mTH minima,
a sin  = m m =  1,  2,  3, . . .
There is a secondary maximum approximately half way between
each adjacent pair of minima.
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 10
QUICK QUIZ 24.1

In a single-slit diffraction experiment, as

the width of the slit is made smaller, the
width of the central maximum of the
diffraction pattern becomes (a) smaller,
(b) larger, or (c) remains the same.
 SINGLE-SLIT DIFFRACTION
Problem: SP42-1

A slit of width a is illuminated by white light. For what value

of a does the minimum for red light ( = 650nm) fall at  =
15o?

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 12

 SINGLE-SLIT DIFFRACTION
Problem: SP42-2

In SP41-1, what is the wavelength ’ of the light whose first

diffraction maximum (not counting the central maximum)
falls at 15o, thus coinciding with the first minimum of red
light?

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 13

 SINGLE-SLIT DIFFRACTION
Problem: E42-5

A single slit is illuminated by light whose wavelengths are

a and b, so chosen that the first diffraction minimum of
a component coincides with the second minimum of the
b component.
(a) What is the relationship between the two
wavelengths?
(b) Do any other minima in the two patterns coincide?

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 14

 INTENSITY IN SINGLE – SLIT DIFFRACTION
• Aim is to find an expression for the intensity of the entire
pattern as a function of the diffraction angle.
• The phase difference between two waves arriving at point
P from two points on the slit (with separation x) is,

2
 = x sin 


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 INTENSITY IN SINGLE – SLIT DIFFRACTION

Phasor showing
a) Central maximum
b) A direction slightly shifted
from central maximum
c) First minimum
d) First maximum beyond the
central maximum
(corresponds to N = 18)
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 16
 INTENSITY IN SINGLE – SLIT DIFFRACTION
From diagram,

E  = 2R sin
2
Em
Also  =
R
Combining,
Em 
E = sin
 2
2
sin 
Or, E  = Em


where  =
MIT- MANIPAL 2 BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 17
 INTENSITY IN SINGLE – SLIT DIFFRACTION

 is the phase difference

between rays from the top
and bottom of the slit.
So we can write,
2
= a sin 

 a
So,  = = sin 
2 

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 18

 INTENSITY IN SINGLE – SLIT DIFFRACTION
2
2  sin  
The intensity    E 2 = Em  
  
2
 sin  
 = m   where  m  Em is the max. intensity
2

  
From the above eqn., for minima, sin = 0
  = m where m = 1,2,3,.....
or, a sin  = m where m = 1,2,3,.....

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 19

 INTENSITY IN SINGLE – SLIT DIFFRACTION

The intensity distribution in

single-slit diffraction for three
different values of the ratio a/
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 20
 INTENSITY IN SINGLE – SLIT DIFFRACTION

Problem: SP42-3

Calculate, approximately, the relative intensities of the

maxima in the single slit Fraunhofer diffraction pattern.

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 21

 INTENSITY IN SINGLE – SLIT DIFFRACTION

Problem: SP42-4

Find the width  of the central maximum in a single slit

Fraunhofer diffraction. The width can be represented as the
angle between the two points in the pattern where the
intensity is one-half that at the center of the pattern.

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 22

 INTENSITY IN SINGLE – SLIT DIFFRACTION

Problem: E42-11

Monochromatic light with wavelength 538 nm falls on a slit

with width 25.2m. The distance from the slit to a screen is
3.48m. Consider a point on the screen 1.13cm from the
central maximum. Calculate (a)  (b)  (c) ratio of the
intensity at this point to the intensity at the central
maximum.

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 23

 DIFFRACTION AT A CIRCULAR APERTURE

DIFFRACTION PATTERN DUE TO A CIRCULAR APERTURE

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 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

sin  = 1.22
d
where d is the diameter of aperture.
The equation for first minimum in single slit diffraction is

sin  =
a
where a is the slit width
In case of circular aperture, the factor 1.22 arises when we divide the
aperture into elementary Huygens sources and integrate over the
aperture.
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 DIFFRACTION AT A CIRCULAR APERTURE
Raleigh’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.
  R is the smallest angular
R = sin−11.22 
 d
separation for which we
since R is very small, it can be appoximated as
can resolve the images of

R = 1.22 two objects.
d

a. Well resolved
b. Just resolved
c. not resolved

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 26

 Sample problem
If the pupil of your eye in good light is 2 mm in diameter, what’s
the smallest angle you can see using 500 nm visible light?

1.22 1.22  5 10−7 m

min  = = 3.05  10 −4
rad = 1 arc-min
D 2 10−3 m

•A degree is 1/360 of a circle, an arc-minute is 1/60 of

a degree, an arc-second is 1/60 of an arc minute
•Telescopes require large apertures to see small angles
 DIFFRACTION AT A CIRCULAR APERTURE

Problem: SP42-5

A converging lens 32mm in diameter has a focal length f of 24

cm. (a) What angular separation must two distant point
objects have to satisfy Rayleigh’s criterion? Assume that  =
550nm. (b) How far apart are the centers of the diffraction
patterns in the focal plane of the lens?

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 28

 DIFFRACTION AT A CIRCULAR APERTURE

Problem: E42-21

The painting contains small dots (2 mm

in diameter) of pure pigment, as indicated
in figure. The illusion of colour mixing
occurs because the pupils of the
observer’s eyes diffract light entering
them. Calculate the minimum distance an
observer must stand from painting to
achieve the desired blending of colour.
(wavelength = 475nm, diameter of pupil =
4.4mm)

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 29

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 30

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

Interference

I  , INT = I m, INT (cos β)

2

Diffraction
 sin α 
2

I , DIF =  m, DIF  α 
 

Interference + Diffraction
2
 sin α 
I = m (cos ) 2
 
 α 
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 31
DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

Each of the two slits is divided into N zones. Electric field at P is

found by adding the phasors. There is phase difference of  =
/N between each of the N phasors where  is the phase
difference between1st phasor and Nth phasor.
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 32
DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

Adding all the phasors, we get the resultant E1 due to the first slit.
 is the phase difference between the light waves at the point P,
emitted from bottom edge of the first slit and top edge of the
second slit. E2 is the resultant due to the second slit. E is the
resultant
MIT- MANIPAL
of E1 and E2. BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 33
DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED
From the figure,

E  = 2E1 sin
2
 
where +  + +  = 
2 2
or  =  − (  + )
  +  +
Also sin = sin −  = cos  .........( A )
2 2 2   2 
 
and = (d − a) sin 
2 
 a
Adding = sin  to both sides of above eqn, we get,
2 
+ 
= d sin  which is 
2 
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 34
DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED
Substituting this in eqn( A ), we get,

sin = cos
2
From sin gle − slit diffraction, we have ,
the electric amplitude at P due to one slit,
 sin  
E1 = Em  
  
  sin  
 E  = 2E1 sin ie, E  = (2Em )  cos
2   
2
 sin  
   =  m (cos)2  
  
DOUBLE-SLIT
SINGLE-SLIT DIFFRACTION
INTERFERENCE PATTERN
PATTERN
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 35
DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

Problem: SP42- 6

Ina double slit experiment, the distance D of the screen

from the slits is 52cm, the wavelength is 480nm, slit
separation d is 0.12mm and the slit width a is 0.025mm.
a) What is the spacing between adjacent fringes?
b) What is the distance from the central maximum to the
first minimum of the fringe envelope?

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 36

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

Problem: SP42- 7

What requirements must be met for the central maximum

of the envelope of the double-slit interference pattern to
contain exactly 11 fringes?

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 37

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION COMBINED

Problem: E42-29

(a) How many complete fringes appear between the first

minima of the fringe envelope on either side of the central
maximum for a double-slit pattern if  = 557 nm, d = 0.150
mm, and a = 0.030 mm? (b) What is the ratio of the intensity
of the third fringe to the side of the center to that of the
central fringe?

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 38

MULTIPLE SLITS

Multiple slit arrangement

will be the interference
pattern multiplied by the
single slit diffraction
envelope. This assumes
that all the slits are
identical.

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 39

MULTIPLE SLITS

Condition for principal

maxima,
d sin  = m 
where d is the
separation between
adjacent slits.
Location of principal
maxima is independent
of number of slits.
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 40
MULTIPLE SLITS

Intensity pattern for No. of minima between two principal maxima = N-1
(a) Two-slit diffraction No. of secondary maxima between two principal
maxima = N-2
(b) Five-slit diffraction
(diffraction effect is
neglected)

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 41

MULTIPLE SLITS
Width of the maxima: Central maximum
▪ The pattern contains central maximum with minima on either side.
▪ At the location of central maximum, the phase difference between
the waves from the adjacent slits is zero.
▪ At minima, the phase difference is such that,
2
 = where N is the number of slits
N
If N = 2 ΔФ=π Eϴ = 0
N= 3 Δ Ф = 120

N=4 Δ Ф = 90o

▪ Corresponding path difference is,

   
L =   =
 2  N
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 42
MULTIPLE SLITS

Width of the maxima: Central maximum

   
L =   =
 2  N
▪ Also we know,
L = d sin 0
 From the equation, for given  and
= d sin 0
N d if we increase number of slits (N),
 then the angular width of principal
sin 0 =
Nd maximum decreases. ie the
 principal maximum becomes
0  sharper.
MIT- MANIPAL Nd BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 43
MULTIPLE SLITS
Width of the maxima: Other principal maxima

For the mth principal

maximum at  by a
grating: d sin = m .
For the first minimum
at  +  after the mth
principal maximum

λ
d sin(θ + θ) = mλ +
N
MINIMUM AT θ
+θ

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 mth PRINCIPAL 44

MAXIMUM AT θ
MULTIPLE SLITS
Width of the maxima: Other principal maxima
λ
d sin(θ + θ) = mλ +
N
  
d sin  cos
  + cos  sin
  = m +
 1   N
d  + (d cos) 
sin = m +  N

m + (d cos)  = m +  N

 = ANGULAR HALF WIDTH OF mTH
N d cos  PRINCIPAL MAXIMUM AT 

The principal maximum become sharper as

MINIMUM AT θ
number of slits (N) increases +θ

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 mth PRINCIPAL 45

MAXIMUM AT θ
MULTIPLE SLITS

Problem: SP43- 1

A certain grating has 104 slits with a spacing of d = 2100 nm.

It is illuminated with yellow sodium light ( = 589 nm). Find
(a) the angular position of all principal maxima observed
and (b) the angular width of the largest order maximum.

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 46

MULTIPLE SLITS

Problem: E43- 3

With light from a gaseous discharge tube incident normally on a

grating with a distance 1.73 m between adjacent slit centers, a
green line appears with sharp maxima at measured transmission
angles  = 17.6, 37.3, -37.1, 65.2 and -65.0. Compute
wavelength of the green line that best fits the data.

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 47

MULTIPLE SLITS

Problem: E43-5

Light of wavelength 600 nm is incident normally on a

diffraction grating. Two adjacent principal maxima occur at sin
 = 0.20 and sin  = 0.30. The fourth order is missing. (a) what
is the separation between adjacent slits? (b) what is the
smallest possible individual slit width? (c) Name all orders
actually appearing on the screen with the values derived in (a)
and (b).

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 48

DIFFRACTION GRATINGS
▪ The diffraction grating, a useful device for
analyzing light sources, consists of a large number
of equally spaced parallel slits.
▪ 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 cut into the material
is diffuse.

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 49

DIFFRACTION GRATINGS

Grating spectrometer

m=0 m=1 m=2 m=3

Sample spectra of visible light emitted by a gaseous source

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 50

DIFFRACTION GRATINGS

Problem: SP43-2

A diffraction grating has 1.20 x 104 rulings uniformly

spaced over W= 2.50cm. It is illuminated at normal
incidence by yellow light from sodium vapor lamp which
contains two closely spaced lines of wavelengths 589.0nm
and 589.59nm. (a) At what angle will the first order
maximum occur for the first of these wavelengths? (b)
What is the angular separation between the first order
maxima of these lines? (c) How close in wavelength can
two lines be (in first order) and still be resolved by this
grating? (d) How many rulings can a grating have and just
resolve the sodium doublet lines?

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 51

DIFFRACTION GRATINGS

Problem: E43-9

Given a grating with 400 rulings/mm, how many orders of

the entire visible spectrum (400-700nm) can be produced?

A grating has 315 rulings / mm. For what wavelengths in the

visible spectrum can fifth-order diffraction be observed?

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 52

DIFFRACTION GRATINGS

Problem: E43-11

White light (400 nm <  < 700 nm) is incident on a grating .

Show that, no matter what the value of the grating spacing d,
the second- and third-order spectra overlap.

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 53

 DISPERSION AND RESOLVING POWER

The ability of a grating to produce spectra that permit precise

measurement of wavelengths is determined by two intrinsic
properties of the grating, (1) Dispersion (2) Resolving power
Dispersion
Dispersion is useful quantity in distinguishing wavelengths that are
close to each other, a grating must spread apart the diffraction lines
associated with the various wavelengths.
Angular separation between spectral lines
Dispersion=
Difference between wavelength of spectral lines
Δθ
D =
Δλ
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 54
DISPERSION AND RESOLVING POWER
Dispersion
Δθ
D =
Δλ
d sin = m 
Differentiating the above equation,
d cos   = m 

Δθ m
D= =
Δλ d cos θ
To achieve higher dispersion we must use a grating of smaller
grating spacing and work in higher order m .

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 55

DISPERSION AND RESOLVING POWER
Resolving power
Ability of the grating to resolve two nearby spectral lines so that
the two Lines can be viewed or photographed as separate lines.
To resolve lines whose wavelengths are close together, the lines
should be as narrow as possible.
For two close spectral lines of wavelength 1 and 2, just
resolved by the grating, the resolving power is defined as

 1 +  2
R=  = 1 − 2 =
 2

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 56

DISPERSION AND RESOLVING POWER
Resolving power
We have,
Δθ m 
D= =  =
Δλ d cos θ N d cos 
Putting second equation in first equation,

  
 
 N d cos   =
m
 d cos 

R= = Nm

Resolving power increases with increasing N
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 57
DISPERSION AND RESOLVING POWER Intensity patterns of two close
lines due to three gratings A, B, C.
Resolving power
N = 5,000
d = 10 m
R = 5,000
D = 1.0 x 10-4 rad/m

N = 5,000
d = 5 m
R = 5,000
D = 2.0 x 10-4 rad/m

N = 10,000
d = 10 m
R = 10,000
D = 1.0 x 10-4 rad/m

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 58

DISPERSION AND RESOLVING POWER
Problem: SP43-3

A grating has 9600 lines uniformly spaced over a width

3cm and is illuminated by mercury light.
a) What is the expected dispersion in the third order, in
the vicinity of intense green line ( = 546nm)?
b) What is the resolving power of this grating in the fifth
order?

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 59

DISPERSION AND RESOLVING POWER
Problem: SP43-4

A diffraction grating has 1.20 X 104 rulings uniformly spaced

over a width W = 2.50cm. It is illuminated at normal
incidence by yellow light from a sodium vapor lamp. This
light contains two closely spaced lines of wavelengths 589.0
nm and 589.59 nm. (a) At what angle does the first
maximum occur for the first of these wavelengths? (b) What
is the angular separation between these two lines (1st
order)? (c) How close in wavelength can two lines be (in first
order) and still be resolved by this grating? (d) How many
rulings can a grating have and just resolve the sodium
doublet line?
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DISPERSION AND RESOLVING POWER
Problem: E43-17

The sodium doublet in the spectrum of sodium is s pair of

lines with wavelengths 589.0 and 589.6 nm. Calculate the
minimum number of rulings in a grating needed to resolve
this doublet in the second-order spectrum.

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DISPERSION AND RESOLVING POWER
Problem: E43-21

In a particular grating, the sodium doublet is viewed in

third order at 10.2 to the normal and is barely resolved.
Find (a) the ruling spacing and (b) the total width of
grating.

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X-RAY DIFFRACTION

For the observation of diffraction phenomenon by grating, the

grating space should have the dimension of the wavelength of
the wave diffracted. Since the x-ray wavelength and the inter-
planar spacing in crystals are of the same order, a crystal can be
a suitable grating for observing the diffraction of x-rays.

x-ray diffraction
producing Laue’s
pattern
X-ray tube
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 63
 X-RAY DIFFRACTION
▪ When a monoenergetic x-ray beam is
incident on a sample of a single crystal,
diffraction occurs resulting in a pattern
consisting of an array of symmetrically
arranged diffraction spots, called Laue’s
spots.
▪ The single crystal acts like a grating
with a grating constant comparable
with the wavelength of x-rays, making A Laue pattern of a
the diffraction pattern distinctly visible. single crystal.
▪ Since the diffraction pattern is decided Each dot
by the crystal structure, the study of represents a
the diffraction pattern helps in the point of
analysis of the crystal parameters. constructive
interference.
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 64
X-RAY DIFFRACTION

A plane through a crystal of NaCl

NaCl crystal (a0 = 0.563nm)

NaCl unit cell

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 65
 X-RAY DIFFRACTION

(a) Electron density contour of an organic molecule

(b) A structural representation of same molecule

The x-rays are diffracted by the electron concentrations in the

material. By studying the directions of diffracted x-ray beam, we
can study the basic symmetry of the crystal. By studying the
intensity, we can learn how the electrons are distributed in a unit
cell.
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 66
 X-RAY DIFFRACTION
Bragg’s Law
▪ In every crystal, several sets of parallel planes called the Bragg
planes can be identified.
▪ Each of these planes have an identical and a definite
arrangement of atoms.
▪ Different sets of Bragg planes are oriented at different angles
and are characterized by different inter planar distances d.

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X-RAY DIFFRACTION
Bragg’s Law
→ Glancing angle. ie angle
between the incident x-ray beam
and the reflecting crystal planes.
For constructive interference of
diffracted x-rays the path
difference for the rays from the
adjacent planes, (abc in the
figure) must be an integral
number of wavelength.
ie 2d sin  = n 

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X-RAY DIFFRACTION

Problem: SP43-5

At what angles must an x-ray

beam with wavelength = 0.110
nm fall on the family of planes
in figure if a diffracted beam is
to exist? Assume material to
be sodium chloride (a0 =
0.563nm)

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X-RAY DIFFRACTION

Problem: E43-25

A beam of x-rays of wavelength 29.3 pm is incident on a

calcite crystal of lattice spacing 0.313 nm. Find the smallest
angle between the crystal planes and the beam that will
result in constructive reflection of the x-rays.

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X-RAY DIFFRACTION

Problem: E43-33

First order Bragg scattering

from a certain crystal
occurs at an angle of
incidence of 63.8, (ref.
figure). Wavelength of x-
rays is 0.261nm. Assuming
that the scattering is from
the dashed planes, find
unit cell size a0.

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 TUTORIAL
Exercise
E42-1, E42-16, E42-19, E42-26, E42-29

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QUESTIONS – DIFFRACTION

Discuss the diffraction due to single-slit. Obtain the

locations of the minima and maxima qualitatively. [5]

Obtain an expression for the intensity in single-slit

diffraction pattern, using phasor-diagram. [5]

Calculate, approximately, the relative intensities of the first

three secondary maxima in the single-slit diffraction
pattern. [4]

Discuss qualitatively diffraction at a circular aperture. [2]

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QUESTIONS – DIFFRACTION

Explain Rayleigh’s criterion for resolving images due to a

circular apperture. [2]

Obtain an expression for the intensity in double-slit

diffraction pattern, using phasor-diagram. [5]

Discuss qualitatively the diffraction due to multiple slits

(eg, 5 slits). [4]

Obtain an expression for the width of the central

maximum in diffraction pattern due to multiple slits. [4]

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 74

QUESTIONS – DIFFRACTION

Obtain an expression for the width of a principal

maximum at an angle in diffraction pattern due to
multiple slits. [4]

Obtain an expression for dispersion by a diffraction

grating. [3]

Obtain an expression for resolving power of a diffraction

grating. [3]

Discuss Bragg’s law for X-ray diffraction. [3]

MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 75

ANSWERS

E42-1: 690 nm
E42-11: 0.186°, 0.478 radian, 0.926
E42-16: 36.2 m
E42-19: 1400 km
E42-21: 15 m
E42-26: (a) d =4a (b) Every 4th fringe
E42-29: (a) 9 (b) 0.255
E43-3: 523 nm
E43-5: (a) 6 µm (b) 1.5 µm (c) m = 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9
E43-9: 3
E43-17: 491
E43-21: (a) 9.98 µm (b) 3.27 nm
E43-25: 2.68 degree
E43-33: 0.206 nm
MIT- MANIPAL BE-PHYSICS-DIFFRACTION-2010-11 76