Physics of Light and Optics, J. Peatross, M. Ware, ByU (2010)

Physics of Light and Optics
Justin Peatross
Michael Ware
Brigham Young University
December 23, 2010
Preface
This curriculum was originally developed for a senior-level optics course in the
Department of Physics and Astronomy at Brigham Young University. Topics
are addressed from a physics perspective and include the propagation of light in
matter, reection and transmission at boundaries, polarization effects, dispersion,
coherence, ray optics and imaging, diffraction, and the quantum nature of light.
Students using this book should be familiar with differentiation, integration, and
standard trigonometric and algebraic manipulation. A brief review of complex
numbers, vector calculus, and Fourier transforms is provided in Chapter 0, but it
is helpful if students already have some experience with these concepts.
While the authors retain the copyright, we have made this book available free
of charge at optics.byu.edu. This is our contribution toward a future world with
free textbooks! The web site also provides a link to purchase bound copies of the
book for the cost of printing. A collection of electronic material related to the
text is available at the same site, including videos of students performing the lab
assignments found in the book.
Since the development of optics has a rich history, we have included in the
book a number of historical sketches about the lives of pioneers in the eld.
These sketches are not intended to be authoritative, the information for most
individuals having been gleaned primarily from Wikipedia.
The authors may be contacted at [email protected]. We enjoy hearing
reports from those using the book and welcome constructive feedback. We occa-
sionally revise the text. The title page indicates the date of the last revision.
We would like to thank all those who have helped improve this material. We
especially thank John Colton, Bret Hess, and Harold Stokes for their careful review
and extensive suggestions. This curriculum benetted from a CCLI grant from
the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE-
9952773).
iii
Contents
Preface iii
Table of Contents v
0 Mathematical Tools 1
0.1 Vector Calculus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
0.2 Complex Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
0.3 Linear Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
0.4 Fourier Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Appendix 0.A Table of Integrals and Sums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1 Electromagnetic Phenomena 25
1.1 Gauss Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.2 Gauss Law for Magnetic Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
1.3 Faradays Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.4 Amperes Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
1.5 Maxwells Adjustment to Amperes Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
1.6 Polarization of Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
1.7 The Wave Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2 Plane Waves and Refractive Index 43
2.1 Plane Wave Solutions to the Wave Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.2 Index of Refraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.3 The Lorentz Model of Dielectrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.4 Index of Refraction of a Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.5 Poyntings Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
2.6 Irradiance of a Plane Wave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Appendix 2.A Radiometry, Photometry, and Color . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Appendix 2.B Clausius-Mossotti Relation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Appendix 2.C Energy Density of Electric Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Appendix 2.D Energy Density of Magnetic Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3 Reection and Refraction 71
v
vi CONTENTS
3.1 Refraction at an Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
3.2 The Fresnel Coefcients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3.3 Reectance and Transmittance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.4 Brewsters Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.5 Total Internal Reection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.6 Reections from Metal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Appendix 3.A Boundary Conditions For Fields at an Interface . . . . 82
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4 Multiple Parallel Interfaces 87
4.1 Double-Interface Problem Solved Using Fresnel Coefcients . . . 88
4.2 Two-Interface Transmittance at Sub Critical Angles . . . . . . . . 91
4.3 Beyond Critical Angle: Tunneling of Evanescent Waves . . . . . . 94
4.4 Fabry-Perot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
4.5 Setup of a Fabry-Perot Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
4.6 Distinguishing Nearby Wavelengths in a Fabry-Perot Instrument 99
4.7 Multilayer Coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
4.8 Repeated Multilayer Stacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
5 Propagation in Anisotropic Media 115
5.1 Constitutive Relation in Crystals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
5.2 Plane Wave Propagation in Crystals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
5.3 Biaxial and Uniaxial Crystals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
5.4 Refraction at a Uniaxial Crystal Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
5.5 Poynting Vector in a Uniaxial Crystal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Appendix 5.A Symmetry of Susceptibility Tensor . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Appendix 5.B Rotation of Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Appendix 5.C Electric Field in Crystals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Appendix 5.D Huygens Elliptical Construct for a Uniaxial Crystal . . 132
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Review, Chapters 15 137
6 Polarization of Light 143
6.1 Linear, Circular, and Elliptical Polarization . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
6.2 Jones Vectors for Representing Polarization . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
6.3 Elliptically Polarized Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
6.4 Linear Polarizers and Jones Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
6.5 Jones Matrix for Polarizers at Arbitrary Angles . . . . . . . . . . . 150
6.6 Jones Matrices for Wave Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
6.7 Polarization Effects of Reection and Transmission . . . . . . . . 154
Appendix 6.A Ellipsometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Appendix 6.B Partially Polarized Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
2010 Peatross and Ware
CONTENTS vii
7 Superposition of Quasi-Parallel Plane Waves 169
7.1 Intensity of Superimposed Plane Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
7.2 Group vs. Phase Velocity: Sum of Two Plane Waves . . . . . . . . 172
7.3 Frequency Spectrum of Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
7.4 Packet Propagation and Group Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
7.5 Quadratic Dispersion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
7.6 Generalized Context for Group Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Appendix 7.A Pulse Chirping in a Grating Pair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Appendix 7.B Causality and Exchange of Energy with the Medium . . 189
Appendix 7.C Kramers-Kronig Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
8 Coherence Theory 201
8.1 Michelson Interferometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
8.2 Temporal Coherence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
8.3 Coherence Time and Fringe Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
8.4 Fourier Spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
8.5 Youngs Two-Slit Setup and Spatial Coherence . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Appendix 8.A Spatial Coherence for a Continuous Source . . . . . . . 213
Appendix 8.B Van Cittert-Zernike Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
9 Light as Rays 225
9.1 The Eikonal Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
9.2 Fermats Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
9.3 Paraxial Rays and ABCD Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
9.4 Reection and Refraction at Curved Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
9.5 ABCD Matrices for Combined Optical Elements . . . . . . . . . . 236
9.6 Image Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
9.7 Principal Planes for Complex Optical Systems . . . . . . . . . . . 241
9.8 Stability of Laser Cavities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Appendix 9.A Aberrations and Ray Tracing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
10 Diffraction 253
10.1 Huygens Principle as Formulated by Fresnel . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
10.2 Scalar Diffraction Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
10.3 Fresnel Approximation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
10.4 Fraunhofer Approximation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
10.5 Diffraction with Cylindrical Symmetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Appendix 10.A Fresnel-Kirchhoff Diffraction Formula . . . . . . . . . . 263
Appendix 10.B Greens Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
viii CONTENTS
11 Diffraction Applications 271
11.1 Fraunhofer Diffraction Through a Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
11.2 Resolution of a Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
11.3 The Array Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
11.4 Diffraction Grating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
11.5 Spectrometers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
11.6 Diffraction of a Gaussian Field Prole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
11.7 Gaussian Laser Beams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Appendix 11.A ABCD Law for Gaussian Beams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
12 Interferograms and Holography 295
12.1 Interferograms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
12.2 Testing Optical Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
12.3 Generating Holograms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
12.4 Holographic Wavefront Reconstruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
13 Blackbody Radiation 309
13.1 Stefan-Boltzmann Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
13.2 Failure of the Equipartition Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
13.3 Plancks Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
13.4 Einsteins A and B Coefcients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Appendix 13.A Thermodynamic Derivation of the Stefan-Boltzmann
Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Appendix 13.B Boltzmann Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Index 325
Physical Constants 331
Chapter 0
Mathematical Tools
Our study of the physical principals of optics begins with Maxwells equations in
Chapter 1. But before proceeding, you should look over this chapter to make sure
you are comfortable with the mathematical tools well be using. The vector calcu-
lus material in section 0.1 will be used right from the start, so you should review it
now. In section 0.2 we review complex numbers. You have probably had some
exposure to complex numbers, but if you are like many students, you havent yet
fully appreciated their usefulness. That will change in this book. Please be warned
that your life will be much easier if you understand the material in section 0.2
by heart, as complex notation is pervasive throughout the book (beginning in
chapter 2). You may safely procrastinate reviewing sections 0.3 and 0.4 until they
come up on the book. (Well remind you when they do.) The linear algebra re-
fresher in section 0.3 is useful for Chapter 4, where we analyze multilayer coatings,
and again in Chapter 6, where we discuss polarization. Section 0.4 provides an
introduction to Fourier theory. Fourier transforms are used extensively in optics,
and you should study section 0.4 carefully before tackling chapter 7.
0.1 Vector Calculus
Ren Descartes (1596-1650, French)
was born in in La Haye en Touraine
(now Descartes), France. His mother
died when he was an infant. His father
was a member of parliament who en-
couraged Descartes to become a lawyer.
Descartes graduated with a degree in
law from the University of Poitiers
in 1616. In 1619, he had a series of
dreams that led him to believe that he
should instead pursue science. Descartes
became one of the greatest mathemati-
cian, physicist, and philosopher of all
time. He is credited with inventing the
cartesian coordinate system, which is
named after him. For for the rst time,
geometric shapes could be expressed as
algebraic equations. (Wikipedia)
Each position in space corresponds to a unique vector r x x+y y+z z, where
x, y, and z are unit vectors with length one, pointing along their respective axes.
Boldface type distinguishes a variable as a vector quantity, and the use of x, y,
and z denotes a Cartesian coordinate system. Electric and magnetic elds are
vectors whose magnitude and direction can depend on position, as denoted by
E(r) or B(r). An example of such a eld is E(r) = q (r r
0
)
_
4
0
|r r
0
|
3
, which
is the static electric eld surrounding a point charge located at position r
0
. The
absolute-value brackets indicate the magnitude (or length) of the vector given by
|r r
0
| =
(x x
0
) x+
_
y y
0
_
y+(z z
0
) z
=
_
(x x
0
)
2
+
_
y y
0
_
2
+(z z
0
)
2
(0.1)
1
2 Chapter 0 Mathematical Tools
Example 0.1
Compute the electric eld at r =
_
2 x+2 y+2 z
_
due to an charge q positioned at
r
0
=
_
1 x+1 y+2 z
_
.
Solution: As mentioned above, the eld is given by E(r) =q (r r
0
)
_
4
0
|r r
0
|
3
.
We have
r r
0
=
_
(21) x+(21) y+(22) z
_
=
_
1 x+1 y
_

and
|r r
0
| =
_
(1)
2
+(1)
2
=
2
The electric eld is then
E=
q
_
1 x+1 y
_

4
0
_
2
_
3
Figure 0.1 The electric eld vec-
tors around a point charge.
In addition to position, the electric and magnetic elds almost always depend
also on time in optics problems. For example, a common time-dependent eld is
E(r, t ) =E
0
cos(krt ). The dot product kr is anexample of vector multiplication,
and signies the following operation:
k r =
_
k
x
x+k
y
y+k
z
z
_
_
x x+y y+z z
_
=k
x
x +k
y
y +k
z
z
=|k||r| cos
(0.2)
where is the angle between the vectors k and r.
Proof of the nal line of (0.2)
Consider the plane that contains the two vectors k and r. Call it the x
-plane. In
this coordinate system, the two vectors canbe writtenas k =k cos x
+k sin y
and
r =r cos x
+r sin y
, where and are the respective angles that the two vectors
make with the x
-axis. The dot product gives k r = kr (coscos+sinsin).

This simplies to k r =kr cos (see (0.13)), where is the angle between
the vectors. Thus, the dot product between two vectors is the product of the
magnitudes of each vector times the cosine of the angle between them.
Another type of vector multiplication is the cross product , which is accom-
plished in the following manner:
1
EB=
x y z
E
x
E
y
E
z
B
x
B
y
B
z
=
_
E
y
B
z
E
z
B
y
_
x(E
x
B
z
E
z
B
x
) y+
_
E
x
B
y
E
y
B
x
_
z
(0.3)
1
The use of the determinant to generate the cross product is merely a fortuitous device for
remembering its form.
0.1 Vector Calculus 3
Note that the cross product results in a vector, whereas the dot product mentioned
above results in a scalar (i.e. a number with appropriate units). The resultant
vector is always perpendicular to the two vectors that are cross multiplied. If the
ngers on your right hand curl from the rst vector towards the second, your
thumb will point in the direction of the result. The magnitude of the result equals
the product of the magnitudes of the constituent vectors times the sine of the
angle between them.
Proof of cross-product properties
We label the plane containing Eand Bthe x
-plane. Inthis coordinate system, the

two vectors can be written as E=E cos x
+E sin y
and B=B cos x
+B sin y
,
where and are the respective angles that the two vectors make with the x
-axis.
The cross product, according to (0.3), gives EB=EB(cossinsincos) z
.
This simplies to EB = EB sin z
(see (0.14)), where is the angle

between the vectors. The vectors E and B, which both lie in the x
-plane, are
both perpendicular to z
. If 0 <<, the result EB points in the positive z
direction, which is consistent with the right-hand rule.

We will use several multidimensional derivatives inour study of optics, namely
the gradient, the divergence, and the curl.
2
In Cartesian coordinates, the gradient
of a scalar function is given by
f
_
x, y, z
_
=
f
x
x+
f
y
y+
f
z
z (0.4)
the divergence, which applies to vector functions, is given by
E=
E
x
x
+
E
y
y
+
E
z
z
(0.5)
and the curl, which also applies to vector functions, is given by
E=
x y z
/x /y /z
E
x
E
y
E
z
=
_
E
z
y

E
y
z
_
x
_
E
z
x

E
x
z
_
y+
_
E
y
x

E
x
y
_
z
(0.6)
Example 0.2
Derive the gradient (0.4) in cylindrical coordinates dened by the transformations
x =cos and y =sin. (The coordinate z remains unchanged.)
2
See M. R. Spiegel, Schaums Outline of Advanced Mathematics for Engineers and Scientists, pp.
126-127 (New York: McGraw-Hill 1971).
Solution: By inspection of Fig. 0.2, the cartesian unit vectors may be expressed as
x =cos sin
and y =sin +cos
In accordance with the rules of calculus, the needed partial derivatives expressed
in terms of the new variables are
x
=
_
x
_

+
_
x
_

and

y
=
_
y
_

+
_
y
_

Figure 0.2 The unit vectors x and

y may be expressed in terms of
components along

and in
cylindrical coordinates.
Meanwhile, the inverted form of the coordinate transformation is
=
_
x
2
+y
2
and =tan
1
y/x
from which we obtain the following derivatives:
x
=
x
_
x
2
+y
2
=cos
x
=
y
x
2
+y
2
=
sin
y
=
y
_
x
2
+y
2
=sin
y
=
x
x
2
+y
2
=
cos
Putting this all together, we arrive at

f =
f
x
x +
f
y
y +
f
z
z
=
_
cos
f
sin
_
_
cos sin
_
+
_
sin
f
+
cos
_
_
sin +cos
_
+
f
z
z
=
f
+
1
+
f
z
z
where we have used cos
2
+sin
2
=1 (see Ex. 0.4).
Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749-1827,
French) was born in Normandy, France
to a farm laborer. Some wealthy neigh-
bors noticed his unusual abilities and
took an interest in his education.
Laplace is sometimes revered as the
Newton of France with contributions
to mathematics and astronomy. The
Laplacian dierential operator as well as
Laplace transforms are used widely in
applied mathematics. (Wikipedia)
We will sometimes need a multidimensional second derivative called the
Laplacian. When applied to a scalar function, it is dened as the divergence of a
gradient:
2
f
_
x, y, z
_
_
f
_
x, y, z
__
(0.7)
In cartesian coordinates, this reduces to
2
f
_
x, y, z
_
=

2
f
x
2
+
2
f
y
2
+
2
f
z
2
(0.8)
Since the Laplacian applied to a scalar gives a result that is also a scalar, in Carte-
sian coordinates we deal with vector functions by applying the Laplacian to the
scalar function attached to each unit vector:
2
E=
_
2
E
x
x
2
+
2
E
x
y
2
+
2
E
x
z
2
_
x+
_
2
E
y
x
2
+
2
E
y
y
2
+
2
E
y
z
2
_
y
+
_
2
E
z
x
2
+
2
E
z
y
2
+
2
E
z
z
2
_
z
(0.9)
0.1 Vector Calculus 5
This is possible because each unit vector is a constant in Cartesian coordinates.
The various multidimensional derivatives take on more complicated forms
in non-cartesian coordinates such as cylindrical or spherical. You can derive the
Laplacian for these other coordinate systems by changing variables and rewriting
the unit vectors starting from the above Cartesian expression. (See Problem 0.10.)
Regardless of the coordinate system, the Laplacian for a vector function can be
obtained from rst derivatives though
2
E( E) (E) (0.10)
Verication of (0.10) in Cartesian coordinates
From (0.6), we have
E=
_
E
z
y

E
y
z
_
x
_
E
z
x

E
x
z
_
y+
_
E
y
x

E
x
y
_
z
and
(E) =
x y z
/x /y /z
_
E
z
y

E
y
z
_

_
E
z
x

E
x
z
_ _
E
y
x

E
x
y
_
=
_

y
_
E
y
x

E
x
y
_
+

z
_
E
z
x

E
x
z
__
x
_

x
_
E
y
x

E
x
y
_

z
_
E
z
y

E
y
z
__
y
+
_

x
_
E
z
x

E
x
z
_

y
_
E
z
y

E
y
z
__
z
After adding and subtracting

2
E
x
x
2
+
2
E
y
y
2
+
2
E
z
z
2
and then rearranging, we get
(E) =
_
2
E
x
x
2
+
2
E
y
xy
+

2
E
z
xz
_
x+
_
2
E
x
xy
+
2
E
y
y
2
+

2
E
z
yz
_
y+
_
2
E
x
xz
+
2
E
y
yz
+

2
E
z
z
2
_
z
2
E
x
x
2
+

2
E
x
y
2
+

2
E
x
z
2
_
x
_
2
E
y
x
2
+
2
E
y
y
2
+
2
E
y
z
2
_
y
_
2
E
z
x
2
+

2
E
z
y
2
+

2
E
z
z
2
_
z
After some factorization, we obtain
(E) =
_
x

x
+ y

y
+ z

z
__
E
x
x
+
E
y
y
+
E
z
z
_
_

2
x
2
+

2
y
2
+

2
z
2
_
_
E
x
x+E
y
y+E
z
z
_
=( E)
2
E
where on the nal line we invoked (0.4), (0.5), and (0.8).
We will also encounter several integral theorems
3
involving vector functions
in the course of this book. The divergence theoremfor a vector function F is
_
S
F n da =
_
V
F dv (0.11)
3
For succinct treatments of the divergence theorem an Stokes theorem, see M. R. Spiegel,
Schaums Outline of Advanced Mathematics for Engineers and Scientists, p. 154 (New York: McGraw-
Hill 1971).
The integration on the left-hand side is over the closed surface S, which contains
the volume V associated with the integration on the right-hand side. The unit
vector n points outward, normal to the surface. The divergence theorem is espe-
cially useful in connection with Gauss law, where the left-hand side is interpreted
as the number of eld lines exiting a closed surface.
Example 0.3
Check the divergence theorem(0.11) for the vector function F
_
x, y, z
_
= y
2
x+xy y+
x
2
z z. Take as the volume a cube contained by the six planes |x| =1,
=1, and
|z| =1.
Solution: First, we evaluate the left side of (0.11) for the function:
_
S
F nda =
1
_
1
1
_
1
dxdy
_
x
2
z
_
z=1
1
_
1
1
_
1
dxdy
_
x
2
z
_
z=1
+
1
_
1
1
_
1
dxdz
_
xy
_
y=1
1
_
1
1
_
1
dxdz
_
xy
_
y=1
+
1
_
1
1
_
1
dydz
_
y
2
_
x=1
1
_
1
1
_
1
dydz
_
y
2
_
x=1
=2
1
_
1
1
_
1
dxdyx
2
+2
1
_
1
1
_
1
dxdzx =4
x
3
3
1
1
+4
x
2
2
1
1
=
8
3
Now we evaluate the right side of (0.11):
_
V
Fdv =
1
_
1
1
_
1
1
_
1
dxdydz
_
x +x
2
_
=4
1
_
1
dx
_
x +x
2
_
=4
_
x
2
2
+
x
3
3
_
1
1
=
8
3
Figure 0.3 The function F (red
arrows) plotted for several points
on the surface S.
Another important theorem is Stokes theorem:
_
S
(F) n da =
_
C
F d (0.12)
The integration on the left-hand side is over an open surface S (not enclosing a
volume). The integration on the right-hand side is around the edge of the surface.
Again, n is a unit vector that always points normal to the surface . The vector d
points along the curve C that bounds the surface S. If the ngers of your right
hand point in the direction of integration around C, then your thumb points
in the direction of n. Stokes theorem is especially useful in connection with
Amperes law and Faradays law. The right-hand side is an integration of a eld
around a loop.
0.2 Complex Numbers
It is often convenient to represent electromagnetic wave phenomena (i.e. light) as
a superposition of sinusoidal functions, each having the form Acos
_
+
_
. The
0.2 Complex Numbers 7
sine function is intrinsically present in this formula via the identity
cos
_
+
_
=coscossinsin (0.13)
This is a good formula to commit to memory, as well as the frequently used
identity
sin
_
+
_
=sincos+sincos (0.14)
With a basic familiarity with trigonometry, we can approach many optical
problems including those involving the addition of multiple waves. However,
the manipulation of trigonometric functions via identities such as (0.13) and
(0.14) can be cumbersome and tedious. Fortunately, complex-number notation
offers an equivalent approach with far less busy work. (The modest investment
needed to become comfortable with complex notation is denitely worth it;
optics problems can become cumbersome enough even when done as concise as
possible!)
Brook Taylor (1685-1731, English) was
born in Middlesex, England. He studied
at Cambridge as a fellow-commoner
earning a bachelor degree in 1709
and a doctoral degree in 1714. Soon
thereafter, he developed the branch
of mathematics known as calculus of
nite dierences. He used it to study
the movement of vibrating strings. As
part of that work, he developed the for-
mula known today as Taylors theorem,
which was under-appreciated until 1772,
when French mathematician Lagrange
referred to it as the main foundation of
dierential calculus. (Wikipedia)
The convenience of complex-number notation has its origins in Eulers for-
mula:
e
i
=cos+i sin (0.15)
where i
1 is an imaginary number. Eulers formula is easily proven using a

Taylors series expansion:
f (x) = f (x
0
) +
1
1!
(x x
0
)
d f
dx
x=x
0
+
1
2!
(x x
0
)
2
d
2
f
dx
2
x=x
0
+ (0.16)
By expanding each function appearing in (0.15) in a Taylors series about the
origin we obtain
cos=1
2
2!
+
4
4!

i sin=i i

3
3!
+i

5
5!

e
i
=1+i
2
2!
i

3
3!
+
4
4!
+i

5
5!

(0.17)
The last line of (0.17) is seen to be the sumof the rst two lines, fromwhich Eulers
formula directly follows.
By inverting Eulers formula (0.15) we can obtain the following representation
of the cosine and sine functions:
cos=
e
i
+e
i
2
,
sin=
e
i
e
i
2i
(0.18)
Example 0.4
Prove (0.13) and (0.14) as well as cos
2
+sin
2
=1 by taking advantage of (0.18).
Solution: We start with (0.13). By direct application of (0.18) and some rearranging,
we have
coscossinsin=
e
i
+e
i
2
e
i
+e
i
2

e
i
e
i
2i
e
i
e
i
2i
=
e
i (+)
+e
i ()
+e
i ()
+e
i (+)
4
+
e
i (+)
e
i ()
e
i ()
+e
i (+)
4
=
e
i (+)
+e
i (+)
2
=cos
_
+
_
We can prove (0.14) using the same technique:
sincos+sincos=
e
i
e
i
2i
e
i
+e
i
2
+
e
i
e
i
2i
e
i
+e
i
2
=
e
i (+)
+e
i ()
e
i ()
e
i (+)
4i
+
e
i (+)
e
i ()
+e
i ()
e
i (+)
4i
=
e
i (+)
e
i (+)
2i
=sin
_
+
_
Finally, for cos
2
+sin
2
=1 we have
cos
2
+sin
2
=
_
e
i
+e
i
2
_2
+
_
e
i
e
i
2i
_2
=
e
2i
+2+e
2i
4

e
2i
2+e
2i
4
=1
Leonhard Euler (1707-1783, Swiss) was
born in Basel, Switzerland. His father,
Paul Euler, was friends with the well-
known mathematician Johann Bernoulli,
who discovered young Eulers great
talent for mathematics and tutored
him regularly. Euler enrolled at the
University of Basel at age thirteen. In
1726 Euler accepted an oer to join the
Russian Academy of Sciences in St Pe-
tersburg, having unsuccessfully applied
for a professorship at the University of
Basel. Under the auspices of the Czars
(with the exception of 12-year-old Peter
II), foreign academicians in the Rus-
sian Academy were given considerable
freedom to pursue scientic questions
with relatively light teaching duties. Eu-
ler spent his early career in Russia, his
mid career in Berlin, and his later ca-
reer again in Russia. Euler introduced
the concept of a function. He success-
fully dened logarithms and exponential
functions for complex numbers and dis-
covered the connection to trigonometric
functions. The special case of Eulers
formula e
i
+1 = 0 has been voted by
modern fans of mathematics (including
Richard Feynman) as the Most Beauti-
ful Mathematical Formula Ever for its
single uses of addition, multiplication,
exponentiation, equality, and the con-
stants 0, 1, e, i and . Euler and his
wife, Katharina Gsell, were the parents
of 13 children, many of whom died in
childhood. (Wikipedia)
Equation (0.18) shows how ordinary sines and cosines are intimately related
to hyperbolic cosines and hyperbolic sines. If happens to be imaginary such that
=i where is real, then we have
sini =
e
2i
=i sinh
cosi =
e
+e
2
=cosh
(0.19)
As was mentioned previously, we will often be interested in waves of the
form Acos(x +). We can use complex notation to represent this wave simply by
writing
Acos
_
+
_
=Re
_

Ae
i
_
(0.20)
where the phase is conveniently contained within the complex factor

A Ae
i
.
The operation Re{ } means to retain only the real part of the argument without
0.2 Complex Numbers 9
regard for the imaginary part.. As anexample, we have Re{1+2i } =1. The formula
(0.20) follows directly from Eulers equation (0.15).
Gerolamo Cardano (1501-1576, Ital-
ian) was born in Pavia, Italy, the ille-
gitimate son of a lawyer who was an
acquaintance of Leonardo da Vinci. Car-
dano was fortunate to survive infancy
as his father claimed that his mother
attempted to abort him and his older
siblings all died of the plague. Cardano
studied at the University of Pavia and
later at Padua. He was known for being
eccentric and confrontational, which
did not earn him many friends. He sup-
ported himself in part as a somewhat
successful gambler, but he was often
short of money. Cardano was the rst
to introduce the notion of complex
numbers (which he called ctitious)
while developing solutions to cubic and
quartic equations. He also introduced
binomial coecients and the binomial
theorem. (Wikipedia)
It is common (even conventional) to omit the explicit writing of Re{ }. Thus,
physicists participate in a conspiracy that

Ae
i
actually means Acos
_
+
_
. This
laziness is permissible because it is possible to perform linear operations on
Re
_
f
_
such as addition, differentiation, or integration while procrastinating the
taking of the real part until the end:
Re
_
f
_
+Re
_
g
_
=Re
_
f +g
_
d
dx
Re
_
f
_
=Re
_
d f
dx
_
_
Re
_
f
_
dx =Re
__
f dx
_
(0.21)
As an example, note that Re{1+2i } +Re{3+4i } = Re{(1+2i ) +(3+4i )} = 4.
However, we must be careful when performing other operations such as multi-
plication. In this case, it is essential to take the real parts before performing the
operation. Notice that
Re
_
f
_
Re
_
g
_
=Re
_
f g
_
(0.22)
As an example, we see Re{1+2i } Re{3+4i } =3, but Re{(1+2i ) (3+4i )} =5.
When dealing with complex numbers it is often advantageous to transform
between a Cartesian representation and a polar representation. With the aid of
Eulers formula, it is possible to transform any complex number a +i b into the
form e
i
, where a, b, , and are real. From (0.15), the required connection
between
_
,
_
and (a, b) is
e
i
=cos+i sin=a +i b (0.23)
The real and imaginary parts of this equation must separately be equal. Thus, we
have
a =cos
b =sin
(0.24)
These equations can be inverted to yield
=
_
a
2
+b
2
=tan
1
b
a
(a >0)
(0.25)
When a <0, we must adjust by since the arctangent has a range only from
/2 to /2.
II
III
IV
Quadrant I
Figure 0.4 A number in the com-
plex plane can be represented
either by Cartesian or polar repre-
sentation.
The transformations in (0.24) and (0.25) have a clear geometrical interpreta-
tion in the complex plane, and this makes it easier to remember them. They are
just the usual connections between Cartesian and polar coordinates. As seen in
Fig. 0.4, is the hypotenuse of a right triangle having legs with lengths a and b,
and is the angle that the hypotenuse makes with the x-axis. Again, you should
be careful when a is negative since the arctangent is dened in quadrants I and
IV. An easy way to deal with the situation of a negative a is to factor the minus
sign out before proceeding (i.e. a +i b =(a i b) ). Then the transformation
is made on a i b where a is positive. The overall minus sign out in front is
just carried along unaffected and can be factored back in at the end. Notice that
e
i
is the same as e
i ()
.
Example 0.5
Write 3+4i in polar format.
Solution: We must be careful with the negative real part since it indicates a quad-
rant (in this case III) outside of the domain of the inverse tangent (quadrants I and
IV). Best to factor the negative out and deal with it separately.
3+4i =(34i ) =
_
3
2
+(4)
2
e
i tan
1 (4)
3
=e
i
5e
i tan
1 4
3
=5e
i (tan
1 4
3
)
Figure 0.5
Finally, we consider the concept of a complex conjugate. The conjugate of a
complex number z =a +i b is denoted with an asterisk and amounts to changing
the sign on the imaginary part of the number:
z
=(a +i b)
a i b (0.26)
The complex conjugate is useful when computing the absolute value of a complex
number:
|z| =
z =
_
(a i b) (a +i b) =
_
a
2
+b
2
= (0.27)
Note that the absolute value of a complex number is the same as its magnitude
as dened in (0.25). The complex conjugate is also useful for eliminating complex
numbers from the denominator of expressions:
a +i b
c +i d
=
(a +i b)
(c +i d)
(c i d)
(c i d)
=
ac +bd +i (bc ad)
c
2
+d
2
(0.28)
No matter how complicated an expression, the complex conjugate is cal-
culated by simply inserting a minus sign in front of all occurrences of i in the
expression, and placing an asterisk on all complex variables in the expression.
For example, the complex conjugate of e
i
is e
i
assuming and are real,
as can be seen from Eulers formula (0.15). As another example consider
_
E
0
exp{i (Kz t )}
_
=E
0
exp
_
i
_
K
z t
__
(0.29)
assuming z, , and t are real, but E
0
and K are complex.
A common way of obtaining the real part of an expression is simply by adding
the complex conjugate and dividing the result by 2:
Re{z} =
1
2
_
z +z
_
(0.30)
0.3 Linear Algebra 11
Notice that the expression for cos in (0.18) is an example of this formula. Some-
times when a lengthy expression is added to its own complex conjugate, we let
C.C. represent the complex conjugate in order to avoid writing the expression
twice.
In optics we sometimes encounter a complex angle, , such as Kz in (0.29). The
imaginary part of K governs exponential decay (or growth) when a light wave
propagates in an absorptive (or amplifying) medium. Similarly, when we compute
the transmission angle for light incident upon a surface beyond the critical angle
for total internal reection, we encounter the arcsine of a number greater than
one in an effort to satisfy Snells law. Even though such an angle does not exist in
the physical sense, a complex value for the angle can be found, which satises
(0.18) and describes evanescent waves.
0.3 Linear Algebra
Throughout this book we will often encounter sets of linear equations. (They
are called linear equations because they represent lines in a plane or in space.)
Most often, there are just two equations with two variables to solve. The simplest
example of such a set of equations is
Ax +By =F and Cx+Dy =G (0.31)
where x and y are variables. A set of linear equations such as (0.31) can be
expressed using matrix notation as
_
A B
C D
__
x
y
_
=
_
Ax +By
Cx +Dy
_
=
_
F
G
_
(0.32)
As seen above, the 2 2 matrix multiplied onto the two-dimensional column
vector results in a two-dimensional vector. The elements of rows are multiplied
onto elements of the column and summed to create each new element in the
result. A matrix can also be multiplied onto another matrix (rows multiplying
columns, resulting in a matrix). The order of multiplication is important; matrix
multiplication is not commutative.
To solve a matrix equation such as (0.32), we multiply both sides by an inverse
matrix, which gives
_
A B
C D
_
1
_
A B
C D
__
x
y
_
=
_
A B
C D
_
1
_
F
G
_
(0.33)
The inverse matrix has the property that
_
A B
C D
_
1
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
1 0
0 1
_
(0.34)
where the right-hand side is called the identity matrix. You can easily check that
the identity matrix leaves unchanged anything that it multiplies, and so (0.33)
simplies to
_
x
y
_
=
_
A B
C D
_
1
_
F
G
_
Once the inverse matrix is found, the matrix multiplication on the right can be
performed and the answers for x and y obtained as the upper and lower elements
of the result.
The inverse of a 22 matrix is given by
_
A B
C D
_
1
=
1
A B
C D
_
D B
C A
_
(0.35)
where
A B
C D
ADCB
is called the determinant. We can check that (0.35) is correct by direct substitution:
_
A B
C D
_
1
_
A B
C D
_
=
1
ADBC
_
D B
C A
__
A B
C D
_
=
1
ADBC
_
ADBC 0
0 ADBC
_
=
_
1 0
0 1
_
(0.36)
James Joseph Sylvester (1814-1897,
English) made fundamental contribu-
tions to matrix theory, invariant theory,
number theory, partition theory and
combinatorics. He played a leadership
role in American mathematics in the
later half of the 19th century as a pro-
fessor at the Johns Hopkins University
and as founder of the American Journal
of Mathematics. (Wikipedia)
The above review of linear algebra is very basic. In contrast, we next dis-
cuss Sylvesters theorem, which you probably have not previously encountered.
Sylvesters theorem is useful when multiplying the same 22 matrix (with a de-
terminate of unity) together many times (i.e. raising the matrix to a power). This
situation occurs when modeling periodic multilayer mirror coatings or when
considering light rays trapped in a laser cavity as they reect many times.
Sylvesters Theorem:
4
If the determinant of a 22 matrix is one, (i.e. ADBC =1)
then
_
A B
C D
_
N
=
1
sin
_
AsinNsin(N 1) B sinN
C sinN DsinNsin(N 1)
_
(0.37)
where
cos =
1
2
(A+D) (0.38)
4
The theorempresented here is a specic case. See A. A. Tovar and L. W. Casperson, Generalized
Sylvester theorems for periodic applications in matrix optics, J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 12, 578-590 (1995).
0.4 Fourier Theory 13
Proof of Sylvesters theoremby induction
When N = 1, the equation is seen to be correct by direct substitution. Next we
assume that the theorem holds for arbitrary N, and we check to see if it holds for
N +1:
_
A B
C D
_
N+1
=
1
sin
_
A B
C D
__
_
=
1
sin
_ _
A
2
+BC
_
sinNAsin(N 1) (AB +BD) sinNB sin(N 1)
(AC +CD) sinNC sin(N 1)
_
D
2
+BC
_
sinNDsin(N 1)
_
Now we inject the condition ADBC =1 into the diagonal elements and obtain
1
sin
_ _
A
2
+AD1
_
sinNAsin(N 1) B [(A+D) sinNsin(N 1) ]
C [(A+D) sinNsin(N 1) ]
_
D
2
+AD1
_
sinNDsin(N 1)
_
and then
1
sin
_
A[(A+D) sinNsin(N 1) ] sinN B [(A+D) sinNsin(N 1) ]
C [(A+D) sinNsin(N 1) ] D[(A+D) sinNsin(N 1) ] sinN
_
In each matrix element, the expression
(A+D) sinN =2cossinN =sin(N +1) +sin(N 1) (0.39)
occurs, which we have rearranged using cos =
1
2
(A+D) while twice invoking
(0.14). The result is
_
A B
C D
_
N+1
=
1
sin
_
Asin(N +1) sinN B sin(N +1)
C sin(N +1) Dsin(N +1) sinN
_
which completes the proof.
0.4 Fourier Theory
Joseph Fourier (1768-1830, French)
was born to a tailor in Auxerre, France.
He was orphaned at age eight. Because
of his humble background, which closed
some doors to his education and career,
he became a prominent supporter of the
French Revolution. He was rewarded
by an appointment to a position in the
cole Polytechnique. In 1798, partici-
pated in Napoleons expedition to Egypt
and served as governor over lower Egypt
for a time. Fourier made signicant con-
tributions to the study of heat transfer
and vibrations (presented in 1822), and
it was in this context that he asserted
that functions could be represented as a
series of sine waves. (Wikipedia)
In optics, it is common to decompose complicated light elds into a superposi-
tion of pure sinusoidal waves. This is called Fourier analysis.
5
This is important
since individual sine waves tend to move differently through optical systems (say,
a piece of glass with frequency dependent index). After propagation through a
system, we can also reassemble sinusoidal waves to see the effect on the over-
all waveform. In fact, it will be possible to work simultaneously with innitely
many sinusoidal waves, where the frequencies comprising a light eld are spread
continuously over a range. Fourier transforms are also helpful for diffraction
problems where many waves (all with the same frequency) interfere spatially.
We begin with a derivation of the Fourier integral theorem. As asserted by
Fourier, a periodic function can be represented in terms of sines and cosines in
the following manner:
f (t ) =
n=0
a
n
cos(nt ) +b
n
sin(nt ) (0.40)
5
See Murray R. Spiegel, Schaums Outline of Advanced Mathematics for Engineers and Scientists,
Chaps. 7-8 (New York: McGraw-Hill 1971).
This is called a Fourier expansion. It is similar in idea to a Taylors series (0.16),
which rewrites a function as a polynomial. In both cases, the goal is to represent
one function in terms of a linear combination of other functions (requiring a
complete basis set). In a Taylors series the basis functions are polynomials and
in a Fourier expansion the basis functions are sines and cosines with various
frequencies (multiples of a fundamental frequency).
By inspection, we see that all terms in (0.40) repeat with a maximum period
of 2/. In other words, a Fourier series is good for functions where f (t ) =
f (t +2/). The expansion (0.40) useful even if f (t ) is complex (requiring a
n
and b
n
to be complex).
Using (0.18), we can rewrite the sines and cosines in the expansion (0.40) as
f (t ) =
n=0
a
n
e
i nt
+e
i nt
2
+b
n
e
i nt
e
i nt
2i
=a
0
+
n=1
a
n
i b
n
2
e
i nt
+
n=1
a
n
+i b
n
2
e
i nt
(0.41)
or more simply as
f (t ) =
n=
c
n
e
i nt
(0.42)
where
c
n<0
a
n
i b
n
2
c
n>0
a
n
+i b
n
2
c
0
a
0
(0.43)
Notice that if c
n
=c
n
for all n, then f (t ) is real (i.e. real a
n
and b
n
); otherwise
f (t ) is complex. The real parts of the c
n
coefcients are connected with the cosine
terms in (0.40), and the imaginary parts of the c
n
coefcients are connected with
the sine terms in (0.40).
Given a known function f (t ), we can compute the various coefcients c
n
.
There is a trick for guring out how to do this. We multiply both sides of (0.42) by
e
i mt
, where m is an integer, and integrate over the function period 2/:
/
_
/
f (t )e
i mt
dt =
n=
c
n
/
_
/
e
i (mn)t
dt
=
n=
c
n
_
e
i (mn)t
i (mn)
_/
/
=
n=
2c
n
_
e
i (mn)
e
i (mn)
2i (mn)
_
=
n=
2c
n
sin[(mn) ]
(mn)
(0.44)
The function sin[(mn) ] /[(mn) ] is equal to zero for all n = m, and it is
equal to one when n =m (to see this, use LHospitals rule on the zero-over-zero
situation, or just go back and re perform the above integral for n =m). Thus, only
one term contributes to the summation in (0.44). We now have
c
m
=
2
/
_
/
f (t )e
i mt
dt (0.45)
from which the coefcients c
n
can be computed, given a function f (t ). (Note that
m is a dummy index so we can change it back to n if we like.)
This completes the circle. If we know the function f (t ), we can nd the
coefcients c
n
via (0.45), and, if we know the coefcients c
n
, we can generate the
function f (t ) via (0.42). If we are feeling a bit silly, we might combine these into a
single identity:
f (t ) =
n=
_
_
2
/
_
/
f (t )e
i nt
dt
_
_
e
i nt
(0.46)
We start with a function f (t ) followed by a lot of computation and obtain the
function back again! (This is not quite as foolish as it rst appears, as we will
discuss later.)
As mentioned above, Fourier expansions represent functions f (t ) that are
periodic over the interval 2/. This is disappointing since many optical wave-
forms do not repeat (e.g. a single short laser pulse). Nevertheless, we canrepresent
a function f (t ) that is not periodic if we let the period 2/ become innitely
long. In other words, we can accommodate non-periodic functions if we take the
limit as goes to zero so that the spacing of terms in the series becomes very
ne. Applying this limit to (0.46) we obtain
f (t ) =
1
2
lim
0
n=
_
_
e
i nt
f
_
t
_
e
i nt
dt
_
_
(0.47)
At this point, a brief review of the denition of an integral is helpful to better
understand the next step that we shall administer to (0.47).
Changing the summation in (0.47) over to an integral
Recall that an integral is really a summation of rectangles under a curve with nely
spaced steps:
b
_
a
g () d lim
0
ba
n=0
g (a +n)
= lim
0
ba
2
n=
ba
2
g
_
a +b
2
+n
_
(0.48)
The nal expression has been manipulated so that the index ranges through both
negative and positive numbers. If we set a =b and take the limit b , then the
above expression becomes
g() d= lim
0
n=
g (n) (0.49)
This concludes our short review of calculus.
Now, (0.47) has the same form as (0.49) if g (n) represents everything in
the square brackets of (0.47). The result is the Fourier integral theorem:
f (t ) =
1
e
i t
_
_
1
f
_
t
_
e
i t
dt
_
_
d (0.50)
The piece in brackets is called the Fourier transform, and the rest of the operation
is called the inverse Fourier transform. The Fourier integral theorem(0.50) is often
written with the following (potentially confusing) notation:
f ()
1
f (t )e
i t
dt
f (t )
1
f () e
i t
d
(0.51)
The transform and inverse transform are also sometimes written as f ()
F
_
f (t )
_
and f (t ) F
1
_
f ()
_
. Note that the functions f (t ) and f () are en-
tirely different, even taking on different units (e.g. the latter having extra units of
per frequency). The two functions are distinguished by their arguments, which
also have different units (e.g. time vs. frequency). Nevertheless, it is customary to
use the same letter to denote either function since they form a transformpair.
You should be aware that it is arbitrary which of the expressions in (0.51) is
called the transformand which is called the inverse transform. In other words, the
signs in the exponents of (0.51) may be interchanged (and this convention varies
in published works!). Also, the factor 2 may be placed on either the transform or
the inverse transform, or divided equally between the two as has been done here.
Example 0.6
Compute the Fourier transform of E(t ) =E
0
e
t
2
/2T
2
e
i
0
t
followed by the inverse
Fourier transform.
Solution: According to (0.51), the Fourier transform is
E () =
1
_
E
0
e
t
2
/2T
2
e
i
0
t
_
e
i t
dt =
E
0
e
t
2
/2T
2
+i (
0
)t
dt
The integration can be performed with the help of (0.55), which yields
E () =
E
0
2
_

1/2T
2
e
(
0
)
2
4
(
1/2T
2
)
=TE
0
e
T
2
(
0
)
2
/2
Similarly, the inverse Fourier transform of the above function is
E (t ) =
1
_
TE
0
e
T
2
(
0
)
2
/2
_
e
i t
d=
TE
0
T
2
2

2
+(T
2
0
i t )
T
2
2

2
0
d
where again we use (0.55) to obtain
E (t ) =
TE
0
2
_

T
2
/2
e
(
T
2
0
i t
)
2
4
(
T
2
/2
)

T
2
2

2
0
=E
0
e
t
2
/2T
2
i
0
t
which brings us back to where we started.
As was previously mentioned, it would seem rather pointless to perform
a Fourier transform on the function f (t ) followed by an inverse Fourier trans-
form, just to end up with f (t ) again. Instead, we will typically apply a frequency-
dependent effect on f () before performing the inverse Fourier transform. In
this case, the nal function will be different from f (t ). Keep in mind that f () is
the continuous analog of the discrete coefcients c
n
(or the a
n
and b
n
). The real
part of f () indicates the amplitudes of the cosine waves necessary to construct
the function f (t ). The imaginary part of f () indicates the amplitudes of the sine
waves necessary to construct the function f (t ).
Finally, we comment on the Dirac delta function,
6
which is dened indirectly
through
f (t ) =
f
_
t
_
t
t
_
dt
(0.52)
The delta function
_
t
t
_
is zero everywhere except at t
=t where it is innite
in such a way as to make the integral take on the value of the function f (t ). (You
can think of
_
t
t
_
dt
as an innitely tall and innitely thin rectangle centered

at t
=t with an area unity.) The integral only pays attention to the value of f
_
t
_
at the point t
=t .
A remarkable attribute of the delta function can be seen from the Fourier
integral theorem. After rearranging the order of integration, the Fourier integral
theorem (0.50) can be written as
f (t ) =
f
_
t
_
_
_
1
2
e
i (t
t )
d
_
_
dt
(0.53)
6
See G. B. Arfken and H. J. Weber, Mathematical Methods for Physicists 6th ed., Sect. 1.15 (San
Diego: Elsevier Academic Press 2005).
A comparison of (0.52) and (0.53) shows that you may write the delta function
as a uniform superposition of all frequency components:
_
t
t
_
=
1
2
e
i (t
t )
d (0.54)
Example 0.7
Use (0.54) to prove Parsevals relation:
7
f ()
2
d=
f (t )
2
dt
which comes up often in the study of optics.
Solution:
f ()
2
d=
f () f

() d
=
_
_
_
1
f (t ) e
i t
dt
_
_
_
_
_
_
1
f

_
t
_
e
i t
dt
_
_
_
d
The order of integration can be changed to give
f ()
2
d=
f (t ) f

_
t
_
_
_
_
1
2
e
i (t
(t ))
d
_
_
_
dt dt
f (t ) f

_
t
_
t
(t )
_
dt dt
f (t ) f

(t ) dt =
f (t )
2
dt
Equation (0.54) was used to reach the nal result.
7
For a more general version of the relation, see G. B. Arfken and H. J. Weber, Mathematical
Methods for Physicists 6th ed., Sect. 15.5 (San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press 2005).
0.A Table of Integrals and Sums 19
Appendix 0.A Table of Integrals and Sums
The following formulas are useful for various problems encountered in the text.
e
ax
2
+bx+c
dx =
_
a
e
b
2
4a
+c
(Re{a} >0) (0.55)
_
0
e
i ax
1+x
2
/b
2
dx =
|b|
2
e
|ab|
(b >0) (0.56)
2
_
0
e
i acos(
)
d =2J
0
(a) (0.57)
a
_
0
J
0
(bx) x dx =
a
b
J
1
(ab) (0.58)
_
0
e
ax
2
J
0
(bx) x dx =
e
b
2
/4a
2a
(0.59)
_
0
sin
2
(ax)
(ax)
2
dx =

2a
(0.60)
_
dy
_
y
2
+c
_
3/2
=
y
c
_
y
2
+c
(0.61)
_
dx
x
x
2
c
=
1
c
sin
1
c
|x|
(0.62)
_
0
sin(ax) sin(bx) dx =
_
0
cos(ax) cos(bx) dx =
1
2
ab
(a, b integer) (0.63)
N
n=0
r
n
=
1r
N
1r
(0.64)
n=0
r
n
=
1
1r
(r <1) (0.65)
Exercises
Exercises for 0.1 Vector Calculus
P0.1 Let r =
_
x+2 y3 z
_
m and r
0
=
_
x+3 y+2 z
_
m.
(a) Find the magnitude of r.
(b) Find r r
0
.
(c) Find the angle between r and r
0
.
Answer: (a) r =
14 m; (c) 94
.
P0.2 Use the dot product (0.2) to show that the cross product EB is per-
pendicular to E and to B.
P0.3 Verify the BAC-CAB rule: A(BC) =B(A C) C(A B).
P0.4 Prove the following identity:
r
1
|r r
|
=
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
,
where
r
operates only on r, treating r
as a constant vector.
P0.5 Prove that
r
(rr
)
|rr
|
3
is zero, except at r =r
where a singularity situation

occurs.
P0.6 Verify (f) =0 for any vector function f.
P0.7 Verify
_
f g
_
=f
_
g
_
g( f) +
_
g
_
f (f ) g.
P0.8 Verify
_
f g
_
=g (f) f
_
g
_
.
P0.9 Verify
_
gf
_
=f g +g f and
_
gf
_
=
_
g
_
f +gf.
P0.10 Show that the Laplacian in cylindrical coordinates can be written as
2
=
1
_
+
1
2
+

2
z
2
Solution: (Partial)
Continuing with the approach in Example 0.2, we have
2
f
x
2
=
_
x
2
_
f
+

x
f
x
+
_
x
2
_
f
+

x
f
x
=
_
x
2
_
f
+

x
__
x
_
f
+
_
x
_
f
_
+
_
x
2
_
f
+

x
__
x
_
f
+
_
x
_
f
_
Exercises 21
and
2
f =

2
f
x
2
+

2
f
y
2
+

2
f
z
2
=
_
x
2
+

2
y
2
_
f
+
_
_
x
_
2
+
_
y
_
2
_

2
f
2
+2
__
x
__
x
_
+
_
y
__
y
__

2
f
+
__
x
2
_
+
_
y
2
__
f
+
_
_
x
_
2
+
_
y
_
2
_

2
f
2
+

2
z
2
The needed rst derivatives are given in Example 0.2. The needed second derivatives are
x
2
=
1
_
x
2
+y
2
x
2
_
x
2
+y
2
_
3/2
=
sin
2
x
2
=
2xy
_
x
2
+y
2
_
2
=
2sincos
y
2
=
1
_
x
2
+y
2
y
2
_
x
2
+y
2
_
3/2
=
cos
2
y
2
=
2xy
_
x
2
+y
2
_
2
=
2sincos
2
Finish the derivation by substituting these derivatives into the above expression.
P0.11 Verify Stokes theorem (0.12) for the function given in Example 0.3.
Take the surface to be a square in the xy-plane contained by |x| =1
and
=1, as illustrated in Fig. 0.6.

Figure 0.6
P0.12 Verify the following vector integral theorem for the same volume used
in Example 0.3, but with F = y
2
x x+xy z and G=x
2
x:
_
V
[F( G) +(G ) F] dv =
_
S
F(G n) da
P0.13 Use the divergence theorem to show that the function in P0.5 is 4
times the three-dimensional delta function
3
_
r
r
_
_
x
x
_
_
y
y
_
_
z
z
_
which has the property that
_
V
3
_
r
r
_
dv =
_
1 if V contains r
0 otherwise
Solution: We have by the divergence theorem
_
S
_
r r
r r
3
nda =
_
V
_
r r
r r
3
dv
FromP0.5, the argument in the integral on the right-hand side is zero except at r =r
. Therefore,
if the volume V does not contain the point r =r
, then the result of both integrals must be zero.

Let us construct a volume between an arbitrary surface S
1
containing r =r
and S
2
, the surface
of a tiny sphere centered on r =r
. Since the point r =r
is excluded by the tiny sphere, the result

of either integral in the divergence theorem is still zero. However, we have on the tiny sphere
_
S
2
_
r r
r r
3
nda =
2
_
0
_
0
_
1
r
2
_
r
2
sindd=4
Therefore, for the outer surface S
1
(containing r = r
) we must have the equal and opposite

result:
_
S
1
_
r r
r r
3
nda =4
This implies
_
V
_
r r
r r
3
dv =
_
4 if V contains r
0 otherwise
The integrand exhibits the same characteristics as the delta function Therefore,
r
_
rr
_
|rr
|
3
=
4
3
_
r r
_
. The delta function is dened in (0.52)
Exercises for 0.2 Complex Numbers
P0.14 Without using a calculator, compute z
1
z
2
and z
1
/z
2
in both rectan-
gular and polar form for z
1
=1i and z
2
=3+4i .
P0.15 Show that
a i b
a +i b
=e
2i tan
1 b
a
regardless of the sign of a, assuming a and b are real.
P0.16 Invert (0.15) to get both formulas in (0.18). HINT: You can get a second
equation by considering Eulers equation with a negative angle .
P0.17 Show Re{A} Re{B} =(AB +A
B) /4 +C.C.
P0.18 If E
0
=|E
0
| e
i
E
and B
0
=|B
0
| e
i
B
, and if k, z, , and t are all real, prove
Re
_
E
0
e
i (kzt )
_
Re
_
B
0
e
i (kzt )
_
=
1
4
_
E
0
B
0
+E
0
B
0
_
+
1
2
|E
0
| |B
0
| cos[2(kz t ) +
E
+
B
]
P0.19 (a) If sin=2, show that cos=i
3. HINT: Use sin

2
+cos
2
=1.
(b) Show that the angle in (a) is /2i ln(2+
3).
P0.20 Write Acos(t ) +2Asin(t +/4) as simple phase-shifted cosine wave
(i.e. nd the amplitude and phase of the resultant cosine wave).
Exercises 23
Exercises for 0.4 Fourier Theory
P0.21 Prove that Fourier Transforms have the property of linear superposi-
tion:
F
_
ag (t ) +bh(t )
_
=ag () +bh()
where g() F
_
g(t )
_
and h() F{h(t )}.
P0.22 Prove F
_
g(at )
_
=
1
|a|
g
_
a
_
.
P0.23 Prove F
_
g(t )
_
=g()e
i
.
P0.24 Show that the Fourier transform of E(t ) =E
0
e
(t /T)
2
cos
0
t is
E() =
TE
0
2
2
_
e
(+
0)
2
4/T
2
+e
(
0)
2
4/T
2
_
P0.25 Take the inverse Fourier transform of the result in P0.24. Check that it
returns exactly the original function.
P0.26 The following operation is referred to as the convolution of the func-
tions g(t ) and h(t ):
g(t ) h(t )
g(t )h(t ) dt
A convolution measures the overlap of g(t ) and a reversed h(t ) as a
function of the offset . The result is a function of .
(a) Prove the convolution theorem:
F
_
g(t ) h(t )
2g()h()
(b) Prove this related form of the convolution theorem:
F
_
g(t )h(t )
_
=
1
2
g(
) h(
Solution: Part (a)

F
_
_
_
g(t )h(t ) dt
_
_
_
=
1
_
_
_
g (t ) h(t ) dt
_
_
_
e
i
d (Let =t
+t )
=
1
g (t ) h
_
t
_
e
i
_
t
+t
_
dt dt
2
1
g (t ) e
i t
dt
1
h
_
t
_
e
i t
dt
2g () h()
P0.27 Prove the autocorrelation theorem:
F
_
_
_
h(t )h
(t )dt
_
_
_
=
2|h()|
2
P0.28 (a) Compute the Fourier transform of a Gaussian function, g(t ) =
e
t
2
/2T
2
. Do the integral by hand using the table in Appendix 0.A.
(b) Compute the Fourier transform of a sine function, h(t ) = sin
0
t .
Do the integral by hand using sin(x) =(e
i x
e
i x
)/2i , combined with
the integral formula (0.54).
(c) Use your results to parts (a) and (b) and a convolution theoremfrom
P0.26(b) to evaluate the Fourier transform f (t ) =e
t
2
/2T
2
sin
0
t . (The
answer should be similar to P0.24).
(d) Plot f (t ) and the imaginary part of its Fourier transform for the
parameters
0
=1 and T =8.
Chapter 1
Electromagnetic Phenomena
In 1861, James Maxwell assembled the various known relationships of electricity
and magnetism into a concise
1
set of equations:
2
E=

0
(Gausss Law) (1.1)
B=0 (Gausss Law for magnetism) (1.2)
E=
B
t
(Faradays Law) (1.3)
0
=
0
E
t
+J (Amperes Law revised by Maxwell) (1.4)
Here E and B represent electric and magnetic elds, respectively. The charge
density describes the charge per volume distributed through space.
3
The current
density J describes the motion of charge density (in units of times velocity). The
constant
0
is called the permittivity, and the constant
0
is called the permeability.
Taken together, these are known as Maxwells equations.
After introducing a key revisionof Amperes law, Maxwell realizedthat together
these equations comprise a complete self-consistent theory of electromagnetic
phenomena. Moreover, the equations imply the existence of electromagnetic
waves, which travel at the speed of light. Since the speed of light had been
measured before Maxwells time, it was immediately apparent (as was already
suspected) that light is a high-frequency manifestation of the same phenomena
that govern the inuence of currents and charges upon each other. Previously,
optics had been considered a topic quite separate fromelectricity and magnetism.
Once the connection was made, it became clear that Maxwells equations form
the theoretical foundations of optics, and this is where we begin our study of light.
1
In Maxwells original notation, this set of equations was hardly concise, written without the
convenience of modern vector notation or . His formulation wouldnt t easily a T-shirt!
2
See J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics, 3rd ed., p. 1 (New York: John Wiley, 1999) or the
back cover of D. J. Grifths, Introduction to Electrodynamics, 3rd ed. (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall,
1999).
3
Later in the book we use for the radius in cylindrical coordinates, not to be confused with
charge density.
25
26 Chapter 1 Electromagnetic Phenomena
1.1 Gauss Law
Origin

Figure 1.1 The geometry of
Coulombs law for a point charge
The force on a point charge q located at r exerted by another point charge q
located at r
is
F =qE(r) (1.5)
where
E(r) =
q
4
0
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
(1.6)
This relationship is known as Coulombs law. The force is directed along the
vector r r
, which points from charge q
to q as seen in Fig. 1.1. The length or

magnitude of this vector is given by
r r
(i.e. the distance between q
and q).
The familiar inverse square law can be seen by noting that
_
r r
__
r r
is a unit
vector. We have written the force in terms of an electric eld E(r), which is dened
throughout space (regardless of whether a second charge q is actually present).
The permittivity
0
amounts to a proportionality constant.
The total force from a collection of charges is found by summing expression
(1.5) over all charges q
n
associated with their specic locations r
n
. If the charges
are distributed continuously throughout space, having density
_
r
_
(units of
charge per volume), the summation for nding the net electric eld at r becomes
an integral:
E(r) =
1
4
0
_
V
_
r
_
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
dv
(1.7)
This three-dimensional integral
4
gives the net electric eld produced by the
charge density distributed throughout the volume V .

Origin

Figure 1.2 The geometry of
Coulombs law for a charge dis-
tribution.
Gauss law (1.1), the rst of Maxwells equations, follows directly from (1.7)
with some mathematical manipulation. No new physical phenomenon is intro-
duced in this process.
5
Derivation of Gauss law
We begin with the divergence of (1.7):
E(r) =
1
4
0
_
V
_
r
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
dv
(1.8)
The subscript on
r
indicates that it operates on r while treating r
, the dummy
variable of integration, as a constant. The integrand contains a remarkable mathe-
matical property that can be exploited, even without specifying the form of the
4
Here dv
stands for dx
dy
dz
and r
=x
x +y
y +z
z (in Cartesian coordinates).

5
Actually, Coulombs law applies only to static charge congurations, and in that sense it is
incomplete since it implies an instantaneous response of the eld to a reconguration of the
charge. The generalized version of Coulombs law, one of Jemenkos equations, incorporates
the fact that electromagnetic news travels at the speed of light. See D. J. Grifths, Introduction
to Electrodynamics, 3rd ed., Sect. 10.2.2 (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1999). Ironically, Gauss law,
which can be derived from Coulombs law, holds perfectly whether the charges remain still or are in
motion.
1.2 Gauss Lawfor Magnetic Fields 27
charge distribution
_
r
_
. Inmodernmathematical language, the vector expression
in the integral is a three-dimensional delta function (see (0.52):
6
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
4
3
_
r
r
_
4
_
x
x
_
_
y
y
_
_
z
z
_
(1.9)
A derivation of this formula is addressed in problem P0.13. The delta function
allows the integral in (1.8) to be performed, and the relation becomes simply
E(r) =
(r)
0
which is the differential form of Gauss law (1.1).

Figure 1.3 Gauss law in integral
form relates the ux of the elec-
tric eld through a surface to the
charge contained inside that sur-
face.
The (perhaps more familiar) integral form of Gauss law can be obtained by
integrating (1.1) over a volume V and applying the divergence theorem (0.11) to
the left-hand side:
_
S
E(r) n da =
1
0
_
V
(r) dv (1.10)
This form of Gauss law shows that the total electric eld ux extruding through a
closed surface S (i.e. the integral on the left side) is proportional to the net charge
contained within it (i.e. within volume V contained by S).
Example 1.1
Suppose we have an electric eld given by E=(x
2
y
3
x +z
4
y) cost . Use Gauss
law (1.1) to nd the charge density (x, y, z, t ).
Solution:
=
0
E=
0
_
x

x
+ y

y
+ z

z
_
(x
2
y
3
x +z
4
y) cost =2
0
xy
3
cost
Carl Friedrich Gauss (17771855, Ger-
man) was born in Braunschweig, Ger-
many to to a poor family. Gauss was
a child prodigy, and he made his rst
signicant advances to mathematics as
a teenager. In grade school, he purport-
edly was asked to add all integers from
1 to 100, which he did in seconds to the
astonishment of his teacher. (Presum-
ably, Friedrich immediately realized that
the numbers form fty pairs equal to
101.) Gauss made important advances
in number theory and dierential geome-
try. He developed the law discussed here
as one of Maxwells equations in 1835,
but it was not published until 1867, af-
ter Gauss death. Ironically, Maxwell
was already using Gauss law by that
time. (Wikipedia)
1.2 Gauss Lawfor Magnetic Fields
In order to feel a magnetic force, a charge q must be moving at some velocity (call
it v). The magnetic eld arises itself from charges that are in motion. We consider
the magnetic eld to arise from a distribution of moving charges described by a
current density J
_
r
_
throughout space. The current density has units of charge
times velocity per volume (or equivalently, current per cross sectional area). The
magnetic force law analogous to Coulombs law is
F =qvB (1.11)
6
For a derivation of Gauss law from Coulombs law that does not rely directly on the Dirac delta
function, see J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics 3rd ed., pp. 27-29 (New York: John Wiley,
1999).
where
B(r) =

0
4
_
V
J
_
r
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
dv
(1.12)
The latter equation is known as the Biot-Savart law. The permeability
0
dictates
the strength of the magnetic eld, given the current distribution.
Jean-Baptiste Biot (1774-1862,
French) was born in Paris. He attended
the cole Polytechnique where math-
ematician Gaspard Monge recognized
his academic potential. After grad-
uating, Biot joined the military and
then took part in an insurrection on
the side of the Royalists. He was cap-
tured, and his career might of have
met a tragic ending there had Monge
not successfully pleaded for his release
from jail. Biot went on to become a
professor of physics at the College de
France. Among other contributions,
Biot participated in the rst hot-air
balloon ride with Gay-Lussac and cor-
rectly deduced that meteorites that fell
on LAigle, France in 1803 came from
space. Later Biot formed collaborated
with the younger Felix Savart (1791-
1841) on the theory of magnetism and
electrical currents. They formulated
their famous law in 1820. (Wikipedia)
As with Coulombs law, we can apply mathematics to the Biot-Savart law
to obtain another of Maxwells equations. Nevertheless, the essential physics
is already inherent in the Biot-Savart law.
7
Using the result from P0.4, we can
rewrite (1.12) as
8
B(r) =
0
4
_
V
J
_
r
r
1
|r r
|
dv
=

0
4
_
V
J
_
r
_
|r r
|
dv
(1.13)
Since the divergence of a curl is identically zero (see P0.6), we get straight away
the second of Maxwells equations (1.2)
B=0
which is known as Gauss law for magnetic elds. (Two equations down; two to
go.)
The similarity between B=0 and E=/
0
, Gauss law for electric elds,
is immediately apparent. In integral form, Gauss lawfor magnetic elds looks the
same as (1.10), only with zero on the right-hand side. If one were to imagine the
existence of magnetic monopoles (i.e. isolated north or south charges), then the
right-hand side would not be zero. The law implies that the total magnetic ux
extruding through any closed surface balances, with as many eld lines pointing
inwards as pointing outwards.
Example 1.2
The eld surrounding a magnetic dipole is given by
B=
_
3xz x +3yz y +
_
3z
2
r
2
_
z
__
r
5
where r
_
x
2
+y
2
+z
2
. Show that this eld satises Gauss law for magnetic
elds (1.2).
7
Like Coulombs law, the Biot-Savart law is incomplete since it also implies an instantaneous
response of the magnetic eld to a reconguration of the currents. The generalized version of the
Biot-Savart law, another of Jemenkos equations, incorporates the fact that electromagnetic news
travels at the speed of light. Ironically, Gauss law for magnetic elds and Maxwells version of
Amperes law, derived from the Biot-Savart law, hold perfectly whether the Currents are steady or
vary in time. The Jemenko equations, analogs of Coubomb and Biot-Savart, also embody Faradays
law, the only of Maxwells equations that cannot be derived from the usual forms of Coulombs law
and the Biot-Savart law. See D. J. Grifths, Introduction to Electrodynamics, 3rd ed., Sect. 10.2.2
(New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1999).
8
Note that
r
ignores the variable of integration r
.
1.3 Faradays Law 29
Solution:
B=
_
3

x
_
xz
r
5
_
+3

y
_
yz
r
5
_
+

z
_
3z
2
r
5

1
r
3
__
=
_
3
_
z
r
5

5xz
r
6
r
x
_
+3
_
z
r
5

5yz
r
6
r
y
_
+
_
6z
r
5

15z
2
r
6
r
z
+
3
r
4
r
z
__
=
_
12z
r
5

15z
r
6
_
x
r
x
+y
r
y
+z
r
z
_
+
3
r
4
r
z
_
The necessary derivatives are r /x = x
_
_
x
2
+y
2
+z
2
= x/r , r /y = y/r , and
r /z =z/r , which lead to
B=
_
12z
r
5

15z
r
5
+
3z
r
5
_
=0
1.3 Faradays Law
Michael Faraday (17911867, English)
was one of the greatest experimental
physicist in history. Born on the out-
skirts of London, his family was not well
o, his father being a blacksmith. The
young Michael Faraday only had access
to a very basic education, and so he
was mostly self taught and never did
acquire much skill in mathematics. As
a teenager, he obtained a seven-year
apprenticeship with a book binder, dur-
ing which time he read many books,
including books on science and electric-
ity. Given his background, Faradays
entry into the scientic community was
very gradual, from servant to assistant
and eventually to director of the labo-
ratory at the Royal Institution. Faraday
is perhaps best known for his work that
established the law of induction and
for the discovery that magnetic elds
can interact with light, known as the
Faraday eect. He also made many ad-
vances to chemistry during his career
including guring out how to liquify
several gases. Faraday was a deeply re-
ligious man, serving as a Deacon in his
church. (Wikipedia)
Michael Faraday discovered that changing magnetic elds induce electric elds.
This distinct physical effect, called induction, can be observed when a magnet is
waved around by a loop of wire. Faradays law says that a change in magnetic ux
through a circuit loop (see Fig. 1.4) induces a voltage around the loop according
to
_
C
E d =

t
_
S
B n da (1.14)
The right side describes a change in the magnetic ux through a surface and the
left side describes the voltage around the loop containing the surface.
We apply Stokes theorem (0.12) to the left-hand side of Faradays law and
obtain
_
S
(E) n da =

t
_
S
B n da or
_
S
_
E+
B
t
_
n da =0 (1.15)
Since this equation is true regardless of what surface is chosen, it implies
E=
B
t
which is the differential form of Faradays law (1.4) (three of Maxwells equations
down; one to go).

Magnet
N
Figure 1.4 Faradays law.
Example 1.3
For the electric eldgiveninExample 1.1, E=(x
2
y
3
x+z
4
y) cost , use Faradays
law (1.3) to nd B(x, y, z, t ).
Solution:
B
t
=E=cost
x y z
z
x
2
y
3
z
4
0
=cost
_
x

y
(0) x

z
_
z
4
_
y

x
(0) + y

z
_
x
2
y
3
_
+ z

x
_
z
4
_
z

y
_
x
2
y
3
_
_
=
_
4z
3
x +3x
2
y
2
z
_
cost
Integrating in time, we get
B=
_
4z
3
x +3x
2
y
2
z
_ sint
plus possibly a constant eld.

Andr-Marie Ampre (1775-1836,
French) was born in Lyon, France. The
young Andr-Marie was tutored in Latin
by his father, which gave him access to
the mathematical works of Euler and
Bernoulli to which he was drawn at
an early age. When Ampre reached
young adulthood, French revolutionaries
executed his father. In 1799, Ampre
married Julie Carron, who died of ill-
ness a few years later. These tragedies
weighed heavy on Ampre through-
out his life, especially because he was
away from his wife during much of their
short life together, while he worked as
a professor of physics and chemistry in
Bourg. After her death, Ampre was
appointed professor of mathematics at
the University of Lyon and then in 1809
at the cole Polytechnique in Paris. Af-
ter hearing that a current-carrying wire
could attract a compass needle in 1820,
Ampre quickly developed the theory of
electromagnetism. (Wikipedia)
1.4 Amperes Law
The Biot-Savart law (1.12) can also be used to derive Amperes law. Amperes law
is merely the inversion of the Biot-Savart law (1.12) so that J appears by itself,
unfettered by integrals or the like.
Inversion of Biot-Savart Law
We take the curl of (1.12):
B(r) =

0
4
_
V
_
J
_
r
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
_
dv
(1.16)
We next apply the differential vector rule from P0.7 while noting that J
_
r
_
does not
depend on r so that only two terms survive. The curl of B(r) then becomes
B(r) =

0
4
_
V
_
J
_
r
_
_
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
_
_
J
_
r
_

r
_
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
_
dv
(1.17)
According to (1.9), the rst term in the integral is 4J
_
r
3
_
r
r
_
, which is easily
integrated. To make progress on the second term, we observe that the gradient can
be changed to operate on the primed variables without affecting the nal result
(i.e.
r
r
). In addition, we take advantage of a vector integral theorem (see
P0.12) to arrive at
B(r) =
0
J(r)

0
4
_
V
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
_
r
J
_
r
__
dv
+

0
4
_
S
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
_
J
_
r
_
n
_
da
(1.18)
1.5 Maxwells Adjustment to Amperes Law 31
The last term in (1.18) vanishes if we assume that the current density J is com-
pletely contained within the volume V so that it is zero at the surface S. Thus, the
expression for the curl of B(r) reduces to
B(r) =
0
J(r)

0
4
_
V
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
_
r
J
_
r
__
dv
(1.19)
The latter term in (1.19) vanishes if
J
=0 (steady-state approximation) (1.20)

in which case we have succeeded in isolating J and obtained Amperes law.
Figure 1.5 Amperes law.
Without Maxwells correction, Amperes law
B=
0
J (1.21)
only applies to quasi steady-state situations. The physical interpretation of Am-
peres law is more apparent in integral form. We integrate both sides of (1.21) over
an open surface S, bounded by contour C and apply Stokes theorem (0.12) to the
left-hand side:
_
C
B(r) d =
0
_
S
J(r) n da
0
I (1.22)
This law says that the line integral of B around a closed loop C is proportional to
the total current owing through the loop (see Fig. 1.5). The units of J are current
per area, so the surface integral containing J yields the current I in units of charge
per time.
1.5 Maxwells Adjustment to Amperes Law
Maxwell was the rst to realize that Amperes law was incomplete as written in
(1.21) since there exist situations where J =0 (especially the case for optical
phenomena). Maxwell gured out that (1.20) should be replaced with
J =
t
(1.23)
This is called the continuity equation for charge and current densities. Simply
stated, if there is net current owing into a volume there ought to be charge piling
up inside. For the steady-state situation inherently considered by Ampere, the
current into and out of a volume is balanced so that
_
t =0.
Derivation of the Continuity Equation
Consider a volume of space enclosed by a surface S through which current is
owing. The total current exiting the volume is
I =
_
S
J n da (1.24)
where n is the outward normal to the surface. The units on this equation are that
of current, or charge per time, leaving the volume.
Since we have considered a closed surface S, the net current leaving the enclosed
volume V must be the same as the rate at which charge within the volume vanishes:
I =

t
_
V
dv (1.25)
Upon equating these two expressions for current, as well as applying the diver-
gence theorem (0.11) to the former, we get
_
V
Jdv =
_
V
t
dv or
_
V
_
J +
t
_
dv =0 (1.26)
Since (1.26) is true regardless of which volume V we choose, it implies (1.23).
James Clerk Maxwell (18311879,
Scottish) was born to a wealthy family
in Edinburgh, Scotland. Originally, his
name was John Clerk, but he added his
mothers maiden name when he inher-
ited an estate from her family. Maxwell
was a bright and inquisitive child and
displayed an unusual gift for mathe-
matics at an early age. He attended
Edinburgh University and then Trin-
ity College at Cambridge University.
Maxwell started his career as a professor
at Aberdeen University, but lost his job
a few years later during restructuring,
at which time Maxwell took a post at
Kings College of London. Maxwell is
best known for his fundamental contri-
butions to electricity and magnetism
and the kinetic theory of gases. He
studied numerous other subjects, includ-
ing the human perception of color and
color-blindness, and is credited with pro-
ducing the rst color photograph. He
originally postulated that electromag-
netic waves propagated in a mechanical
luminiferous ether. He founded the
Cavendish laboratory at Cambridge in
1874, which has produced 28 Nobel
prizes to date. Maxwell, one of Ein-
steins heros, died of stomach cancer in
his forties. (Wikipedia)
Maxwells main contribution (aside from organizing other peoples formulas
9
and recognizing them as a complete set of coupled differential equationsa big
deal) was the injection of the continuity equation (1.23) into the derivation of
Amperes law (1.19). This yields
B=
0
J +

0
4
t
_
V
_
r
_
_
r r
_
|r r
|
3
dv
(1.27)
Then substitution of (1.7) into this formula gives
0
=J +
0
E
t
the last of Maxwells equations (1.4).
This revised Amperes law includes the additional term
0
E/t , which is
known as the displacement current (density). The displacement current exists
even in the absence of any actual charge density .
10
It indicates that a changing
electric eld behaves like a current in the sense that it produces magnetic elds.
The similarity between Faradays law and the corrected Amperes law (1.4) is
apparent. No doubt this played a part in motivating Maxwells work.
In summary, in the previous section we saw that the basic physics in Amperes
law is present in the Biot-Savart law. Infusing it with charge conservation (1.23)
yields the corrected form of Amperes law.
9
Although Gauss developed his law in 1835, it was not published until after his death in 1867,
well after Maxwell published his laws of electromagnetism, so in practice Maxwell accomplished
much more than merely xing Amperes law.
10
Based on (1.27), one might think that the displacement current
0
E/t ought to be zero in a
region of space with no charge density . However, in (1.27) appears in a volume integral over a
region of space sufciently large (consistent with a previous supposition) to include any charges
responsible for the eld E; presumably, all elds arise from sources.
1.5 Maxwells Adjustment to Amperes Law 33
Example 1.4
(a) Use Gausss lawto nd the electric eldina gapthat interupts a current-carrying
wire, as shown in Fig. 1.6.
(b) Find the strength of the magnetic eld on contour C using Amperes lawapplied
to surface S
1
.
(c) Show that the displacement current in the gap leads to the identical magnetic
eld when using surface S
2
.
Solution: (a) Well assume that the cross-sectional area of the wire A is much wider
than the gap separation. Then the electric eld in the gap will be uniform, and the
integral on the left-hand side of (1.10) reduces to E A since there is essentially no
eld other than in the gap. If the accumulated charge on the plate is Q, then the
right-hand side of (1.10) integrates to Q/
0
, and the electric eld turns out to be
E =Q/(
0
A).
C

I I
Figure 1.6 Charging capacitor.
(b) Let the contour C be a circle at radius r . The magnetic eld points around the
circumference with constant strength. The left-hand side of (1.22) becomes 2r B
while the right-hand side is
0
_
S
J nda =
0
I =
0
Q
t
This gives for the magnetic eld
B =

0
2r
Q
t
(c) If instead we use the displacement current
0
E/t in place of J in in the right-
hand side of right-hand side of (1.22), we get for that piece
0
_
S
_
0
E
t
_
nda =
0
0
E
t
A =
0
Q
t
which is the same as before.
Example 1.5
For the electric eld E = (x
2
y
3
x +z
4
y)cost (see Example 1.1) and the as-
sociated magnetic eld B =
_
4z
3
x +3x
2
y
2
z
_
sint
(see Example 1.3), nd the

current density J(x, y, z, t ).
Solution:
J =
0
E
t
=
sint
x y z
z
4z
3
0 3x
2
y
2
+
0
(x
2
y
3
x +z
4
y) sint
=
sint
_
6x
2
y x 6xy
2
y +4z
3
y
_
+
0
(x
2
y
3
x +z
4
y) sint
=
__
0
x
2
y
3
+
6x
2
y
_
x +
_
0
z
4
+
4z
3
6xy
2
_
y
_
sint
1.6 Polarization of Materials
We are essentially nished with our analysis of Maxwells equations except for a
brief discussion of current density J and charge density . The current density
can be decomposed into three general categories. First, as you might expect,
currents can arise from free charges in motion such as electrons in a metal. We
denote this type of current as J
free
. Second, individual atoms can exhibit internal
currents that give rise to paramagnetic and diamagnetic effects, denoted by J
m
.
These are seldom important in optics problems, and so we will ignore these types
of currents. Third, molecules in a material can elongate and become dipoles in
response to an applied electric eld. We denote this type of current, which arises
from the polarization of the medium, by J
p
.
Figure 1.7 A polarized medium
with P=0.
The polarization current J
p
is associated with a dipole distribution function P,
called the polarization (in units of dipoles per volume, or charge times length per
volume). Physically, if the dipoles (depicted in Fig. 1.7) change their strength or
orientation as a function of time in some coordinated fashion, an effective current
density arises in the medium. Since the time-derivative of dipole moments
renders charge times velocity, a distribution of sloshing dipoles gives a current
density equal to
J
p
=
P
t
(1.28)
We thus write the total current in an optical medium (ignoring magnetic effects)
as
J =J
free
+
P
t
(1.29)
Now lets turn our attention to charge density . We seldom consider the
propagation of electromagnetic waveforms through electrically charged materials.
We therefore will write
free
= 0. One might be tempted in this case to set the
overall charge density to zero, but this would be wrong. The polarization of a
neutral material, described by P, canvary spatially, leading to local concentrations
of positive or negative charges.
We let
p
denote the charge density created by variations in the polarization
P(r). To determine an expression for
p
, we write the continuity equation (1.23)
as applied to the currents and charges associated with this polarization:
J
p
=
p
t
(1.30)
Substitution of (1.28) into this equation immediately yields
p
= P (1.31)
To better appreciate local charge buildup due to variation in the medium
polarization, consider the divergence theorem (0.11) applied to P(r):
_
S
P(r) n da =
_
V
P(r) dv (1.32)
1.7 The Wave Equation 35
The left-hand side of (1.32) is a surface integral, which after integrating gives
units of charge. Physically, it is the sum of the charges touching the inside of
surface S (multiplied by a minus since by convention dipole vectors point from
the negatively charged end of a molecule to the positively charged end). When
P is zero, there are equal numbers of positive and negative charges touching
S from within, as depicted in Fig. 1.7. When P is not zero, the positive and
negative charges touching S are not balanced, as depicted in Fig. 1.8. Essentially,
excess charge ends up within the volume because the non-uniform alignment of
dipoles causes them to be cut preferentially at the surface.
11
Figure 1.8 A polarized medium
with P=0.
Since we will ignore free charges (for optical media), we write the charge
density according to (1.32) as
= P (1.33)
In summary, in electrically neutral non-magnetic media, Maxwells equations
(in terms of the medium polarization P) are
12
E=
P
0
(Gausss law) (1.34)
B=0 (Gausss law for magnetism) (1.35)
E=
B
t
(Faradays law) (1.36)
0
=
0
E
t
+
P
t
+J
free
(Amperes law; xed by Maxwell) (1.37)
1.7 The Wave Equation
WhenMaxwell unied electromagnetic theory, he immediately noticed that waves
are solutions to this set of equations. In fact his desire to nd a set of equations
that allowed for waves aided his effort to nd the correct equations. After all, it
was already known that light traveled as waves. Kirchhoff had previously noticed
that 1
_
0
gives the correct speed of light c =310
8
m/s (which had previously
been measured). Faraday and Kerr had observed that strong magnetic and electric
elds affect light propagating in crystals. The time was right to suspect that light
was an electromagnetic phenomena at high frequency.
At rst glance, Maxwells equations might not immediately suggest (to the
inexperienced eye) that waves are solutions. However, we can manipulate the
11
The gures may give you the impression that you could always just draw a surface that avoids
cutting any dipoles. However, the function P(r) is continuous, while the gures depict crudely just
a few dipoles. In a continuous material you cant draw a surface that avoids cutting dipoles.
12
It is not uncommon to see the macroscopic Maxwell equations written in terms of two auxiliary
elds: H and D. The eld H is useful in magnetic materials. In these materials, the combination
B
_
0
in Amperes law is replaced by H B/
0
M, where J
m
= M is the current associated
with the materials magnetization. Since we only consider nonmagnetic materials (M=0), there
is little point in using H. The eld D, called the displacement, is dened as D
0
E+P. This
combination of E and P occurs in Coulombs law and Amperes law. For the purposes of this book,
it is conceptually more clear to retain the polarization P as a separate eld in these two equations.
equations (rst order differential equations that couple E to B) into the familiar
wave equation (decoupled second order differential equations for either E or B).
You should become familiar with this derivation. In what follows, we will derive
the wave equation for E. The derivation of the wave equation for B is very similar
(see problem P1.6).
Derivation of the Wave Equation
Taking the curl of (1.3) gives
(E) +

t
(B) =0 (1.38)
We may eliminate B by substitution from (1.4), which gives
(E) +
0
2
E
t
2
=
0
J
t
(1.39)
Next we apply the differential vector identity (0.10), (E) = ( E)
2
E,
and use Gauss law (1.1) to replace the term E, which brings us to
2
E
0
2
E
t
2
=
0
J
t
+
0
(1.40)
Substitution from (1.29) and (1.33) gives the more-useful-for-optics form
2
E
0
2
E
t
2
=
0
J
free
t
+
0
2
P
t
2

1
0
( P) (1.41)
The left-hand side of (1.41) is the familiar wave equation. However, the right-
hand side contains a number of source terms, which arise when various currents
and/or polarizations are present. The rst term on the right-hand side of (1.41)
describes currents of free charges, which are important for determining the reec-
tion of light from a metallic surface or for determining the propagation of light in
a plasma. The second term on the right-hand side describes dipole oscillations,
which behave similar to currents. The nal term on the right-hand side of (1.41)
is important in anisotropic media such as crystals. In this case, the polarization
P responds to the electric eld along a direction not necessarily parallel to E,
due to the inuence of the crystal lattice (addressed in chapter 5). In summary,
when light propagates in a material, at least one of the terms on the right-hand
side of (1.41) will be non zero. As an example, in glass, J
free
=0 and P=0, but
2
P
_
t
2
=0 since the medium polarization responds to the light eld, giving rise
to refractive index (discussed in chapter 2).
Example 1.6
Show that the electric eld
E=(x
2
y
3
x +z
4
y) cost
1.7 The Wave Equation 37
and the associated charge density (see Example 1.1)
=2
0
xy
3
cost
together with the associated current density (see Example 1.5)
J =
__
0
x
2
y
3
+
6x
2
y
_
x +
_
0
z
4
+
4z
3
6xy
2
_
y
_
sint
satisfy the wave equation (1.40).
Solution: We have
2
E
0
2
E
t
2
=
_
_
2y
3
+6x
2
y
_
x +12z
2
y
_
cost
+
0
2
(x
2
y
3
x +z
4
y) cost
=
_
_
2y
3
+6x
2
y +
0
2
x
2
y
3
_
x +
_
12z
2
+
0
2
z
4
_
y
_
cost
Similarly,
0
J
t
+
0
=
__
2
x
2
y
3
+6x
2
y
_
x +
_
2
z
4
+12z
2
6xy
2
_
y
_
cost
+
_
2y
3
x +6xy
2
y
_
cost
=
_
2
x
2
y
3
+6x
2
y +2y
3
_
x +
_
2
z
4
+12z
2
_
y
_
cost
The two expressions are equivalent, and the wave equation is satised.
13
The magnetic eld B satises a similar wave equation, decoupled from E (see
P1.6). However, the two waves are not independent. The elds for E and B must
be chosen to be consistent with each other through Maxwells equations. After
solving the wave equation (1.41) for E, one can obtain the consistent B fromE via
Faradays law (1.36).
In vacuum all of the terms on the right-hand side in (1.41) are zero, in which
case the wave equation reduces to
2
E
0
2
E
t
2
=0 (vacuum) (1.42)
Solutions to this equation can take on every imaginable functional shape (speci-
ed at a given instantthe evolution thereafter being controlled by the equation).
Moreover, since the differential equation is linear, any number of solutions can be
added together to create other valid solutions. Consider the subclass of solutions
that propagate in a particular direction. These waveforms preserve shape while
traveling with speed
c 1
_
0
=2.997910
8
m/s (1.43)
13
The expressions in Example 1.6 hardly look like waves. The (quite unlikely) current and charge
distributions, which ll all space, would have to be articially induced rather than arise naturally in
response to a eld disturbance on a medium.
Inthis case, Edepends onthe argument urct , where uis a unit vector specifying
the direction of propagation. The shape is preserved since features occurring at a
given position recur downstream at a distance ct after a time t . By checking this
solution in (1.42), one conrms that the speed of propagation is c (see P1.8). As
mentioned previously, one may add together any combination of solutions (even
with differing directions of propagation) to form other valid solutions.
Exercises 39
Exercises
Exercises for 1.1 Gauss Law
P1.1 Consider an innitely long hollow cylinder with inner radius a and
outer radius b as shown in Fig. 1.9. Assume that the cylinder has a
charge density =k/s
2
for a <s <b and no charge elsewhere, where s
is the radial distance from the axis of the cylinder. Use Gausss Law in
integral form to nd the electric eld produced by this charge for each
of the three regions: s <a, a <s <b, and s >b.
a
b
Figure 1.9 A charged cylinder with
charge located between a and b.
HINT: For each region rst draw an appropriate Gaussian surface and
integrate the charge density over the volume to gure out the enclosed
charge. Then use Gausss law in integral form and the symmetry of the
problem to solve for the electric eld.
Exercises for 1.3 Faradays Law
P1.2 Suppose that an electric eld is given by E(r, t ) =E
0
cos
_
k r t +
_
,
where kE
0
and is a constant phase. Show that
B(r, t ) =
kE
0
cos
_
k r t +
_
is consistent with (1.3).
Exercises for 1.4 Amperes Law
P1.3 A conducting cylinder with the same geometry as P1.1 carries a current
density J =k/s z along the axis of the cylinder for a <s <b, where s is
the radial distance from the axis of the cylinder. Using Amperes Law in
integral form, nd the magnetic eld due to this current. Find the eld
for each of the three regions: s <a, a <s <b, and s >b.
HINT: For each region rst draw an appropriate Amperian loop and
integrate the current density over the surface to gure out how much
current passes through the loop. Then use Amperes law in integral
form and the symmetry of the problem to solve for the magnetic eld.
Exercises for 1.6 Polarization of Materials
P1.4 Memorize Maxwell equations (1.1)(1.4) together with (1.29) and (1.33)
(write them on your homework from memory). Summarize (very)
briey the physical principles described by eachof Maxwells equations,
and the assumptions that go into writing (1.29) and (1.33). Be prepared
to reproduce them from memory on an exam.
P1.5 Check that the E and B elds in P1.2, satisfy the rest of Maxwells equa-
tions (1.1), (1.2), and (1.4). What are the implications for J and ?
Exercises for 1.7 The Wave Equation
P1.6 Derive the wave equation for the magnetic eld B in vacuum (i.e. J =0
and =0).
P1.7 Show that the magnetic eld in P1.2 is consistent with the wave equa-
tion derived in P1.6.
P1.8 Verify that E( u rct ) satises the vacuum wave equation (1.42), where
E has an arbitrary functional form.
P1.9 (a) Show that E(r, t ) = E
0
cos
_
k( u r ct ) +
_
is a solution to the vac-
uum wave equation (1.42), where u is an arbitrary unit vector and k is
a constant with units of inverse length.
(b) Show that each wave front forms a plane, which is why such solu-
tions are often called plane waves. HINT: A wavefront is a surface in
space where the argument of the cosine (i.e. the phase of the wave) has
a constant value. Set the cosine argument to an arbitrary constant and
see what positions are associated with that phase.
(c) Determine the speed v = r /t that a wave front moves in the u
direction. HINT: Set the cosine argument to a constant, solve for r, and
differentiate r with respect to t .
(d) By analysis, determine the wavelength in terms of k. HINT: Find
the distance between identical wave fronts by changing the cosine
argument by 2 at a given instant in time.
(e) Use (1.34) to show that E
0
and u must be perpendicular to each
other in vacuum.
L1.10 Measure the speed of light using a rotating mirror. Provide an estimate
of the experimental uncertainty in your answer (not the percentage
error from the known value). (video)
Screen
Laser
Delay Path
Rotating
Mirror
A
B C
D
Figure 1.10 Geometry for lab 1.10.
Retro-reflecting
Collimation Telescope
Front of laser can
serve as screen
for returning light
Long Corridor
Rotating
mirror
Laser
Figure 1.11 A schematic of the setup for lab 1.10.
Exercises 41
Figure 1.10 shows a simplied geometry for the optical path for light
in this experiment. Laser light from A reects from a rotating mirror
at B towards C. The light returns to B, where the mirror has rotated,
sending the light to point D. Notice that a mirror rotation of deects
the beam by 2.
P1.11 Ole Roemer made the rst successful measurement of the speed of light
in 1676 by observing the orbital period of Io, a moon of Jupiter with a
period of 42.5 hours. When Earth is moving toward Jupiter, the period
is measured to be shorter than 42.5 hours because light indicating the
end of the moons orbit travels less distance than light indicating the
beginning. When Earth is moving away from Jupiter, the situation is
reversed, and the period is measured to be longer than 42.5 hours.
Sun
Jupiter
Io
Earth
Earth
Figure 1.12 Geometry for P1.11
(a) If you were to measure the time for 40 observed orbits of Io when
Earth is moving directly toward Jupiter and then several months later
measure the time for 40 observed orbits when Earth is moving directly
away fromJupiter, what would you expect the difference between these
two measurements be? Take the Earths orbital radius to be 1.510
11
m.
To simplify the geometry, just assume that Earth moves directly toward
or away from Jupiter over the entire 40 orbits (see Fig. 1.12).
(b) Roemer did the experiment described in part (a), and experimen-
tally measured a 22 minute difference. What speed of light would one
deduce from that value?
Ole Roemer (16441710, Danish) was
a man of many interests. In addition to
measuring the speed of light, he created
a temperature scale which with slight
modication became the Fahrenheit
scale, introduced a system of standard
weights and measures, and was heavily
involved in civic aairs (city planning,
etc.). Scientists initially became inter-
ested in Ios orbit because its eclipse
(when it went behind Jupiter) was an
event that could be seen from many
places on earth. By comparing accurate
measurements of the local time when Io
was eclipsed by Jupiter at two remote
places on earth, scientists in the 1600s
were able to determine the longitude
dierence between the two places.
P1.12 In an isotropic medium (i.e. P = 0), the polarization can often be
written as function of the electric eld: P =
0
(E) E, where (E) =
1
+
2
E +
3
E
2
. The higher order coefcients in the expansion (i.e.
2
,
3
, ...) are typically small, so only the rst term is important at low
intensities. The eld of nonlinear optics deals with intense light-matter
interactions, where the higher order terms of the expansion become
important. This can lead to phenomena such as harmonic generation.
Starting with Maxwells equations, derive the wave equation for nonlin-
ear optics in an isotropic medium:
2
E
0
0
_
1+
1
_
2
E
t
2
=
0
2
_
2
E +
3
E
2
+
_
E
t
2
+
0
J
t
We retain the possibility of current here since, for example, in a gas
some of the molecules might ionize in the presence of a strong eld,
giving rise to currents.
Chapter 2
Plane Waves and Refractive Index
Now we turn our focus to sinusoidal solutions of Maxwells equations, called
plane waves. Restricting our attention to plane waves may seem limiting at rst,
since (as mentioned in chapter 1) any waveform shape that travels in a particular
direction can satisfy the wave equation in vacuum, as long as it moves at the
speed c and has the requisite connections between E and B. It turns out, however,
that an arbitrary waveformcan always be constructed froma linear superposition
of sinusoidal waves. Thus, there is no loss of generality if we focus our attention
on plane-wave solutions.
In a material, the electric eld of a plane wave induces oscillating dipoles,
and these oscillating dipoles in turn alter the electric eld. We use the index of
refraction to describe this effect. Plane waves of different frequencies experience
different refractive indices, which causes them to travel at different speeds in
materials. Thus, an arbitrary waveform, which is composed of multiple sinusoidal
waves, invariably changes shape as it travels in a material, as the different sinu-
soidal waves change relationship with respect to one another. This phenomenon
(called dispersion), discussed in chapter 7, is one of the primary reasons why
physicists and engineers choose to work with sinusoidal waves. Every waveform
except for individual sinusoidal waves changes shape as it travels in a material.
When describing plane waves, it is convenient to employ complex numbers
to represent physical quantities. This is particularly true for problems involving
absorption, which takes place in metals and, to a lesser degree (usually), in di-
electrics (e.g. glass). When the electric eld is represented using complex notation,
the index of refraction also becomes a complex number. You should make sure
you are comfortable with the material in section 0.2 before proceeding.
2.1 Plane Wave Solutions to the Wave Equation
Consider the wave equation for an electric eld waveformpropagating in vacuum
(1.42):
2
E
0
2
E
t
2
=0 (2.1)
43
44 Chapter 2 Plane Waves and Refractive Index
We are interested in solutions to (2.1) that have the functional form (see P1.9)
E(r, t ) =E
0
cos
_
k r t +
_
(2.2)
Here represents an arbitrary (constant) phase term. The vector k, called the
wave vector, may be written as
k k u=
2
vac
u (vacuum) (2.3)
where k has units of inverse length, u is a unit vector dening the direction of
propagation, and
vac
is the length by which r must vary (in the direction of u) to
cause the cosine to go through a complete cycle. This distance is known as the
(vacuum) wavelength. The frequency of oscillation is related to the wavelength via
=
2c
vac
(vacuum) (2.4)
The frequency has units of radians per second. Frequency is also often ex-
pressed as /2 in units of inverse seconds or Hz. Notice that k and cannot
be chosen independently; the wave equation requires them to be related through
the dispersion relation
k =

c
(vacuum) (2.5)
Typical values for
vac
are given in Fig. 2.1. Sometimes the spatial period of the
wave is expressed as 1/
vac
, in units of cm
1
, called the wave number.
AM
FM
Microwave
Infrared
Visible
Ultraviolet
X-rays
Gamma Rays
Radar
F
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y

(
H
z
)
W
a
v
e
l
e
n
g
t
h

(
m
)
Radio
Figure 2.1 The electromagnetic
spectrum
A magnetic wave accompanies any electric wave, and it obeys a similar wave
equation (see P1.6). The magnetic wave corresponding to (2.2) is
B(r, t ) =B
0
cos
_
k r t +
_
, (2.6)
It is important to note that B
0
, k, , and are not independently chosen in (2.6).
In order to satisfy Faradays law(1.3), the arguments of the cosine in (2.2) and (2.6)
must be identical. Therefore, in vacuum the electric and magnetic elds travel in
phase. In addition, Faradays law requires (see P1.2)
B
0
=
kE
0
(2.7)
The above cross product means that B
0
, is perpendicular to both E
0
and k. Mean-
while, Gauss law E =0 forces k to be perpendicular to E
0
. It follows that the
magnitudes of the elds are related through B
0
=kE
0
/ or B
0
=E
0
/c, in view of
(2.5).
The inuence of the magnetic eld only becomes important (in comparison
to the electric eld) for charged particles moving near the speed of light. This
typically takes place only for extremely intense lasers (>10
18
W/cm
2
, see P2.12)
where the electric eld is sufciently strong to cause electrons to oscillate with
velocities near the speed of light. We will be interested inoptics problems that take
2.1 Plane Wave Solutions to the Wave Equation 45
place at far less intensity where the effects of the magnetic eld can typically be
safely ignored. Throughout the remainder of this book, we will focus our attention
mainly on the electric eld with the understanding that we can at any time deduce
the (less important) magnetic eld from the electric eld via Faradays law.
Figure 2.2 Depiction of electric
and magnetic elds associated
with a plane wave.
Figure 2.2 depicts the electric eld (2.2) and the associated magnetic eld
(2.6) like transverse waves on a string. However, they are actually large planar
sheets of uniform eld strengths (difcult to draw) that move in the direction of k.
The name plane wave is given since a constant argument in (2.2) at any moment
describes a plane, which is perpendicular to k. A plane wave lls all space and
may be thought of as a series of innite sheets, each with a different uniform eld
strength, moving in the k direction.
At this point, we rewrite our plane wave solution using complex number nota-
tion. Although this change in notation will not make the task at hand any easier
(and may even appear to complicate things), we introduce it here in preparation
for later sections, where it will save considerable labor. (For a review of complex
notation, see section 0.2.)
Using complex notation we rewrite (2.2) as
E(r, t ) =Re
_
E
0
e
i (krt )
_
(2.8)
where we have hidden the phase term inside of

E
0
as follows:
1
E
0
E
0
e
i
(2.9)
The next step we take is to become intentionally sloppy. Physicists throughout
the world have conspired to avoid writing Re{ } in an effort (or lack thereof if
you prefer) to make expressions less cluttered. Nevertheless, only the real part of
the eld is physically relevant even though expressions and calculations contain
both real and imaginary terms. This sloppy notation is okay since the real and
imaginary parts of complex numbers never intermingle when adding, subtracting,
differentiating, or integrating. We can delay taking the real part of the expression
until the end of the calculation. Also, when hiding a phase inside of the eld
amplitude as in (2.8), we drop the tilde (might as well since we are already being
sloppy); we will automatically assume that the eld amplitude is complex and
contains phase information. Putting this all together, our plane wave solution in
complex notation is written simply as
E(r, t ) =E
0
e
i (krt )
(2.10)
It is possible to construct any electromagnetic disturbance from a linear superpo-
sition of such waves, which we will do in chapter 7.
1
We have assumed that each vector component of the eld propagates with the same phase. To
be more general, one could write

E
0
xE
0x
e
i
x
+ yE
0y
e
i
y
+ zE
0z
e
i
z
.
Example 2.1
Verify that the complex plane wave (2.10) is a solution to the wave equation (2.1).
Solution: The rst term gives
2
E
0
e
i (krt )
=E
0
_

2
x
2
+

2
y
2
+

2
z
2
_
e
i (k
x
x+k
y
y+k
z
zt )
=E
0
_
k
2
x
+k
2
y
+k
2
z
_
e
i (krt )
=k
2
E
0
e
i (krt )
(2.11)
and the second term gives
1
c
2
2
t
2
_
E
0
e
i (krt )
_
=
2
c
2
E
0
e
i (krt )
(2.12)
Upon insertion into (2.1) we obtain the vacuum dispersion relation (2.5), which
species the connection between the wavenumber k and the frequency , empha-
sizing that k and cannot be chosen independently.
2.2 Index of Refraction
Now lets examine how plane waves behave in dielectric media (e.g. glass). We
assume an isotropic,
2
homogeneous,
3
and non-conducting medium (i.e. J
free
=0).
In this case, we expect E and P to be parallel to each other so P=0 from(1.34).
4
The general wave equation (1.41) for the electric eld reduces in this case to
2
E
0
2
E
t
2
=
0
2
P
t
2
(2.13)
Since we are considering sinusoidal waves, we consider solutions of the form
E=E
0
e
i (krt )
P=P
0
e
i (krt )
(2.14)
By writing this, we are making the (reasonable) assumption that if an electric
eld stimulates a medium at frequency , then the polarization in the medium
also oscillates at frequency . This assumption is typically rather good except
for extreme electric elds, which can generate frequency harmonics through
nonlinear effects (see P1.12). Recall that by our prior agreement, the complex
amplitudes of E
0
and P
0
carry phase information. Thus, while E and P in (2.14)
oscillate at the same frequency, they can be out of phase with respect to each
2
Isotropic means the material behaves the same for propagation in any direction. Many crystals
are not isotropic as well see in Chapter 5.
3
Homogeneous means the material is everywhere the same throughout space.
4
This follows for a wave of the form (2.14) if P and k are perpendicular.
2.2 Index of Refraction 47
other. This phase discrepancy is most pronounced for materials that absorb
energy at the plane wave frequency.
Substitution of the trial solutions (2.14) into (2.13) yields
k
2
E
0
e
i (krt )
+
0
2
E
0
e
i (krt )
=
0
2
P
0
e
i (krt )
(2.15)
To go further, we need to make an explicit connection between E
0
and P
0
(exter-
nal to Maxwells equations). In a linear medium, the polarization amplitude is
proportional to the strength of the applied electric eld:
P
0
() =
0
() E
0
() (2.16)
This is known as a constitutive relation. We have introduced a dimensionless pro-
portionality factor () called the susceptibility, which depends on the frequency
of the eld. We account for the possibility that E and P oscillate out of phase by
allowing () to be a complex number.
By inserting (2.16) into (2.15) and canceling the eld terms, we obtain the
dispersion relation in dielectrics:
k
2
=
0
0
_
1+()
_
2
or k =

c
_
1+() (2.17)
where we have used c 1/
0
. In general, () is a complex number, which
leads to a complex index of refraction, dened by
5
N () n() +i () =
_
1+() (2.18)
where n and are respectively the real and imaginary parts of the index. (Note
that is not k.) According to (2.17), the magnitude of the wave vector is also
complex according to
k =
N
c
=
(n +i )
c
(2.19)
The use of complex index of refraction only makes sense in the context of complex
representation of plane waves.
The complex index N takes into account absorption as well as the usual
oscillatory behavior of the wave. We see this by explicitly placing (2.19) into (2.14):
E(r, t ) =E
0
e
Im{k}r
e
i (Re{k}rt )
=E
0
e
c
ur
e
i
_
n
c
urt
_
(2.20)
As before, u is a real unit vector specifying the direction of k. Again, when looking
at (2.20), by special agreement in advance, we should just think of the real part,
namely
6
E(r, t ) =E
0
e
c
ur
cos
_
n
c
u r t +
_
(2.21)
5
Electrodynamics books often use the electric displacement D
0
E+P=E. See M. Born and
E. Wolf, Principles of Optics, 7th ed., p. 3 (Cambridge University Press, 1999). The permittivity
encapsulates the constitutive relation that connects P with E. In a linear medium we have

0
(1+), so that the index of refraction is given by N =
/
0
.
6
For the sake of simplicity in writing (2.21) we assume linearly polarized light. That is, all vector
components of E
0
have the same complex phase . We will consider other possibilities, such as
circularly polarized light, in chapter 6.
where an overall phase was formerly held in the complex vector

E
0
. (The tilde
had been suppressed.) Figure 2.3 shows a graph of (2.21). The imaginary part of
the index causes the wave to decay as it travels. The real part of the index n is
associated with the oscillations of the wave. By inspection of the cosine argument
in (eq:2.3.20), we see that the speed of the (diminishing) sinusoidal wave fronts is
v
phase
() =c /n() (2.22)
It is apparent that n() is the ratio of the speed of the light in vacuumto the speed
of the wave in the material.
Figure 2.3 Electric eld of a decay-
ing plane wave. For convenience
in plotting, the direction of prop-
agation is chosen to be in the z
direction (i.e. u= z).
In a dielectric, the vacuum relations (2.3) and (2.4) are modied to read
Re{k}
2
u, (2.23)
where
vac
/n. (2.24)
While the frequency is the same, whether in a material or in vacuum, the
wavelength varies with the real part of the index n.
Example 2.2
When n = 1.5, = 0.1, and = 5 10
14
Hz, nd (a) the wavelength inside the
material, and (b) the propagation distance over which the amplitude of the wave
diminishes by the factor e
1
(called the skin depth).
Solution: (a)
=

vac
n
=
2c
n
=
c
n
=
_
310
8
m/s
_
1.5
_
510
14
Hz
_ =400 nm
(b)
e
c
z
=e
1
z =
c
=
c
2
=
310
8
m/s
2(0.1)
_
510
14
Hz
_ =950 nm
Obtaining n and fromthe complex susceptibility
From (2.18) we have
(n +i )
2
=n
2
2
+i 2n =1+Re
_
_
+i Im
_
_
=1+ (2.25)
The real parts and the imaginary parts in the above equation are separately equal:
n
2
2
=1+Re
_
_
and 2n =Im
_
_
(2.26)
2.3 The Lorentz Model of Dielectrics 49
From the latter equation we have
=Im
_
_
/2n (2.27)
When this is substituted into the rst equation of (2.26) we get a quadratic in n
2
n
4
_
1+Re
_
__
n
2
_
Im
_
__
2
4
=0 (2.28)
The positive
7
real root to this equation is
n =
_
_
_
1+Re
_
__
+
_
_
1+Re
_
__
2
+
_
Im
_
__
2
2
(2.29)
The imaginary part of the index is then obtained from (2.27).
When absorption is small we can neglect the imaginary part of (), and
(2.29) reduces to
n() =
_
1+() (negligible absorption) (2.30)
Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (18531928,
Dutch) was born in Arnhem, Nether-
lands, the son a successful nurseryman.
Hendricks mother died when he was
nine years old. He studied classical lan-
guages and then entered the University
of Leiden where he was strongly inu-
enced by astronomy professor Frederik
Kaiser, whose niece Hendrik married.
Hendrik was persuaded to become a
physicist and wrote a doctoral disserta-
tion entitled On the theory of reection
and refraction of light, in which he
rened Maxwells electromagnetic the-
ory. Lorentz correctly hypothesized that
the atoms were composed of charged
particles, and that their movement was
the source of light. He also derived the
transformations of space and time, later
used in Einsteins theory of relativity.
Lorentz won the Nobel prize in 1902
for his contributions to electromagnetic
theory. (Wikipedia)
2.3 The Lorentz Model of Dielectrics
To compute the index of refraction in either a dielectric or a conducting material,
we require a model that describes the response of electrons in the material to
the passing electric eld wave. Of course, the model in turn inuences how the
electric eld propagates, which is what inuences the material in the rst place!
The model therefore must be solved together with the propagating eld in a
self-consistent manner.
Hendrik Lorentz developed a very successful model in the late 1800s, which
treats each (active) electroninthe mediumas a classical particle obeying Newtons
second law (F =ma). In the case of a dielectric medium, electrons are subject to
an elastic restoring force that keeps each electron bound to its respective atom
and a damping force that dissipates energy and gives rise to absorption.
The Lorentz model determines the susceptibility () (the connection be-
tween the electric eld E
0
and the polarization P
0
) and hence the index of re-
fraction. The model assumes that all atoms (or molecules) in the medium are
identical, each with one (or a few) active electrons responding to the external
eld. The atoms are uniformly distributed throughout space with N identical
active electrons per volume (units of number per volume). The polarization of
the material is then
P=Nq
e
r
micro
(2.31)
Recall that polarization has units of dipoles per volume. Each dipole has strength
q
e
r
micro
, where r
micro
is a microscopic displacement of the electron from equilib-
rium.
7
It is possible to have n <0 for so called meta materials, not considered here.
At the time of Lorentz, atoms were thought to be clouds of positive charge
wherein point-like electrons sat at rest unless stimulated by an applied electric
eld. In our modern quantum-mechanical viewpoint, r
micro
corresponds to an
average displacement of the electronic cloud, which surrounds the nucleus (see
Fig. 2.4). The displacement r
micro
of the electron charge in an individual atom
depends on the local strength of the applied electric eld E at the position of the
atom. Since the diameter of the electronic cloud is tiny compared to a wavelength
of (visible) light, we may consider the electric eld to be uniform across any
individual atom.
+
Unperturbed
+
-
In an electric field
Figure 2.4 A distorted electronic
cloud becomes a dipole.
The Lorentz model uses Newtons equation of motion to describe an electron
displacement from equilibrium within an atom. In accordance with the classical
laws of motion, the electron mass m
e
times its acceleration is equal to the sum of
the forces on the electron:
m
e
r
micro
=q
e
Em
e
r
micro
k
Hooke
r
micro
(2.32)
The electric eld pulls on the electron with force q
e
E.
8
A drag force (or friction)
m
e
r
micro
opposes the electron motion and accounts for absorption of energy.
Without this term, it is only possible to describe optical index at frequencies away
from where absorption takes place. Finally, k
Hooke
r
micro
is a force accounting
for the fact that the electron is bound to the nucleus. This restoring force can be
thought of as an effective spring that pulls the displaced electron back towards
equilibrium with a force proportional to the amount of displacement, so this
term is essentially the familiar Hookes law. With some rearranging, (2.32) can be
written as
r
micro
+ r
micro
+
2
0
r
micro
=
q
e
m
e
E (2.33)
where
0

_
k
Hooke
/m
e
is the natural oscillation frequency (or resonant fre-
quency) associated with the electron mass and the spring constant.
There is a subtle problem with our analysis, which we will continue to neglect
in this section, but which should be mentioned. The eld E in (2.32) is the net
eld, which is inuenced by the presence of all of the dipoles. The actual eld that
a dipole feels, however, does not include its own eld. That is, we should remove
from E the eld produced by each dipole in its own vicinity. This signicantly
modies the result if the density of the material is sufciently high. This effect is
described by the Clausius-Mossotti formula, which is treated in appendix 2.B.
In accordance with our examination of a single sinusoidal wave, we insert
(2.14) into (2.33) and obtain
r
micro
+ r
micro
+
2
0
r
micro
=
q
e
m
e
E
0
e
i (krt )
(2.34)
Note that within a given atomthe excursions of r
micro
are so small that kr remains
essentially constant, since kr varies with displacements on the scale of an optical
8
The electron also experiences a force due to the magnetic eld of the light, F = q
e
v
micro
B,
but this force is tiny for typical optical elds.
2.3 The Lorentz Model of Dielectrics 51
wavelength, which is huge compared to the size of an atom. The inhomogeneous
solution to (2.34) is (see P2.1)
r
micro
=
_
q
e
m
e
_
E
0
e
i (krt )
2
0
i
2
(2.35)
The electron position r
micro
oscillates (not surprisingly) with the same frequency
as the driving electric eld. This solution illustrates the convenience of com-
plex notation. The imaginary part in the denominator implies that the electron
oscillates with a phase different from the electric eld oscillations; the damping
term (the imaginary part in the denominator) causes the two to be out of phase
somewhat. The complex algebra in (2.35) accomplishes quite easily what would
otherwise be cumbersome (i.e. working out a trigonometric phase).
Figure 2.5 Real and imaginary
parts of the index for a single
Lorentz oscillator dielectric with
p
=10.
We are now able to write the polarization in terms of the electric eld. By
substituting (2.35) into (2.31) and rearranging, we obtain
P=
0
_

2
p
2
0
i
2
_
E
0
e
i (krt )
(2.36)
where the plasma frequency
p
has been introduced:
9
_
Nq
2
e
0
m
e
(2.37)
A comparison of (2.36) with (2.16) reveals the (complex) susceptibility:
() =
2
p
2
0
i
2
(2.38)
The index of refraction is then found by substituting the susceptibility (2.38) into
(2.18). The real and imaginary parts of the index are solved by equating separately
the real and imaginary parts of (2.18), namely
(n +i )
2
=1+() =1+
2
p
2
0
i
2
(2.39)
A graph of n and is given in Fig. 2.5.
Most materials actually have more than one species of active electron, and
different active electrons behave differently. The generalization of (2.39) in this
case is
(n +i )
2
=1+() =1+
j
f
j
2
p
j
2
0 j
i
j
2
(2.40)
where f
j
is the aptly named oscillator strength for the j
th
species of active electron.
Each species also has its own plasma frequency
p
j
, natural frequency
0 j
, and
damping coefcient
j
.
9
In a plasma, charges move freely so that both the Hooke restoring force and the dragging term
can be neglected (i.e.
0
=0,
=0). For a plasma,

p
is the dominant parameter.
Lorentz introduced this model well before the development of quantum
mechanics. Even though the model pays no attention to quantum physics, it
works surprisingly well for describing frequency-dependent optical indices and
absorption of light. As it turns out, the Schrdinger equation applied to two levels
in an atom reduces in mathematical form to the Lorentz model in the limit of
low-intensity light. Quantum mechanics also explains the oscillator strength,
which before the development of quantum mechanics had to be inserted ad hoc
to make the model agree with experiments. The friction term turns out not to be
associated with something internal to atoms but rather with collisions between
atoms, which on average give rise to the same behavior.
2.4 Index of Refraction of a Conductor
In a conducting medium, the outer electrons of atoms are free to move without
being tethered to any particular atom. However, the electrons are still subject to a
damping force due to collisions that remove energy and give rise to absorption.
Such collisions are associated with resistance in a conductor. As it turns out,
we can obtain a simple formula for the refractive index of a conductor from the
Lorentz model in section 2.3. We simply remove the restoring force that binds
electrons to their atoms. That is, we set
0
=0 in (2.39), which gives
(n +i )
2
=1
2
p
i +
2
(2.41)
This underscores the fact that P/t is a current very much like J
free
. When
we remove the restoring force k
Hooke
=m
e
2
0
from the atomic model, the elec-
trons effectively become free, and it is not surprising that they exactly mimic the
behavior of a free current J
free
. A graph of n and in the conductor model is given
in Fig. 2.6. Below, we provide the derivation for (2.41) in the context of J
free
rather
than as a limiting case of the dielectric model.
10
parts of the index for conductor
with
p
=50.
Derivation of Refractive Index for a Conductor
We will include the current density J
free
while setting the medium polarization P
to zero. The wave equation is
2
E
0
2
t
2
E=
0
t
J
free
(2.42)
We assume that the current is made up of individual electrons traveling with
velocity v
micro
:
J
free
=Nq
e
v
micro
(2.43)
As before, N is the number density of free electrons (in units of number per vol-
ume). Recall that current density J
free
has units of charge times velocity per volume
10
G. Burns, Solid State Physics, Sect. 9-5 (Orlando: Academic Press, 1985).
2.5 Poyntings Theorem 53
(or current per cross sectional area), so (2.43) may be thought of as a denition of
current density in a fundamental sense.
Again, the electrons satisfy Newtons equation of motion, similar to (2.32) except
without a restoring force:
m
e
r
micro
=q
e
Em
e
r
micro
(2.44)
For a sinusoidal electric eld E=E
0
e
i (krt )
, the solution to this equation is
v
micro
r
micro
=
_
q
e
m
e
_
E
0
e
i (krt )
i
(2.45)
where again we assume that the electron oscillation excursions described by r
micro
are small compared to the wavelength so that r can be treated as a constant in
(2.44). The current density (2.43) in terms of the electric eld is then
J
free
=
_
Nq
2
e
m
e
_
E
0
e
i (krt )
i
(2.46)
We substitute this together with the electric eld into the wave equation (2.42) and
get
k
2
E
0
e
i (krt )
+
2
c
2
E
0
e
i (krt )
=i
_
0
Nq
2
e
m
e
_
E
0
e
i (krt )
i
(2.47)
This simplies down to the dispersion relation
k
2
=

2
c
2
_
1
2
p
i +
2
_
(2.48)
which agrees with (2.41). We have made the substitution
2
p
=Nq
2
e
/
0
m
e
in accor-
dance with (2.37). As usual, k
2
=

2
(1+)
c
2
=

2
(n+i )
2
c
2
, so the susceptibility and the
index may be extracted from (2.48).
+
+
+
+
+ +
Figure 2.7 The electrons in a
conductor can easily move in
response to the applied eld.
Note that in the low-frequency limit (i.e. ), the current density (2.46)
reduces to Ohms law J = E, where = Nq
2
e
/m
e
is the DC conductivity. In
the high-frequency limit (i.e. ), the behavior changes over to that of a
free plasma, where collisions, which are responsible for resistance, become less
important since the excursions of the electrons during oscillations become very
small. This formula captures the general behavior of metals, but actual values of
the index vary from this somewhat (see P2.6 ).
In either the conductor or dielectric model, the damping termremoves energy
from electron oscillations. The damping term gives rise to an imaginary part
of the index, which causes an exponential attenuation of the plane wave as it
propagates.
2.5 Poyntings Theorem
Until now, we have described light as the propagation of an electromagnetic
disturbance. However, we typically observe light by detecting absorbed energy
rather than the eld amplitude directly. In this section we examine the connection
between propagating electromagnetic elds (such as the plane waves discussed
in this chapter) and the energy transported by such elds.
In the late 1800s John Poynting developed (from Maxwells equations) the the-
oretical foundation that describes light energy transport. You should appreciate
and remember the ideas involved, especially the denition and meaning of the
Poynting vector, even if they forget the specics of its derivation.
John Henry Poynting (18521914,
English) was the youngest son of a Uni-
tarian minister who operated a school
near Manchester England where John
received his childhood education. He
later attended Owens College in Manch-
ester and then went on to Cambridge
University where he distinguished him-
self in mathematics and worked under
James Maxwell in the Cavendish Lab-
oratory. Poynting joined the faculty of
the University of Birmingham (then
called Mason Science College) where
he was a professor of physics from 1880
until his death. Besides developing his
famous theorem on the conservation
of energy in electromagnetic elds, he
performed innovative measurements of
Newtons gravitational constant and
discovered that the Suns radiation
draws in small particles towards it, the
Poynting-Robertson eect. Poynting
was the principal author of a multi-
volume undergraduate physics textbook,
which was in wide use until the 1930s.
(Wikipedia)
Derivation of Poyntings Theorem
We require just two of Maxwells Equations: (1.3) and (1.4). We take the dot product
of B/
0
with the rst equation and the dot product of E with the second equation.
Then by subtracting the second equation from the rst we obtain
B
0
(E) E
_
0
_
+
0
E
E
t
+
B
B
t
=E J (2.49)
The rst two terms can be simplied using the vector identity P0.8. The next two
terms are the time derivatives of
0
E
2
/2 and B
2
/2
0
, respectively. The relation
(2.49) then becomes
_
E
B
0
_
+

t
_
0
E
2
2
+
B
2
2
0
_
=E J (2.50)
This is Poyntings theorem. Each term in this equation has units of power per
volume.
It is conventional to write Poyntings theorem as follows:
11
S+

t
(u
eld
+u
medium
) =0 (2.51)
where
S E
B
0
(2.52)
is called the Poynting vector, which has units of power per area, called irradiance.
The expression
u
eld

0
E
2
2
+
B
2
2
0
(2.53)
is the energy per volume stored in the electric and magnetic elds. Derivations of
the electric eld energy density and the magnetic eld energy density are given in
Appendices 2.C and 2.D. (See (2.79) and (2.86).) The derivative
u
medium
t
E J (2.54)
11
See D. J. Grifths, Introduction to Electrodynamics, 3rd ed., Sect. 8.1.2 (NewJersey: Prentice-Hall,
1999).
2.5 Poyntings Theorem 55
describes the power per volume delivered to the medium from the eld. Equa-
tion (2.54) is reminiscent of the familiar circuit power law, Power = Voltage
Current. Power is delivered when a charged particle traverses a distance while
experiencing a force. This happens when currents ow in the presence of electric
elds.
Poyntings theorem is essentially a statement of the conservation of energy,
where S describes the ow of energy. To appreciate this, consider Poyntings
theorem (2.51) integrated over a volume V (enclosed by surface S). If we also
apply the divergence theorem (0.11) to the term involving S we obtain
_
S
S n da =

t
_
V
(u
eld
+u
medium
) dv (2.55)
Notice that the volume integral over energy densities u
eld
and u
medium
gives
the total energy stored in V , whether in the form of electromagnetic eld energy
density or as energy density that has been given to the medium. The integration
of the Poynting vector over the surface gives the net Poynting vector ux directed
outward. Equation (2.55) indicates that the outward Poynting vector ux matches
the rate that total energy disappears from the interior of V . Conversely, if the
Poynting vector is directed inward (negative), then the net inward ux matches
the rate that energy increases within V . The vector S denes the ow of energy
through space. Its units of power per area are just what is needed to describe the
brightness of light impinging on a surface.
Example 2.3
(a) Find the Poynting vector S and energy density u
eld
for the plane wave eld E=
xE
0
cos(kz t ) traveling in vacuum. (b) Check that S and u
eld
satisfy Poyntings
theorem.
Solution: The associated magnetic eld is (see P1.2)
B=
zk xE
0
cos(kz t ) = y
kE
0
0
cos(kz t )
(a) The Poynting vector is
S =
EB
0
= xE
0
cos(kz t ) y
kE
0
0
cos(kz t )
= zc
0
E
2
0
cos
2
(kz t )
where we have used =kc and
0
=1/(c
2
0
). The energy density is
u
eld
=

0
E
2
2
+
B
2
2
0
=

0
E
2
0
2
cos
2
(kz t ) +
kE
2
0
2
0
2
cos
2
(kz t )
=
0
E
2
0
cos
2
(kz t )
Notice that S =cu. The energy density traveling at speed c gives rise to the power
per area passing a surface (perpendicular to z).
(b) We have
S =c
0
E
2
0
z
cos
2
(kz t ) =2kc
0
E
2
0
cos(kz t ) sin(kz t )
whereas
u
eld
t
=
0
E
2
0
t
cos
2
(kz t ) =2
0
E
2
0
cos(kz t ) sin(kz t )
Poyntings theorem (2.50) is satised since =kc.
It is common to replace the rapidly oscillating function cos
2
(kz t ) with its time
average 1/2, but this would have inhibited our ability to take the above derivatives.
2.6 Irradiance of a Plane Wave
Consider the electric plane-wave eld E(r, t ) =E
0
e
i krt
. The magnetic eld that
accompanies this electric eld can be found from Maxwells equation (1.3), and it
turns out to be (compare with problem P1.2)
B(r, t ) =
kE
0
e
i (krt )
(2.56)
When k is complex, B is out of phase with E, and this occurs when absorption
takes place. When there is no absorption, then k is real, and B and E carry the
same complex phase.
Before computing the Poynting vector (2.52), which involves multiplication,
we must remember our unspoken agreement that only the real parts of the elds
are relevant. We necessarily remove the imaginary parts before multiplying (see
(0.22)). To obtain the real parts of the elds, we add their respective complex
conjugates and divide the result by 2 (see (0.30)). The real eld associated with
the plane-wave electric eld is
E(r, t ) =
1
2
_
E
0
e
i (krt )
+E
0
e
i (k
rt )
_
(2.57)
and the real eld associated with (2.56) is
B(r, t ) =
1
2
_
kE
0
e
i (krt )
+
k
e
i (k
rt )
_
(2.58)
We have merely exercised our previous (conspiratorial) agreement that only the
real parts of (2.39) and (2.56) are to be retained.
Nowwe are ready to calculate the Poynting vector. The algebra is a little messy
in general, so we restrict the analysis to the case of an isotropic mediumfor the
sake of simplicity.
2.6 Irradiance of a Plane Wave 57
Calculation of the Poynting Vector for a Plane Wave
Using (2.57) and (2.56) in (2.52) gives
S E
B
0
=
1
2
_
E
0
e
i (krt )
+E
0
e
i (k
rt )
_
1
2
0
_
kE
0
e
i (krt )
+
k
e
i (k
rt )
_
=
1
4
0
_
E
0
(kE
0
)
e
2i (krt )
+
E
0
(kE
0
)
e
i (kk
)r
+
E
0
_
k
0
_
e
i (kk
)r
+
E
_
k
0
_
e
2i (k
rt )
_
=
1
4
0
_
k
E
0
( uE
0
) e
2i (krt )
+
k
0
( uE
0
) e
2
c
ur
+C.C.
_
(2.59)
The letters C.C. stand for the complex conjugate of what precedes in the square
brackets. The direction of k is specied with the real unit vector u. We have also
used (2.19) to rewrite i (kk
) as 2(/c) u.
The assumption of an isotropic medium (not a crystal) means that E(r, t ) =0
and therefore u E
0
=0. We can use this fact together with the BAC-CAB rule P0.3
to reduce the above expression to
S =
u
4
0
_
k
(E
0
E
0
) e
2i (krt )
+
k
_
E
0
E
0
_
e
2
c
ur
+C.C.
_
(2.60)
The nal expression shows that (in an isotropic medium) the ow of energy is in
the direction of u (or k). This agrees with our intuition that energy ows in the
direction that the wave propagates.
Very often, we are interested in the time-average of the Poynting vector, de-
noted by S
t
. There are no electronics that can keep up with the rapid oscillation
of visible light (i.e. >10
14
Hz). Therefore, what is always measured is the time-
averaged absorption of energy. Under time averaging, the rst term in (2.60)
vanishes since it rapidly oscillates positive and negative. The time-averaged
Poynting vector (including the term C.C.) becomes
S
t
=
u
4
0
k +k
_
E
0
E
0
_
e
2
c
ur
= u
n
0
c
2
_
|E
0x
|
2
+
E
0y
2
+|E
0z
|
2
_
e
2
c
ur
(2.61)
We have used (2.19) to rewrite k +k
as 2(n/c). We have also used (1.43) to

rewrite 1/
0
c as
0
c.
The expression (2.61) is formally called the irradiance (with the direction u
included). However, we often speak of the intensity of a eld I , which amounts to
the same thing, but without regard for the direction u. The denition of intensity
is thus less specic, and it can be applied, for example, to standing waves where
the net irradiance is technically zero (i.e. counter-propagating plane waves with
zero net energy ow). Nevertheless, atoms in standing waves feel the oscillating
eld. In general, the intensity is written as
I =
n
0
c
2
E
0
E
0
=
n
0
c
2
_
|E
0x
|
2
+
E
0y
2
+|E
0z
|
2
_
(2.62)
where in this case we have ignored absorption (i.e. 0). Alternatively, we
could consider |E
0x
|
2
,
E
0y
2
, and |E
0z
|
2
to include the factor exp(2(/c) u r)
so that they correspond to the local electric eld. Equation (2.62) agrees with S in
example 2.3 where n =1 and E
0
= xE
0
is real; the cosine squared averages to 1/2.
Appendix 2.A Radiometry, Photometry, and Color
Radiant Power (of a source): Elec-
tromagnetic energy. Units: W=J/s
Radiant Solid-Angle Intensity
(of a source): Radiant power per
steradian emitted from a point-
like source (4 steradians in a
sphere). Units: W/Sr
Radiance or Brightness (of a
source): Radiant solid-angle in-
tensity per unit projected area of
an extended source. The projected
area foreshortens by cos, where
is the observation angle rela-
tive to the surface normal. Units:
W/(Sr cm
2
)
Radiant Emittance or Exitance
(froma source): Radiant Power
emitted per unit surface area of an
extended source (the Poynting ux
leaving). Units: W/cm
2
Irradiance (to a receiver) Often
called intensity: Electromagnetic
power delivered per area to a
receiver: Poynting ux arriving.
Units: W/cm
2
Table 2.1 Radiometric quantities
and units.
The eld of study that quanties the energy in electromagnetic radiation (in-
cluding visible light) is referred to as radiometry. Table 2.1 lists several concepts
important in radiometry. The radiance at a detector and the exitance from a
source are both direct measurements of the average Poynting ux, and the other
quantities in the table are directly related to the Poynting ux through geometric
factors. One of the challenges in radiometry is that light sensors always have a
wavelength-dependent sensitivity to light, whereas the quantities in Table 2.1
treat light of all wavelengths on equal footing. Disentangling the detector re-
sponse from the desired signal in a radiometric measurement takes considerable
care.
Photometry refers to the characterization of light energy in the context of the
response of the human eye. In contrast to radiometry, photometry takes great care
to mimic the wavelength-dependent effects of the eye-brain detection system so
that photometric quantities are an accurate reection of our everyday experience
with light. The concepts used in photometry are similar to those in radiometry,
except that the radiometric quantities are multiplied by the spectral response of
our eye-brain system.
Photoptic
683 W/lm @555 nm
Scotoptic
1700 W/lm @507 nm
Figure 2.8 The response of a stan-
dard human eye under relatively
bright conditions (photoptic) and
in dim conditions (scotoptic).
Our eyes contain two types of photoreceptorsrods and cones. The rods are
very sensitive and provide virtually all of our vision in dim light light conditions
(e.g. when you are away from articial light at night). Under these conditions we
experience scotoptic vision, with a response curve that peaks at
vac
= 507 nm
and is insensitive to wavelengths longer than 640 nm
12
(see Fig. 2.8). As the
light gets brighter the less-sensitive cones take over, and we experience photoptic
vision, with a response curve that peaks at
vac
=555 nm and drops to near zero
for wavelengths longer than
vac
= 700 nm or shorter than
vac
= 400 nm (see
Fig. 2.8). Photometric quantities are usually measured using the bright-light
(photoptic) response curve since that is what we typically experience in normally
lit spaces.
12
Since rods are do not detect the longer red wavelengths, it is possible to have articial red
illumination without ruining your dark-adapted vision. For example, an airplane can have red
illumination on the instrument panel without interfering with a pilots ability to achieve full dark-
adapted vision to see things outside the cockpit.
2.A Radiometry, Photometry, and Color 59
Photometric units, which may seema little obscure, were rst dened interms
of an actual candle with prescribed dimensions made from whale tallow. The
basic unit of luminous power is called the lumen, dened to be (1/683) W of light
with wavelength
vac
=555 nm, the peak of the eyes bright-light response. More
radiant power is required to achieve the same number of lumens for wavelengths
away from the center of the eyes spectral response. Photometric units are often
usedto characterize roomlighting as well as photographic, projection, anddisplay
equipment. For example, both a 60 W incandescent bulb and a 13 W compact
uorescent bulb emit a little more than 800 lumens of light. The difference in
photometric output versus radiometric output reects the fact that most of the
energy radiated from an incandescent bulb is emitted in the infrared, where
our eyes are not sensitive. Table 2.2 gives the names of the various photometric
quantities, which parallel the entries for radiometric quantities in Table 2.1. We
include a variety of units that are sometimes encountered.
Luminous Power (of a source):
Visible light energy emitted per
time from a source. Units: lumens
(lm) lm=(1/683) W @ 555 nm
Luminous Solid-Angle Intensity
(of a source) Luminous power per
steradian emitted from a point-
like source. Units: candelas (cd),
cd =lm/Sr.
Luminance (of a source): Lumi-
nous solid-angle intensity per pro-
jected area of an extended source.
(The projected area foreshortens
by cos, where is the observa-
tion angle relative to the surface
normal.) Units: cd/cm
2
= stilb,
cd/m
2
=nit, nit =3183 lambert =
3.4 footlambert
Luminous Emittance or Exitance
(froma source): Luminous Power
emitted per unit surface area of an
extended source. Units: lm/cm
2
Illuminance (to a receiver): Inci-
dent luminous power delivered
per area to a receiver. Units: lux;
lm/m
2
= lux, lm/cm
2
= phot,
lm/ft
2
=footcandle
Table 2.2 Photometric quantities
and units.
Cones come in three varieties, each of which is sensitive to light in different
wavelength bands. Figure 2.9 plots the normalized sensitivity curves
13
for short
(S), medium(M), and long (L) wavelength cones. Because your brain gets separate
signals from each type of cone, this system gives you the ability to measure
basic information about the spectral content of light. We interpret this spectral
information as the color of the light. When the three types of cones are stimulated
equally the light appears white, and when they are stimulated differently the
light appears colored. Light with different spectral distributions can produce the
exact same color sensation, so our perception of color only gives very general
information about the spectral content of light. For example, light coming from
a television has a different spectral composition than the light incident on the
camera that recorded the image, but both can produce the same color sensation.
This ambiguity can lead to a potentially dangerous situation in the lab because
lasers from 670 nm to 800 nm all appear the same color. (They all stimulate the
L and M cones in essentially the same ratio.) However, your eyes response falls
off quickly in the near-infrared, so a dangerous 800 nm high-intensity beam can
appear about the same as an innocuous 670 nm laser pointer.
S
M
L
Figure 2.9 Normalized cone sensi-
tivity functions
Because we have have three types of cones, our perception of color can be
well-represented using a three-dimensional vector space referred to as a color
space.
14
A color space can be dened in terms of three basis light sources
13
A. Stockman, L. Sharpe, and C. Fach, The spectral sensitivity of the human short-wavelength
cones, Vision Research, 39, 2901-2927 (1999); A. Stockman, and L. Sharpe, Spectral sensitivities
of the middle- and long-wavelength sensitive cones derived from measurements in observers of
known genotype, Vision Research, 40, 1711-1737 (2000).
14
The methods we use to represent color are very much tied to human physiology. Other species
have photoreceptors that sense different wavelength ranges or do not sense color at all. For instance,
Papilio butteries have six types of cone-like photoreceptors and certain types of shrimp have
twelve. Reptiles have four-color vision for visible light, and pit vipers (a subgroup of snakes) have
an additional set of eyes that look like pits on the front of their face. These pits are essentially
pinhole cameras sensitive to infrared light, and give these reptiles crude night-vision capabilities.
(Not surprisingly, pit vipers hunt most actively at night time.) On the other hand, some insects can
perceive markings on owers that are only visible in the ultraviolet. Each of these species would
referred to as primaries. Different colors (i.e. the vectors in the color space) are
created by mixing the primary light in different ratios. If we had three primaries
that separately stimulated each type of rod (S, M, and L), we could recreate any
color sensation exactly simply by mixing those primaries. However, by inspecting
Fig. 2.9 you can see that this ideal set of primaries cannot be found because of
the overlap between the S, M, and L curves. Any light that will stimulate one type
of cone will also stimulate another. This overlap makes it impossible to display
every possible color with three primaries. (Although it is possible to quantify all
colors with three primaries, even if the primaries cant display the colorswell
see how shortly.) The range of colors that can be displayed with a given set of
primaries is referred to as the gamut of that color space. As your experience with
computers suggests, we are able engineer devices with a very broad gamut, but
there are always colors that cannot be displayed.
The CIE1931 RGB
15
color space is a very commonly encountered color space
based on a series of experiments performed by W. David Wright and John Guild
in 1931. In these experiments, test subjects were asked to match the color of a
monochromatic test light source by mixing monochromatic primaries at 700 nm
(R), 546.1 nm (G), and 435.8 nm (B). The relative amount of R, G, and B light
required to match the color at each test wavelength was recorded as the color
matching functions r (), g(), and

b(), shown in Fig. 2.10. Note that the color
matching functions sometimes go negative. This is most noticeable for r (), but
all three have negative values. These negative values indicate that the test color
was outside the gamut of the primaries (i.e. the color of the test source could not
be matched by adding primaries). In these cases, the observers matched the test
light as closely as possible by mixing primaries, and then they added some of the
primary light to the test light until the colors matched. The amount of primary
light that had to be added to the test light was recorded as a negative number. In
this way they were able to quantify the color, even though it couldnt be displayed
using their primaries.
Test Wavelength (nm)
Figure 2.10 The CIE 1931 RGB
color matching functions.
It turns out that the eye responds essentially linearly with respect to color
perception. That is, if an observer perceive one light source to have components
(R
1
,G
1
, B
1
) and another light source to have components (R
2
,G
2
, B
2
), a mixture of
the two lights will have components (R
1
+R
2
,G
1
+G
2
, B
1
+B
2
). This linearity allows
us to calculate the color components of an arbitrary light source with spectrum
I () simply by integrating the spectrum against the color matching functions:
R =
_
I () r d G =
_
I () gd B =
_
I ()
bd (2.63)
If R, G, or B turn out to be negative for a given I (), then that color of light
falls outside the gamut of these particular primaries. However, the negative
coordinates still provide a valid abstract representation of colors.
nd the color spaces we use to record and recreate color sensations very inaccurate.
15
This is not the RGB space you may have probably used on a computerthat space is referred
to as sRGB. CIE is an abbreviation for the French Commission Internationale de lclairage, an
international commission that denes lighting and color standards.
2.B Clausius-Mossotti Relation 61
The RGBcolor space is anadditive color model, where the primaries are added
together to produce color and the absence of light gives black. Subtractive color
models produce color using a background that reects all visible light equally so
that it appears white (e.g. a piece of paper or canvas) and then placing absorbing
pigments over the background to remove portions of the reected spectrum.
Some color spaces use four basis vectors. For example, color printers use the
subtractive CMYK color space (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black), and some
television manufacturers add a fourth type of primary (usually yellow) to their
display. The fourth basis vector increases the range of colors that can be displayed
by these systems (i.e. it increases the gamut). However, the fourth basis vector
makes the color space overdetermined and only helps in displaying colorswe
can abstractly represent all colors using just three coordinates (in an appropriately
chosen basis).
Example 2.4
The CIE1931 XYZ color space is derived from the CIE1931 RGB space by the trans-
formation
_
_
X
Y
Z
_
_
=
1
0.17697
_
_
0.49 0.31 0.20
0.17697 0.81240 0.01063
0.00 0.01 0.99
_
_
_
_
R
G
B
_
_
(2.64)
where X, Y , and Z are the color coordinates in the new basis. The matrix elements
in (2.64) were carefully chosen to give this color space some desirable properties:
none of the new coordinates (X, Y , or Z) are ever negative; the Y gives the photo-
metric brightness of the light and the X and Z coordinates describe the the color
part (i.e. the chromatisity) of the light; and the coordinates (1/3,1/3,1/3) give the
color white. The XYZ coordinates do not represent new primaries, but rather linear
combinations of the original primaries. Find the representation in the CIE1931
RGB basis for each of the basis vectors in the XYZ space.
Solution: We rst invert the transformation matrix to nd
_
_
R
G
B
_
_
=
_
_
0.4185 0.1587 0.08283
0.09117 0.2524 0.01571
0.0009209 0.002550 0.1786
_
_
_
_
X
Y
Z
_
_
Then we can see that X = 0.4185R 0.09117G +0.0009209B, Y = 0.1587R +
0.2524G 0.002550B, and Z =0.08283R +0.01571G +0.1786B. Because the XYZ
primaries contain negative amounts of the physical RGB primaries, the XYZ basis
is not physically realizable. However, it is extensively used because it can abstractly
represent all colors using a triplet of positive numbers.
Appendix 2.B Clausius-Mossotti Relation
Equation (2.35) has the form r
micro
= E/q
e
, where is called the atomic (or
molecular) polarizability. We take absorption to be negligible so that is real. E
is the macroscopic eld in the medium, which includes a contribution from all of
the dipoles. To avoid double-counting the dipoles own eld, we should replace E
with
E
actual
EE
dipole
(2.65)
and write
q
e
r
micro
=E
actual
(2.66)
That is, we ought not to allowthe dipoles own eld to act on itself as we previously
(inadvertently) did. Here E
dipole
is the average eld that a dipole contributes to its
quota of space in the material.
Since N is the number of dipoles per volume, each dipole occupies a volume
1/N. As will be shown below, the average eld due to a dipole
16
centered in such
a volume (symmetrically chosen) is
E
dipole
=
Nq
e
r
micro
3
o
(2.67)
Substitution of (2.67) and (2.66) into (2.65) yields
E
effective
=E+
NE
actual
3
o
E
actual
=
E
1
N
3
o
(2.68)
Then ( 2.66) becomes
q
e
r
micro
=
E
1
N
3
o
(2.69)
Now according to (2.16) the susceptibility is dened via P=
0
E, where E is
the macroscopic eld. Also, the polarization is always based on the combined be-
havior of all of the dipoles P=Nq
e
r
micro
(see (2.31)). Therefore, the susceptibility
is
() =
N()
o
1
N()
3
o
(2.70)
This is known as the Clausius-Mossotti relation. In section 2.3, we only included
the numerator of (2.70). The extra term in the denominator becomes important
when N is sufciently large, which is the case for liquid or solid densities.
Since we neglect absorption, from (2.25) we have =n
2
1, and we may write
n
2
1 =
N/
0
1N/3
0
(2.71)
In this case, we may invert the relation to write N/
0
in terms of the index:
17
N
0
=3
n
2
1
n
2
+2
(2.72)
16
In principle, the detailed elds of nearby dipoles should also be considered rather than repre-
senting their inuence with the macroscopic eld. However, if they are symmetrically distributed
the result is the same. See J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics, 3rd ed., Sect. 4.5 (New York: John
Wiley, 1999).
17
This form of Clausius-Mossotti relation, in terms of the refractive index, was renamed the
Lorentz-Lorenz formula, but probably undeservedly so, since it is essentially the same formula.
2.B Clausius-Mossotti Relation 63
Example 2.5
Xenonvapor at STP (density 4.4610
5
mol/cm
3
) has index n =1.000702 measured
at wavelength 589nm. Use (a) the Clausius-Mossotti relation (2.70) and (b) the
uncorrected formula (i.e. numerator only) to predict the index for liquid xenon
with density 2.0010
2
mol/cm
3
Compare with the measured value of n =1.332.
18
Solution: At the low density, we may may safely neglect the correction in the
denominator of (2.71) and simply write N
atm
/
0
=1.000702
2
1 =1.40410
3
.
The liquid density N
liquid
is 2.0010
2
/4.4610
5
=449 times greater. Therefore,
N
liquid
/
0
=4491.40410
3
=0.630. (a) According to Clausius-Mossotti (2.71),
the index is
n =
_
1+
0.630
10.630/3
=1.341
(b) On the other hand, without the correction in the denominator, we get
n =
1+0.630 =1.277
The Clausius-Mossotti formula gets much closer to the measured value.
Figure 2.11 The eld lines sur-
rounding a dipole.
Average Field Produced by a Dipole
Consider a dipole comprised of point charges q
e
separated by spacing r
micro
= zd.
If the dipole is centered on the origin, then by Coulombs law the eld surrounding
the point charges is
E=
q
e
4
0
r zd/2
|r zd/2|
3

q
e
4
0
r + zd/2
|r + zd/2|
3
We wish to compute the average eld within a cubic volume V =L
3
that symmet-
rically encompasses the dipole.
19
We take the volume dimension L to be large
compared to the dipole dimension d. Integrating the eld over this volume yields
_
Edv =
q
e
4
0
L/2
_
- L/2
dx
L/2
_
- L/2
dy
L/2
_
- L/2
dz
_
x x+y y+(z d/2) z
_
x
2
+y
2
+(z d/2)
2
_
3/2

x x+y y+(z +d/2) z
_
x
2
+y
2
+(z +d/2)
2
_
3/2
_
= z
q
e
2
0
L/2
_
- L/2
dx
L/2
_
- L/2
dy
_
_
1
_
x
2
+y
2
+(L d)
2
/4
1
_
x
2
+y
2
+(L +d)
2
/4
_
_
18
D. H. Garside, H. V. Molgaard, and B. L. Smith, Refractive Index and Lorentz-Lorenz function
of Xenon Liquid and Vapour, J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Phys. 1, 449-457 (1968).
19
Authors often obtain the same result using a spherical volume with the (usually unmentioned)
conceptual awkwardness that spheres cannot be closely packed to form a macroscopic medium
without introducing voids.
The terms multiplying x and y vanish since they involve odd functions integrated
over even limits on either x or y, respectively. On the remaining term, the integra-
tion on z has been executed. Before integrating the remaining expression over x
and y, we make the following approximation based on L >>d:
1
_
x
2
+y
2
+(L d)
2
/4
=
1
_
x
2
+y
2
+L
2
/4
1
_
1
Ld/2
x
2
+y
2
+L
2
/4
=
1
_
x
2
+y
2
+L
2
/4
_
1
Ld/4
x
2
+y
2
+L
2
/4
_
which will make integration considerably easier.
20
Then integration over the y
dimension brings us to
21
_
Edv = z
q
e
d
4
0
L/2
_
-L/2
dx
L/2
_
-L/2
Ldy
_
x
2
+y
2
+L
2
/4
_
3/2
= z
q
e
d
4
0
L/2
_
-L/2
L
2
dx
_
x
2
+L
2
/4
_
x
2
+L
2
/2
The nal integral is the same as twice the integral from 0 to L/2. Then, with x >0,
we can employ the variable change s =x
2
+L
2
/4 2dx =ds/
s L
2
/4 and obtain
_
Edv = z
q
e
d
4
0
L
2
/2
_
L
2
/4
L
2
ds
s
s
2
L
4
/16
= z
q
e
d
4
0
4
3
Reinstalling r
micro
= zd and dividing by the volume 1/N, allotted to individual
dipoles, brings us to the anticipated result (2.67).
Appendix 2.C Energy Density of Electric Fields
In this appendix we show that the term
0
E
2
/2 in (2.53) corresponds to the energy
density of an electric eld.
22
The electric potential (r) (in units of energy per
20
One might be tempted to begin this calculation with the well-known dipole eld
E=
q
e
4
0
r
3
_
_
_
r zd/2
_
1 z r
d
r
+
d
2
4r
2
_
3/2

r + zd/2
_
1+ z r
d
r
+
d
2
4r
2
_
3/2
_
_
_
=
q
e
d
4
0
r
3
[3 r ( z r) z]
which relies on the approximation
_
1 z rd/r +d
2
/4r
2
_
3/2
=[1 z rd/r ]
3/2
=1
3d z r
2r
This dipole-eld expression, while useful for describing the eld surrounding the dipole, contains
no information about the elds internal to the diple. Note that we integrate z through the origin,
which would violate the above assumption r d. Alternatively, the inuence of the internal elds
on our integral could be accomplished using a delta function as is done in J. D. Jackson, Classical
Electrodynamics, 3rd ed., p. 149 (New York: John Wiley, 1999).
21
Two useful integral formulas are (0.61) and (0.61).
22
J. R. Reitz, F. J. Milford, and R. W. Christy, Foundations of Electromagnetic Theory 3rd ed., Sect.
6-3 (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1979).
2.C Energy Density of Electric Fields 65
charge, or volts) describes the potential energy that a charge would experience
if placed at any given point in the eld. The electric eld and the potential are
connected through
E(r) =(r) (2.73)
The energy U necessary to assemble a distribution of charges (owing to attraction
or repulsion) can be written in terms of a summation over all of the charges (or
charge density (r)) located within the potential:
U =
1
2
_
V
(r) (r) dv (2.74)
We consider the potential to arise from the charges themselves. The factor 1/2
is necessary to avoid double counting. To appreciate this factor consider just
two point charges: We only need to count the energy due to one charge in the
presence of the others potential to obtain the energy required to bring the charges
together.
A substitution of (1.1) for (r) into (2.74) gives
U =

0
2
_
V
(r) E(r) dv (2.75)
Next, we use the vector identity in P0.9 and get
U =

0
2
_
V
_
(r) E(r)
_
dv
0
2
_
V
E(r) (r) dv (2.76)
An application of the divergence theorem (0.11) on the rst integral and a substi-
tution of (2.73) into the second integral yields
U =

0
2
_
S
(r) E(r) nda +
0
2
_
V
E(r) E(r) dv (2.77)
We can consider the volume V (enclosed by S) to be as large as we like, say
a sphere of radius R, so that all charges are contained well within it. Then the
surface integral over S vanishes as R since 1/R and E 1/R
2
, whereas
da R
2
. Then the total energy is expressed solely in terms of the electric eld:
U =
_
All
Space
u
E
(r) dv (2.78)
where
u
E
(r)

0
E
2
2
(2.79)
is interpreted as the energy density of the electric eld.
Appendix 2.D Energy Density of Magnetic Fields
In a derivation similar to that in appendix 2.C, we consider the energy associated
with magnetic elds.
23
The magnetic vector potential A(r) (in units of energy
per chargevelocity) describes the potential energy that a charge moving with
velocity v would experience if placed in the eld. The magnetic eld and the
vector potential are connected through
B(r) =A(r) (2.80)
The energy U necessary to assemble a distribution of currents can be written in
terms of a summation over all of the currents (or current density J(r)) located
within the vector potential eld:
U =
1
2
_
V
J(r) A(r) dv (2.81)
As in (2.74), the factor 1/2 is necessary to avoid double counting the inuence of
the currents on each other.
Under the assumption of steady currents (no variations in time), we may
substitute Amperes law (1.21) into (2.81), which yields
U =
1
2
0
_
V
[B(r)] A(r) dv (2.82)
Next we employ the vector identity P0.8 from which the previous expression
becomes
U =
1
2
0
_
V
B(r) [A(r)] dv
1
2
0
_
V
[A(r) B(r)] dv (2.83)
Upon substituting (2.80) into the rst equation and applying the Divergence
theorem (0.11) on the second integral, this expression for total energy becomes
U =
1
2
0
_
V
B(r) B(r) dv
1
2
0
_
S
[A(r) B(r)] n da (2.84)
As was done in connection with (2.77), if we choose a large enough volume (a
sphere with radius R ), the surface integral vanishes since A 1/R and
B 1/R
2
, whereas da R
2
. The total energy (2.84) then reduces to
U =
_
All
Space
u
B
(r) dv (2.85)
where
u
B
(r)
B
2
2
0
(2.86)
is the energy density for a magnetic eld.
23
J. R. Reitz, F. J. Milford, and R. W. Christy, Foundations of Electromagnetic Theory 3rd ed., Sect.
12-2 (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1979.
Exercises 67
Exercises
Exercises for 2.2 Index of Refraction
P2.1 Verify that (2.35) is a solution to (2.34).
P2.2 Derive the Sellmeier equation
n
2
=1+
A
2
vac
2
vac
2
0,vac
from (2.39) for a gas with negligible absorption (i.e.
= 0, valid far
from resonance
0
), where
0,vac
corresponds to frequency
0
and A is
a constant. Many materials (e.g. glass, air) have strong resonances in
the ultraviolet. In such materials, do you expect the index of refraction
for blue light to be greater than that for red light? Make a sketch of n as
a function of wavelength for visible light down to the ultraviolet (where
0,vac
is located).
P2.3 In the Lorentz model, take N = 10
28
m
3
for the density of bound
electrons in an insulator (note that N is number per volume, not just
number), and a single transition at
0
=610
15
rad/sec (in the UV),
and damping =
0
/5 (quite broad). Assume E
0
is 10
4
V/m.
For three frequencies =
0
2, =
0
, and =
0
+2 nd the
magnitude and phase of the following (give the phase relative to the
phase of E
0
). Give correct SI units with each quantity. You dont need
to worry about vector directions.
(a) The charge displacement amplitude r
micro
(2.35)
(b) The polarization amplitude P()
(c) The susceptibility (). What would the susceptibility be for twice
the E-eld strength as before?
For the following no phase is needed:
(d) Find n and at the three frequencies. You will have to solve for the
real and imaginary parts of (n +i )
2
=1+().
(e) Find the three speeds of light in terms of c. Find the three wave-
lengths .
(f ) Find how far light penetrates into the material before only 1/e of the
amplitude of E remains. Find how far light penetrates into the material
before only 1/e of the intensity I remains.
P2.4 (a) Use a computer graphing program and the Lorentz model to plot n
and as a function of frequency for a dielectric (i.e. obtain graphs
such as the ones in Fig. 2.5). Use these parameters to keep things
simple:
p
= 1,
0
= 10, and = 1; plot your function from = 0 to
=20.
(b) Plot n and as a function of frequency for a material that has
three resonant frequencies:
01
=10,
1
=1, f
1
=0.5;
02
=15,
2
=1,
f
2
= 0.25; and
03
= 25,
3
= 3, f
3
= 0.25. Use
p
= 1 for all three
resonances, and plot the results from = 0 to = 30. Comment on
your plots.
Exercises for 2.4 Index of Refraction of a Conductor
P2.5 For silver, the complex refractive index is characterized by n = 0.13
and =4.0.
24
Find the distance that light travels inside of silver before
the eld is reduced by a factor of 1/e. Assume a wavelength of
vac
=
633 nm. What is the speed of the wave crests in the silver (written as a
number times c)? Are you surprised?
P2.6 Use (2.27), (2.29), and (2.48) to estimate the index of silver at =633nm.
The density of free electrons in silver is N =5.8610
28
m
3
and the DC
conductivity is =6.6210
7
C
2
/(J m s).
25
Compare with the actual
index given in P2.5.
Answer: n +i =0.02+i 4.50
P2.7 The dielectric model and the conductor model give identical results
for n in the case of a low-density plasma where there is no restoring
force (i.e.
0
=0) and no dragging term (i.e. =0). Use this to model
the ionosphere (the uppermost part of the atmosphere that is ionized
by solar radiation to form a low-density plasma).
(a) If the index of refraction of the ionosphere is n = 0.9 for an FM
station at =/2=100 MHz, calculate the number of free electrons
per cubic meter.
(b) What is the complex refractive index of the ionosphere for radio
waves at 1160 kHz (KSL radio station)? Is this frequency above or below
the plasma frequency? Assume the same density of free electrons as in
part (a).
For your information, AM radio reects better than FM radio from the
ionosphere (like visible light from a metal mirror). At night, the lower
layer of the ionosphere goes away so that AM radio waves reect from
a higher layer.
P2.8 Use a computer to plot n and as a function of frequency for a con-
ductor (obtain plots such as the ones in Fig. 2.6). Use these parame-
ters to keep things simple, let =0.02
p
and plot your function from
=0.6
p
to =2
p
.
24
Handbook of Optical Constants of Solids, Edited by E. D. Palik (Elsevier, 1997).
25
G. Burns, Solid State Physics, p. 194 (Orlando: Academic Press, 1985).
Exercises 69
Exercises for 2.6 Irradiance of a Plane Wave
P2.9 In the case of a linearly-polarized plane wave, where the phase of each
vector component of E
0
is the same, re-derive (2.61) directly from the
real eld (2.21). For simplicity, you may ignore absorption (i.e.
=0).
HINT: The time-average of cos
2
_
k r t +
_
is 1/2.
P2.10 (a) Find the intensity (in W/cm
2
) produced by a short laser pulse (lin-
early polarized) with duration t =2.510
14
s and energy E =100 mJ,
focused in vacuum to a round spot with radius r =5 m.
(b) What is the peak electric eld (in V/)?
HINT: The SI units of electric eld are N/C=V/m.
(c) What is the peak magnetic eld (in T=kg/(s C)?
P2.11 (a) What is the intensity (in W/cm
2
) on the retina when looking directly
at the sun? Assume that the eyes pupil has a radius r
pupil
= 1 mm.
Take the Suns irradiance at the earths surface to be 1.4 kW/m
2
, and
neglect refractive index (i.e. set n =1). HINT: The Earth-Sun distance
is d
o
=1.510
8
km and the pupil-retina distance is d
i
=22 mm. The
radius of the Sun r
Sun
= 7.0 10
5
km is de-magnied on the retina
according to the ratio d
i
/d
o
.
(b) What is the intensity at the retina when looking directly into a
1 mW HeNe laser? Assume that the smallest radius of the laser beam
is r
waist
=0.5 mm positioned d
o
=2 m in front of the eye, and that the
entire beam enters the pupil. Compare with part (a).
P2.12 Showthat the magnetic eld of an intense laser with =1 mbecomes
important for a free electron oscillating in the eld at intensities above
10
18
W/cm
2
. This marks the transition to relativistic physics. Neverthe-
less, for convenience, use classical physics in making the estimate.
HINT: At lower intensities, the oscillating electric eld dominates, so
the electron motion can be thought of as arising solely fromthe electric
eld. Use this motion to calculate the magnetic force on the mov-
ing electron, and compare it to the electric force. The forces become
comparable at 10
18
W/cm
2
.
Exercises for 2.A Radiometry, Photometry, and Color
P2.13 The CIE1931 RGB color matching function r (), g(), and

b() can be
transformed using (2.64) to obtain color matching functions for the
XYZ basis: x(), y(), and z(), plotted in Fig 2.12. As with the RGB
color matching functions, the the XYZ color matching functions can be
used to calculate the color coordinates in the XYZ basis for an arbitrary
spectrum:
X =
_
I () xd Y =
_
I () yd Z =
_
I () zd (2.87)
(The function y() was chosen to be exactly the scoptic response curve
(shown in Fig. 2.8), so that Y describes the photometric brightness of
the light.)
Figure 2.12 Color matching func-
tions for the CIE XYZ color space
Obtain a copy of the XYZ color matching functions from www.cvrl.org
and calculate the XYZ color coordinates for the spectrum
I () = I
0
e
(500 nm
2
)
P2.14 The color space youve probably encountered most is sRGB, used to rep-
resent color on computer displays. The sRGB coordinates are related
to the XYZ coordinates by the transformation
_
_
B
_
_
=
_
_
3.2406 1.5372 0.4986
0.9689 1.8758 0.0415
0.0557 0.2040 1.0570
_
_
_
_
X
Y
Z
_
_
where the XYZ coordinates need to be scaled to values similar to those
accepted by the sRGB device (commonly 0 to 255) and then the sRGB
coordinates

R,

G, and

B need to be scaled or clipped to t in the appro-
priate range. (This scaling and clipping result from the fact that your
monitor cannot display arbitrarily bright light.)
Obtain a copy of the XYZ color matching functions from www.cvrl.org
and use it to calculate the sRGB components for monochromatic light
from
0
= 400 nm to
0
= 700 nm in 1 nm intervals. Make a plot of
the individual sRGB values and also use the coordinates to display a
rainbow. HINT: Matlab has all the functions you need to display the
rainbow.
Chapter 3
Reection and Refraction
As we know from everyday experience, when light arrives at an interface between
materials it is partially reected and partially transmitted. In this chapter, we
examine what happens to plane waves when they propagate from one material
(characterized by index n or even by complex index N ) to another material. We
will derive expressions to quantify the amount of reection and transmission. The
results depend on the angle of incidence (i.e. the angle between k and the normal
to the surface) as well as on the orientation of the electric eld (called polarization
not to be confused with P, also called polarization). In this chapter, we consider
only isotropic materials (e.g. glass); in chapter 5 we consider anisotropic materials
(e.g. a crystal).
As we develop the connection between incident, reected, and transmitted
light waves,
1
several familiar relationships will emerge naturally (e.g. Snells law
and Brewsters angle). The formalism also describes polarization-dependent
phase shifts upon reection (especially interesting in the case of total internal
reection or in the case of reections from absorbing surfaces such as metals).
For simplicity, we initially neglect the imaginary part of the refractive index.
Each plane wave is thus characterized by a real wave vector k. We will write each
plane wave in the form E(r, t ) =E
0
exp[i (k r t )], where, as usual, only the real
part of the eld corresponds to the physical eld. The restriction to real refractive
indices is not as serious as it might seem. The use of the letter n instead of N
hardly matters. The math is all the same, which demonstrates the power of the
complex notation. We can simply update our expressions in the end to include
complex refractive indices, but in the mean time it is easier to think of absorption
as negligible.
3.1 Refraction at an Interface
Consider a planar boundary between two materials with different indexes. The
index n
i
characterizes the material on the left, and the index n
t
characterizes the
1
See M. Born and E. Wolf, Principles of Optics, 7th ed., Sect. 1.5 (Cambridge University Press,
1999).
71
72 Chapter 3 Reection and Refraction
material on the right as depicted in the Fig. 3.1. When a plane wave traveling in
the direction k
i
is incident the boundary from the left, it gives rise to a reected
vector traveling in the directions k
r
and a transmitted plane wave traveling in the
direction k
t
. The incident and reected waves exist only to the left of the material
interface, and the transmitted wave exists only to the right of the interface. The
angles
i
,
r
, and
t
give the angles that each respective wave vector (k
i
, k
r
, and
k
t
) makes with the normal to the interface.
For simplicity, well assume that both of the materials are isotropic here.
(Chapter 5 discusses refraction for anisotropic materials.) In this case, k
i
, k
r
, and
k
t
all lie in a single plane, referred to as the plane of incidence, (i.e. the plane
represented by the surface of this page). We are free to orient our coordinate
system in many different ways (and every textbook seems to do it differently!).
2
We choose the yz plane to be the plane of incidence, with the z-direction normal
to the interface and the x-axis pointing into the page.
z-axis

x-axis
directed into page
Figure 3.1 Incident, reected, and
transmitted plane wave elds at a
material interface.
The electric eld vector for each plane wave is conned to a plane perpendic-
ular to its wave vector. We are free to decomposed the eld vector into arbitrary
components as long as they are perpendicular to the wave vector. It is customary
to choose one of the electric eld vector components to be that which lies within
the plane of incidence. We call this p-polarized light, where p stands for parallel to
the plane of incidence. The remaining electric eld vector component is directed
normal to the plane of incidence and is calleds-polarized light.. The s stands for
senkrecht, a German word meaning perpendicular.
Using this system, we can decompose the electric eld vector E
i
into its p-
polarized component E
(p)
i
and its s-polarized component E
(s)
i
, as depicted in
Fig. 3.1. The s component E
(s)
i
is represented by the tail of an arrow pointing
into the page, or the x-direction in our convention. The other elds E
r
and E
t
are similarly split into s and p components as indicated in Fig. 3.1. All eld
components are considered to be positive when they point in the direction of
their respective arrows.
3
Note that the s-polarized components are parallel for
for all three plane waves, whereas the p-polarized components are not (except at
normal incidence) because each plane wave travels in a different direction.
By inspection of Fig. 3.1, we can write the various wave vectors in terms of the
y and z unit vectors:
k
i
=k
i
_
ysin
i
+ zcos
i
_
k
r
=k
r
_
ysin
r
zcos
r
_
k
t
=k
t
_
ysin
t
+ zcos
t
_
(3.1)
Also by inspection of Fig. 3.1 (following the conventions for the electric elds
indicated by the arrows), we can write the incident, reected, and transmitted
2
For example, our convention is different than that used by E. Hecht, Optics, 3rd ed., Sect. 4.6.2
(Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1998).
3
Many textbooks draw the arrow for E
(p)
r
in the direction opposite of ours. However, that choice
leads to an awkward situation at normal incidence (i.e.
i
=
r
=0) where the arrows for the incident
and reected elds are parallel for the s-component but anti parallel for the p-component.
3.1 Refraction at an Interface 73
elds in terms of x, y, and z:
E
i
=
_
E
(p)
i
_
ycos
i
zsin
i
_
+ xE
(s)
i
_
e
i [k
i (y sin
i
+z cos
i )
i
t ]
E
r
=
_
E
(p)
r
_
ycos
r
+ zsin
r
_
+ xE
(s)
r
_
e
i [k
r(y sin
r
z cos
r)
r
t ]
E
t
=
_
E
(p)
t
_
ycos
t
zsin
t
_
+ xE
(s)
t
_
e
i [k
t(y sin
t
+z cos
t)
t
t ]
(3.2)
Each eld has the form (2.8), and we have utilized the k-vectors (3.1) in the
exponents of (3.2).
Figure 3.2 Animation of s- and
p-polarized elds incident on an
interface as the angle of incidence
is varied.
Now we are ready to connect the elds on one side of the interface to the
elds on the other side. This is done using boundary conditions. As explained
in appendix 3.A, Maxwells equations require that the component of E that are
parallel to the interface must be the same on either side of the boundary. In
our coordinate system, the x and y components are parallel to the interface, and
z = 0 denes the interface. This means that at z = 0 the x and y components
of the combined incident and reected elds must equal the corresponding
components of the transmitted eld:
_
E
(p)
i
ycos
i
+ xE
(s)
i
_
e
i (k
i
y sin
i
i
t )
+
_
E
(p)
r
ycos
r
+ xE
(s)
r
_
e
i (k
r
y sin
r
r
t )
=
_
E
(p)
t
ycos
t
+ xE
(s)
t
_
e
i (k
t
y sin
t
t
t )
(3.3)
Since this equation must hold for all conceivable values of t and y, we are com-
pelled to set all the phase factors in the complex exponentials equal to each other.
The time portion of the phase factors requires the frequency of all waves to be the
same:
i
=
r
=
t
(3.4)
(We could have guessed that all frequencies would be the same; otherwise wave
fronts would be annihilated or created at the interface.) Similarly, equating the
spatial terms in the exponents of (3.3) requires
k
i
sin
i
=k
r
sin
r
=k
t
sin
t
(3.5)
Now recall from (2.19) the relations k
i
= k
r
= n
i
/c and k
t
= n
t
/c. With these
relations, (3.5) yields the lawof reection
r
=
i
(3.6)
and Snells law
n
i
sin
i
=n
t
sin
t
(3.7)
The three angles
i
,
r
, and
t
are not independent. The reected angle matches
the incident angle, and the transmitted angle obeys Snells law. The phenomenon
of refraction refers to the fact that
i
and
t
are different.
Willebrord Snell (or Snellius) (1580
1626, Dutch) was an astronomer and
mathematician born in Leiden, Nether-
lands. In 1613 he succeeded his father
as professor of mathematics at the
University of Leiden. He was an accom-
plished mathematician, developing a
new method for calculating as well
as an improved method for measuring
the circumference of the earth. He is
most famous for his rediscovery of the
law of refraction in 1621. (The law was
known (in table form) to the ancient
Greek mathematician Ptolemy, to Arab
engineer Ibn Sahl (900s), and to Polish
philosopher Witelo (1200s).) Snell au-
thored several books, including one on
trigonometry, published a year after his
death. (Wikipedia)
Because the exponents are all identical, (3.3) reduces to two relatively simple
equations (one for each dimension, x and y):
E
(s)
i
+E
(s)
r
=E
(s)
t
(3.8)
and
_
E
(p)
i
+E
(p)
r
_
cos
i
=E
(p)
t
cos
t
(3.9)
We have derived these equations from the boundary condition (3.52) on the
parallel component of the electric eld. This set of equations has four unknowns
(E
(p)
r
, E
(s)
r
, E
(p)
t
, and E
(s)
t
), assuming that we pick the incident elds. We require
two further equations to solve the system. These are obtained using the separate
boundary condition on the parallel component of magnetic elds given in (3.56)
(also discussed in appendix 3.A).
From Faradays law (1.3), we have for a plane wave (see (2.56))
B=
kE
=
n
c
uE (3.10)
where u k/k is a unit vector in the direction of k. We have also utilized (2.19)
for a real index. This expression is useful for writing B
i
, B
r
, and B
t
in terms of the
electric eld components that we have already introduced. When injecting (3.1)
and (3.2) into (3.10), the incident, reected, and transmitted magnetic elds turn
out to be
B
i
=
n
i
c
_
xE
(p)
i
+E
(s)
i
_
zsin
i
+ ycos
i
_
_
e
i [k
i (y sin
i
+z cos
i )
i
t ]
B
r
=
n
r
c
_
xE
(p)
r
+E
(s)
r
_
zsin
r
ycos
r
_
_
e
i [k
r(y sin
r
z cos
r)
r
t ]
B
t
=
n
t
c
_
xE
(p)
t
+E
(s)
t
_
zsin
t
+ ycos
t
_
_
e
i [k
t(y sin
t
+z cos
t)
t
t ]
(3.11)
Next, we apply the boundary condition (3.56), namely that the components of B
parallel to the interface (i.e. in the x and y dimensions) are the same
4
on either
side of the plane z =0. Since we already know that the exponents are all equal
and that
r
=
i
and n
i
=n
r
, the boundary condition gives
n
i
c
_
xE
(p)
i
+E
(s)
i
ycos
i
_
+
n
i
c
_
xE
(p)
r
E
(s)
r
ycos
i
_
=
n
t
c
_
xE
(p)
t
+E
(s)
t
ycos
t
_
(3.12)
As before, (3.12) reduces to two relatively simple equations (one for the x dimen-
sion and one for the y dimension):
n
i
_
E
(p)
i
E
(p)
r
_
=n
t
E
(p)
t
(3.13)
and
n
i
_
E
(s)
i
E
(s)
r
_
cos
i
=n
t
E
(s)
t
cos
t
(3.14)
These two equations together with (3.8) and (3.9) allowus to solve for the reected
E
r
and transmitted elds E
t
for the s and p polarization components. However,
(3.8), (3.9), (3.13), and (3.14) are not yet in their most convenient form.
4
We assume the permeability
0
is the same everywhereno magnetic effects.
3.2 The Fresnel Coefcients 75
3.2 The Fresnel Coefcients
Augustin Fresnel rst derived the results of the previous section. Since he lived
well before Maxwells time, he did not have the benet of Maxwells equations as
we have. Instead, Fresnel thought of light as transverse mechanical waves prop-
agating within materials. (Fresnel was naturally a proponent of luminiferous
ether.) Instead of relating the parallel components of the electric and magnetic
elds across the boundary between the materials, Fresnel used the principle that,
as a transverse mechanical wave propagates from one material to the other, the
two materials should not slip past each other at the interface. This gluing of the
materials at the interface also forbids the possibility of the materials detaching
from one another (creating gaps) or passing through one another as they expe-
rience wave vibrations. This mechanical approach to light worked splendidly
and explained polarization effects along with the variations in reectance and
transmittance as a function of the incident angle of the light.
Augustin Fresnel (17881829, French)
was born in Broglie, France, the son of
an architect. As a child, he was slow to
develop and still could not read when
he was eight years old, but by age six-
teen he excelled and entered the cole
Polytechnique where he earned distinc-
tion. As a young man, Fresnel began a
successful career as an engineer, but he
lost his post in 1814 when Napoleon re-
turned to power. (Fresnel had supported
the Bourbons.) This dicult year was
when Fresnel turned his attention to
optics. Fresnel became a major propo-
nent of the wave theory of light and
four years later wrote a paper on dirac-
tion for which he was awarded a prize
by the French Academy of Sciences. A
year later he was appointed commis-
sioner of lighthouses, which motivated
the invention of the Fresnel lens (still
used in many commercial applications).
Fresnel was under appreciated before
his untimely death from tuberculosis.
Many of his papers did not make it into
print until years later. Fresnel made
huge advances in the understanding of
reection, diraction, polarization, and
birefringence. In 1824 Fresnel wrote
to Thomas Young, All the compli-
ments that I have received from Arago,
Laplace and Biot never gave me so
much pleasure as the discovery of a
theoretic truth, or the conrmation of
a calculation by experiment. Augustin
Fresnel is a hero of one of the authors
of this textbook. (Wikipedia)
Fresnel wrote the relationships between the various plane waves depicted
in Fig. 3.1 in terms of coefcients that compare the reected and transmitted
eld amplitudes to those of the incident eld. He then calculated the ratio of
the reected and transmitted eld components to the incident eld components
for each polarization. In the following example, we illustrate this procedure for
s-polarized light. It is left as a homework exercise to solve the equations for
p-polarized light (see P3.1).
Example 3.1
Calculate the ratio of transmitted eld to the incident eld and the ratio of the
reected eld to incident eld for s-polarized light.
Solution: We use (3.8)
E
(s)
i
+E
(s)
r
=E
(s)
t
[3.8]
and (3.14), which with the help of Snells law is written
E
(s)
i
E
(s)
r
=
sin
i
cos
t
sin
t
cos
i
E
(s)
t
(3.15)
If we add these two equations, we get
2E
(s)
i
=
_
1+
sin
i
cos
t
sin
t
cos
i
_
E
(s)
t
(3.16)
and after dividing by E
(s)
i
and doing a little algebra, it turns into
E
(s)
t
E
(s)
i
=
2sin
t
cos
i
sin
t
cos
i
+sin
i
cos
t
To get the ratio of reected to incident, we subtract (3.15) from (3.8) to obtain
2E
(s)
r
=
_
1
sin
i
cos
t
sin
t
cos
i
_
E
(s)
t
(3.17)
and then divide (3.17) by (3.16). After a little algebra, we arrive at
E
(s)
r
E
(s)
i
=
sin
t
cos
i
sin
i
cos
t
sin
t
cos
i
+sin
i
cos
t
The ratio of the reected and transmitted eld components to the incident
eld components are specied by the following coefcients, called the Fresnel
coefcients:
r
s
E
(s)
r
E
(s)
i
=
sin
t
cos
i
sin
i
cos
t
sin
t
cos
i
+sin
i
cos
t
=
sin(
i
t
)
sin(
i
+
t
)
=
n
i
cos
i
n
t
cos
t
n
i
cos
i
+n
t
cos
t
(3.18)
t
s
E
(s)
t
E
(s)
i
=
2sin
t
cos
i
sin
t
cos
i
+sin
i
cos
t
=
2sin
t
cos
i
sin(
i
+
t
)
=
2n
i
cos
i
n
i
cos
i
+n
t
cos
t
(3.19)
r
p

E
(p)
r
E
(p)
i
=
cos
t
sin
t
cos
i
sin
i
cos
t
sin
t
+cos
i
sin
i
=
tan(
i
t
)
tan(
i
+
t
)
=
n
i
cos
t
n
t
cos
i
n
i
cos
t
+n
t
cos
i
(3.20)
t
p

E
(p)
t
E
(p)
i
=
2cos
i
sin
t
cos
t
sin
t
+cos
i
sin
i
=
2cos
i
sin
t
sin(
i
+
t
) cos(
i
t
)
=
2n
i
cos
i
n
i
cos
t
+n
t
cos
i
(3.21)
All of the above forms of the Fresnel coefcients are potentially useful, depending
on the problem at hand. Remember that the angles in the coefcient are not inde-
pendently chosen, but are subject to Snells law (3.7). (The right-most expression
for each coefcient is obtained from the rst form using Snells law).
Figure 3.3 The Fresnel coefcients
plotted versus
i
for the case of an
air-glass interface with n
i
=1 and
n
t
=1.5.
The Fresnel coefcients pin down the electric eld amplitudes on the two
sides of the boundary. They also keep track of phase shifts at a boundary. In
Fig. 3.3 we have plotted the Fresnel coefcients for the case of an air-glass inter-
face. Notice that the reection coefcients are sometimes negative in this plot,
which corresponds to a phase shift of upon reection (remember e
i
= 1).
Later we will see that when absorbing materials are encountered, more compli-
cated phase shifts can arise due to the complex index of refraction.
3.3 Reectance and Transmittance
We are often interested in knowing the fraction of intensity that transmits through
or reects from a boundary. Since intensity is proportional to the square of the
amplitude of the electric eld, we can write the fraction of the light reected from
the surface, or reectance, in terms of the Fresnel coefcients:
R
s
I
(s)
r
I
(s)
i
=
E
(s)
r
E
(s)
i
2
=|r
s
|
2
and R
p

I
(p)
r
I
(p)
i
=
E
(p)
r
E
(p)
i
2
=
r
p
2
(3.22)
These expressions are applied individually to each polarization component (s or
p). The intensity reected for each of these orthogonal polarizations is additive
3.3 Reectance and Transmittance 77
because the two electric elds are orthogonal and cannot interfere with each
other. The total reected intensity is therefore
I
(total)
r
= I
(s)
r
+I
(p)
r
=R
s
I
(s)
i
+R
p
I
(p)
i
(3.23)
where the incident intensity is given by (2.62):
I
(total)
i
= I
(s)
i
+I
(p)
i
=
1
2
n
i
0
c
_
E
(s)
i
2
+
E
(p)
i
2
_
(3.24)
Since intensity is power per area, we can rewrite (3.23) as incident and re-
ected power:
P
(total)
r
=P
(s)
r
+P
(p)
r
=R
s
P
(s)
i
+R
p
P
(p)
i
(3.25)
Using this expression and requiring that energy be conserved (i.e. P
(total)
i
=P
(total)
r
+
P
(total)
t
), we nd that the portion of the power that transmits is
P
(total)
t
=
_
P
(s)
i
+P
(p)
i
_
_
P
(s)
r
+P
(p)
r
_
=(1R
s
) P
(s)
i
+
_
1R
p
_
P
(p)
i
(3.26)
From this expression we see that the transmittance (i.e. the fraction of the light
that transmits) for either polarization is
T
s
1R
s
and T
p
1R
p
(3.27)
Figure 3.4 shows typical reectance and transmittance values for an air-glass
interface.
Figure 3.4 The reectance and
transmittance plotted versus
i
for
the case of an air-glass interface
with n
i
=1 and n
t
=1.5.
You might be surprised at rst to learn that
T
s
=|t
s
|
2
and T
p
=
t
p
2
(3.28)
However, recall that the transmitted intensity (in terms of the transmitted elds)
depends also on the refractive index. The Fresnel coefcients t
s
and t
p
relate the
bare electric elds to each other, whereas the transmitted intensity (similar to
(3.24)) is
I
(total)
t
= I
(s)
t
+I
(p)
t
=
1
2
n
t
0
c
_
E
(s)
t
2
+
E
(p)
t
2
_
(3.29)
Therefore, we expect T
s
and T
p
to depend on the ratio of the refractive indices n
t
and n
i
as well as on the squares of t
s
and t
p
.

Figure 3.5 Light refracting into a
surface
There is another more subtle reason for the inequalities in (3.28). Consider
a lateral strip of light associated with a plane wave incident upon the material
interface in Fig. 3.5. Upon refraction into the second medium, the strip is seen
to change its width by the factor cos
t
/cos
i
. This is a geometrical effect, owing
to the change in propagation direction at the interface. The change in direction
alters the intensity (power per area) but not the power. In computing the trans-
mittance, we must remove this geometrical effect from the ratio of the intensities,
which leads to the following transmittance coefcients:
T
s
=
n
t
cos
t
n
i
cos
i
|t
s
|
2
T
p
=
n
t
cos
t
n
i
cos
i
t
p
2
(valid when no total internal reection) (3.30)
Note that (3.30) is valid only if a real angle
t
exists; it does not hold when the
incident angle exceeds the critical angle for total internal reection, discussed in
section 3.5. In that situation, we must stick with (3.27).
Example 3.2
Showanalytically for p-polarized light that R
p
+T
p
=1, where R
p
is given by (3.22)
and T
p
is given by (3.30).
Solution: From (3.20) we have
R
p
=
cos
t
sin
t
cos
i
sin
i
cos
t
sin
t
+cos
i
sin
i
2
=
cos
2
t
sin
2
t
2cos
i
sin
i
cos
t
sin
t
+cos
2
i
sin
2
i
(cos
t
sin
t
+cos
i
sin
i
)
2
From (3.21) and (3.30) we have
T
p
=
n
t
cos
t
n
i
cos
i
_
2cos
i
sin
t
cos
t
sin
t
+cos
i
sin
i
_
2
=
sin
i
cos
t
sin
t
cos
i
_
4cos
2
i
sin
2
t
(cos
t
sin
t
+cos
i
sin
i
)
2
_
=
4cos
i
sin
t
sin
i
cos
t
(cos
t
sin
t
+cos
i
sin
i
)
2
Then
R
p
+T
p
=
cos
2
t
sin
2
t
+2cos
i
sin
i
cos
t
sin
t
+cos
2
i
sin
2
i
(cos
t
sin
t
+cos
i
sin
i
)
2
=
(cos
t
sin
t
+cos
i
sin
i
)
2
(cos
t
sin
t
+cos
i
sin
i
)
2
=1
David Brewster (17811868, Scot-
tish) was born in Jedburgh, Scottland.
His father was a teacher and wanted
David to become a clergyman. At age
twelve, David went to the University of
Edinburgh for that purpose, but his incli-
nation for natural science soon became
apparent. He became licensed to preach,
but his interests in science distracted
him from that profession, and he spent
much of his time studying diraction.
Taking an empirical approach, Brewster
independently discovered many of the
same things usually credited to Fresnel.
He even made a dioptric apparatus for
lighthouses before Fresnel developed
his. Brewster became somewhat fa-
mous in his day for the development
of the kaleidoscope and stereoscope
for enjoyment by the general public.
Brewster was a prolic science writer
and editor throughout his life. Among
his works is an important biography of
Isaac Newton. He was knighted for his
accomplishments in 1831. (Wikipedia)
3.4 Brewsters Angle
Notice r
p
and R
p
go to zero at a certain angle in Figs. 3.3 and 3.4, indicating that
no p-polarized light is reected at this angle. This behavior is quite general, as we
can see from the second form of the Fresnel coefcient formula for r
p
in (3.20),
which has tan(
i
+
t
) in the denominator. Since the tangent blows up at /2,
the reection coefcient goes to zero when
i
+
t
=

2
(requirement for zero p-polarized reection) (3.31)
By inspecting Fig. 3.1, we see that this condition occurs when the reected and
transmitted wave vectors, k
r
and k
t
, are perpendicular to each other. If we insert
3.5 Total Internal Reection 79
(3.31) into Snells law (3.7), we can solve for the incident angle
i
that gives rise to
this special circumstance:
n
i
sin
i
=n
t
sin
_
2

i
_
=n
t
cos
i
(3.32)
The angle that satises this equation, in terms of the refractive indices, is
readily found to be
B
=tan
1
n
t
n
i
(3.33)
We have replaced the specic
i
with
B
in honor of Sir David Brewster who rst
discovered the phenomenon. The angle
B
is called Brewsters angle. At Brewsters
angle, no p-polarized light reects (see L 3.4). Physically, the p-polarized light
cannot reect because k
r
and k
t
are perpendicular. A reection would require
the microscopic dipoles at the surface of the second material to radiate along
their axes, which they cannot do. Maxwells equations know about this, and so
everything is nicely consistent.
0
180
90 270
Oscillating
Dipole
Figure 3.6 The intensity radiation
patter of an oscillating dipole as
a function of angle. Note that the
dipole does not radiate along the
axis of oscillation, giving rise to
Brewsters angle for reection.
3.5 Total Internal Reection
From Snells law (3.7), we can compute the transmitted angle in terms of the
incident angle:
t
=sin
1
_
n
i
n
t
sin
i
_
(3.34)
The angle
t
is real only if the argument of the inverse sine is less than or equal to
one. If n
i
>n
t
, we can nd a critical angle at which the argument begins to exceed
one:
c
sin
1
n
t
n
i
(3.35)
When
i
>
c
, then there is total internal reection and we can directly show that
R
s
= 1 and R
p
= 1 (see P3.9).
5
To demonstrate this, one computes the Fresnel
coefcients (3.18) and (3.20) while employing the following substitutions:
sin
t
=
n
i
n
t
sin
i
(Snells law) (3.36)
and
cos
t
=i
_
_
n
2
i
n
2
t
sin
2
i
1 (
i
>
c
) (3.37)
(see P0.19).
In this case,
t
is a complex number. However, we do not assign geometrical
signicance to it in terms of any direction. Actually, we dont even need to know
the value for
t
; we need only the values for sin
t
and cos
t
, as specied in (3.36)
and (3.37). Even though sin
t
is greater than one and cos
t
is imaginary, we can
use their values to compute r
s
, r
p
, t
s
, and t
p
. (Complex notation is wonderful!)
5
M. Born and E. Wolf, Principles of Optics, 7th ed., Sect. 1.5.4 (Cambridge University Press, 1999).
Upon substitution of (3.36) and (3.37) into the Fresnel reection coefcients
(3.18) and (3.20) we obtain
r
s
=
n
i
n
t
cos
i
i
_
n
2
i
n
2
t
sin
2
i
1
n
i
n
t
cos
i
+i
_
n
2
i
n
2
t
sin
2
i
1
(
i
>
c
) (3.38)
and
r
p
=
cos
i
i
n
i
n
t
_
n
2
i
n
2
t
sin
2
i
1
cos
i
+i
n
i
n
t
_
n
2
i
n
2
t
sin
2
i
1
(
i
>
c
) (3.39)
These Fresnel coefcients can be manipulated (see P3.9) into the forms
r
s
=exp
_
_
_
2i tan
1
_
_
n
t
n
i
cos
i
_
_
n
2
i
n
2
t
sin
2
i
1
_
_
_
_
_
(
i
>
c
) (3.40)
and
r
p
=exp
_
_
_
2i tan
1
_
_
n
i
n
t
cos
i
_
_
n
2
i
n
2
t
sin
2
i
1
_
_
_
_
_
(
i
>
c
) (3.41)
Each coefcient has a different phase (note n
i
/n
t
vs. n
t
/n
i
in the expressions),
which means that the s- and p-polarized elds experience different phase shifts
upon reection. Nevertheless, we denitely have |r
s
| =1 and
r
p
=1. We rightly
conclude that 100% of the light reects. The transmittance is zero as dictated by
(3.25). We emphasize that one should not employ (3.29) or (3.30) in the case of
total internal reection, as the imaginary
t
makes the geometric factor in this
equation invalid.
Figure 3.7 Animation of light
waves incident on an interface
both below and beyond the critical
angle.
Even with zero transmittance, the boundary conditions from Maxwells equa-
tions (as worked out in appendix 3.A) require that the elds be non-zero on the
transmitted side of the boundary, meaning t
s
=0 and t
p
=0. While this situation
may seemlike a contradiction at rst, it is an accurate description of what actually
happens. The coefcients t
s
and t
p
characterize evanescent waves that exist on
the transmitted side of the interface. The evanescent wave travels parallel to the
interface so that no energy is conveyed away from the interface deeper into the
medium on the transmission side.
Incident
Wave Evanescent
Wave
Figure 3.8 A wave experiencing
total internal reection creates an
evanescent wave that propagates
parallel to the interface. (The
reected wave is not shown.)
To compute the explicit form of the evanescent wave,
6
we plug (3.36) and
(3.37) into the transmitted eld (3.2):
E
t
=
_
E
(p)
t
_
ycos
t
zsin
t
_
+ xE
(s)
t
_
e
i [k
t(y sin
t
+z cos
t)t ]
=
_
_
t
p
E
(p)
i
_
_
yi
_
_
n
2
i
n
2
t
sin
2
i
1 z
n
i
n
t
sin
i
_
_
+ xt
s
E
(s)
i
_
_
e
k
t
z
_
n
2
i
n
2
t
sin
2
i
1
e
i
_
k
t
y
n
i
n
t
sin
i
t
_
(3.42)
6
G. R. Fowles, Introduction to Modern Optics, 2nd ed., Sect 2.9 (New York: Dover, 1975).
3.6 Reections fromMetal 81
Figure 3.8 plots the evanescent wave described by (3.42) along with the associ-
ated incident wave. The phase of the evanescent wave indicates that it propagates
parallel to the boundary (in the y-dimension). Its strength decays exponentially
away from the boundary (in the z-dimension). We leave the calculation of t
s
and
t
p
as an exercise (P3.10).
3.6 Reections fromMetal
In this section we generalize our analysis to materials with complex refractive
index N n +i . As a reminder, the imaginary part of the index controls atten-
uation of a wave as it propagates within a material. The real part of the index
governs the oscillatory nature of the wave. It turns out that both the imaginary
and real parts of the index strongly inuence the reection of light from a sur-
face. The reader may be grateful that there is no need to re-derive the Fresnel
coefcients (3.18)(3.21) for the case of complex indices. The coefcients remain
valid whether the index is real or complex just replace the real index n with the
complex index N . However, we do need to be a bit careful when applying them.
p
p
Figure 3.9 The reectances (top)
with associated phases (bottom)
for silver, which has index n =0.13
and = 4.05. Note the minimum
of R
p
corresponding to a kind of
Brewsters angle.
We restrict our discussion to reections from a metallic or other absorbing
material surface. As we found in the case of total internal reection, we actually do
not need to knowthe transmitted angle
t
to employ Fresnel reectioncoefcients
(3.18) and (3.20). We need only acquire expressions for cos
t
and sin
t
, and we
can obtain those from Snells law (3.7). To minimize complications, we let the
incident refractive index be n
i
=1 (which is often the case). Let the index on the
transmitted side be written simply as N
t
=N . Then by Snells law, the sine of the
transmitted angle is
sin
t
=
sin
i
N
(3.43)
This expression is of course complex since N is complex, which is just ne.
7
The
cosine of the same angle is
cos
t
=
_
1sin
2
t
=
1
N
_
N
2
sin
2
i
(3.44)
The positive sign in front of the square root is appropriate since it is clearly the
right choice if the imaginary part of the index approaches zero.
Upon substitution of these expressions, the Fresnel reection coefcients
(3.18) and (3.20) become
r
s
=
cos
i
_
N
2
sin
2
i
cos
i
+
_
N
2
sin
2
i
(3.45)
and
r
p
=
_
N
2
sin
2
i
N
2
cos
i
_
N
2
sin
2
i
+N
2
cos
i
(3.46)
7
See M. Born and E. Wolf, Principles of Optics, 7th ed., Sect. 14.2 (Cambridge University Press,
1999).
These expressions are tedious to evaluate. When evaluating the expressions, it is
usually desirable to put them into the form
r
s
=|r
s
| e
i
s
(3.47)
and
r
p
=
r
p
e
i
p
(3.48)
We refrain from putting (3.45) and (3.46) into this form using the general ex-
pressions; we would get a big mess. It is a good idea to let your calculator or
a computer do it after a specic value for N n +i is chosen. An important
point to notice is that the phases upon reection can be very different for s and
p-polarization components (i.e.
p
and
s
can be very different). This is true in
general, even when the reectivity is high (i.e. |r
s
| and
r
p
on the order of unity).

Brewsters angle exists also for surfaces with complex refractive index. How-
ever, in general the expressions (3.46) and (3.48) do not go to zero at any incident
angle
i
. Rather, the reection of p-polarized light can go through a minimum at
some angle
i
, which we refer to as Brewsters angle (see Fig. 3.9). This minimum
is best found numerically since the general expression for
r
p
in terms of n and
and as a function of
i
can be unwieldy.
Appendix 3.A Boundary Conditions For Fields at an Inter-
face
We are interested in the continuity of elds across a boundary from one medium
with index n
1
to another medium with index n
2
. We will show that the compo-
nents of electric eld and the magnetic eld parallel to the interface surface must
be the same on either side (adjacent to the interface). This result is independent
of the refractive index of the materials; in the case of the magnetic eld we assume
the permeability
0
is the same on both sides. To derive the boundary conditions,
we consider a surface S (a rectangle) that is perpendicular to the interface between
the two media and which extends into both media, as depicted in Fig. 3.10.
d
d
S
Figure 3.10 Interface of two mate-
rials.
First we examine the integral form of Faradays law (1.14)
_
C
E d =

t
_
S
B n da (3.49)
applied to the rectangular contour depicted in Fig. 3.10. We perform the path
integration on the left-hand side around the loop as follows:
_
E d =E
1||
d E
1
1
E
2
2
E
2||
d +E
2
2
+E
1
1
=
_
E
1||
E
2||
_
d (3.50)
Here, E
1||
refers to the component of the electric eld in the material with index
n
1
that is parallel to the interface. E
1
refers to the component of the electric eld
in the material with index n
1
which is perpendicular to the interface. Similarly,
E
2||
and E
2
are the parallel and perpendicular components of the electric eld
3.A Boundary Conditions For Fields at an Interface 83
in the material with index n
2
. We have assumed that the rectangle is small enough
that the elds are uniform within the half rectangle on either side of the boundary.
Next, we shrink the loop down until it has zero surface area by letting the
lengths
1
and
2
go to zero. In this situation, the right-hand side of Faradays law
(3.49) goes to zero
_
S
B n da 0 (3.51)
and we are left with
E
1||
=E
2||
(3.52)
This simple relation is a general boundary condition, which is met at any material
interface. The component of the electric eld that lies in the plane of the interface
must be the same on both sides of the interface.
We now derive a similar boundary condition for the magnetic eld using the
integral form of Amperes law:
8
_
C
B d =
0
_
S
_
J +
0
E
t
_
n da (3.53)
As before, we are able to perform the path integration on the left-hand side for
the geometry depicted in the gure, which gives
_
B d =B
1||
d B
1
1
B
2
2
B
2||
d +B
2
2
+B
1
1
=
_
B
1||
B
2||
_
d (3.54)
The notation for parallel and perpendicular components on either side of the
interface is similar to that used in (3.50).
Again, we can shrink the loop down until it has zero surface area by letting the
lengths
1
and
2
go to zero. In this situation, the right-hand side of (3.53) goes to
zero (ignoring the possibility of surface currents):
_
S
_
J +
0
E
t
_
n da 0 (3.55)
and we are left with
B
1||
=B
2||
(3.56)
This is a general boundary condition that must be satised at the material inter-
face.
8
This form can be obtained from (1.4) by integration over the surface S in Fig. 3.10 and applying
Stokes theorem (0.12) to the magnetic eld term.
Exercises
Exercises for 3.2 The Fresnel Coefcients
P3.1 Derive the Fresnel coefcients (3.20) and (3.21) for p-polarized light.
P3.2 Verify that each of the alternative forms given in (3.18)(3.21) are equiv-
alent (given Snells law). Show that at normal incidence (i.e.
i
=
t
=0)
the Fresnel coefcients reduce to
lim
i
0
r
s
= lim
i
0
r
p
=
n
t
n
i
n
t
+n
i
and lim
i
0
t
s
= lim
i
0
t
p
=
2n
i
n
t
+n
i
P3.3 Undoubtedly the most important interface in optics is when air meets
glass. Use a computer to make the following plots for this interface as a
function of the incident angle. Use n
i
=1 for air and n
t
=1.6 for glass.
Explicitly label Brewsters angle on all of the applicable graphs.
(a) r
p
and t
p
(plot together on same graph)
(b) R
p
and T
p
(c) r
s
and t
s
(d) R
s
and T
s
Exercises for 3.3 Reectance and Transmittance
L3.4 (a) In the laboratory, measure the reectance for both s and p polarized
light from a at glass surface at about ten points. You can normalize
the detector by placing it in the incident beam of light before the glass
surface. Especially watch for Brewsters angle (described in section 3.4).
Figure 3.11 illustrates the experimental setup. (video)
High sensitivity
detector
Slide detector
with the beam
Laser
Polarizer
Uncoated glass
on rotation stage
Figure 3.11 Experimental setup for lab 3.4.
(b) Use a computer to calculate the theoretical air-to-glass reectance
as a function of incident angle (i.e. plot R
s
and R
p
as a function of
i
).
Exercises 85
Take the index of refraction for glass to be n
t
=1.54 and the index for air
to be one. Plot this theoretical calculation as a smooth line on a graph.
Plot your experimental data from (a) as points on this same graph (not
points connected by lines).
P3.5 A pentaprism is a ve-sided reecting prism used to deviate a beam of
light by 90
without inverting an image (see Fig. 3.12). Pentaprisms are

used in the viewnders of SLR cameras.
Figure 3.12
(a) What prism angle is required for a normal-incidence beam from
the left to exit the bottom surface at normal incidence?
(b) If all interfaces of the pentaprism are uncoated glass with index
n =1.5, what fraction of the intensity would get through this system for
a normal incidence beam? Compute for both s- and p-polarized light,
and include transmission through the rst and nal surfaces as well as
reection at the two interior surfaces.
NOTE: The transmission you calculate will be very poor. The reect-
ing surfaces on pentaprisms are usually treated with a high-reection
coating and the transmitting surfaces are treated with anti-reection
coatings.
P3.6 Show analytically for s-polarized light that R
s
+T
s
= 1, where R
s
is
given by (3.22) and T
s
is given by (3.30).
Exercises for 3.4 Brewsters Angle
P3.7 Find Brewsters angle for glass n =1.5.
Exercises for 3.5 Total Internal Reection
P3.8 Diamonds have an index of refraction of n = 2.42 which allows total
internal reection to occur at relatively shallow angles of incidence.
Gem cutters choose facet angles that ensure most of the light entering
the top of the diamond will reected back out to give the stone its
expensive sparkle. One such cut, the Eulitz Brilliant" cut, is shown in
Fig. 3.13.
33.4
40.5
50.6 40.5
18.0
A
B
Figure 3.13 A Eulitz Brilliant cut
diamond.
(a) What is the critical angle for diamond?
(b) One way to spot fake diamonds is by noticing reduced brilliance in
the sparkle. What fraction of p-polarized light (intensity) would make
it from point A to point B in the diagram for a diamond? If a piece
of fused quartz (n = 1.46) was cut in the Eulitz Brilliant shape, what
fraction of p-polarized light (intensity) would make it from point A to
point B in the diagram?
(c) What is the phase shift due to reection for s-polarized light at the
rst internal reection depicted in the gure (incident angle 40.5
) in
diamond? What is the phase shift in fused quartz?
P3.9 Derive (3.40) and (3.41) and show that R
s
= 1 and R
p
= 1. HINT: See
problem P0.15.
P3.10 Compute t
s
and t
p
in the case of total internal reection.
P3.11 Use a computer to plot the air-to-water transmittance as a function
of incident angle (i.e. plot (3.27) as a function of
i
). Also plot the
water-to-air transmittance on a separate graph. Plot both T
s
and T
p
on
each graph. The index of refraction for water is n =1.33. Take the index
of air to be one.
P3.12 Light (
vac
=500 nm) reects internally from a glass surface (n =1.5)
surrounded by air. The incident angle is
i
=45
. An evanescent wave
travels parallel to the surface on the air side. At what distance from the
surface is the amplitude of the evanescent wave 1/e of its value at the
surface?
Exercises for 3.6 Reections fromMetal
P3.13 Using a computer, plot |r
s
|, |r
p
| versus
i
for silver (n = 0.13 and =
4.05). Make a separate plot of the phases
s
and
p
from (3.47) and
(3.48). Clearly label each plot, and comment on how the phase shifts
are different from those experienced when reecting from glass.
9
P3.14 Find Brewsters angle for silver (n =0.13 and =4.0) by calculating R
p
and nding its minimum. You will want to use a computer program to
do this (Matlab, Maple, Mathematica, etc.).
p
s
80
Figure 3.14 Geometry for P3.15 P3.15 The complex index for silver is given by n =0.13 and =4.0. Find r
s
and r
p
when
i
=80
and put them into the forms (3.47) and (3.48).

9
Are you surprised that the real part of the index can be less than one?
Chapter 4
Multiple Parallel Interfaces
In chapter 3, we studied the transmission and reection of light at a single in-
terface between two (isotropic homogeneous) materials with indices n
i
and n
t
.
We found that the percent of light reected versus transmitted depends on the
incident angle and on whether the light is s- or p-polarized. The Fresnel coef-
cients r
s
, t
s
, r
p
, t
p
(3.18)(3.21) connect the reected and transmitted elds to
the incident eld, , depending on the polarization of the incident light . Similarly,
either R
s
and T
s
or R
p
and T
p
determine the fraction of incident power that either
reects or transmits (see (3.25) and (3.27)).
In this chapter we consider the overall transmission and reection through
multiple parallel interfaces. We start with a two-interface system, where a layer of
material is inserted between the initial and nal materials. This situation occurs
frequently in optics. For example, lenses are often coated with a thin layer of
material in an effort to reduce reections. Metal mirrors usually have a thin oxide
layer or a protective coating between the metal and the air. We can develop
reection and transmission coefcients r
tot
and t
tot
, which apply to the overall
double-boundary system, similar to the Fresnel coefcients for a single boundary.
Likewise, we can compute an overall reectance and transmittance R
tot
and T
tot
.
These can be used to compute the tunneling of evanescent waves across a gap
between two parallel surfaces when the critical angle for total internal reection
is exceeded.
The formalism we develop for the double-boundary problem is useful for
describing a simple instrument called a Fabry-Perot etalon (or interferometer if
the instrument has the capability of variable spacing between the two surfaces).
Such an instrument, which is constructed from two partially reective parallel
surfaces, is useful for distinguishing closely spaced wavelengths.
Finally, in this chapter we will extend our analysis to multilayer coatings,
where an arbitrary number of interfaces exist between many material layers.
Multilayers are often used to make highly reective mirror coatings fromdielectric
materials (as opposed to metallic materials). Such mirror coatings can reect
with efciencies greater than 99.9% at certain wavelengths. In contrast, metallic
mirrors typically reect with 96% efciency, which can be a signicant loss
87
88 Chapter 4 Multiple Parallel Interfaces
if there are many mirrors in an optical system. Dielectric multilayer coatings
also have the advantage of being more durable and less prone to damage from
high-intensity lasers.
4.1 Double-Interface Problem Solved Using Fresnel Coef-
cients
Consider a slab of material sandwiched between two other materials as depicted
in Fig. 4.1. Because there are multiple reections inside the middle layer, we have
dropped the subscripts i, r, and t used in chapter 3 and instead use the symbols
and to indicate forward and backward traveling waves, respectively. Let n
1
stand for the refractive index of the middle layer. For consistency with notation
that we will later use for many-layer systems, let n
0
and n
2
represent the indices
of the other two regions. For simplicity, we assume that indices are real. As with
the single-boundary problem, we are interested in nding the overall transmitted
elds E
(s)
2
and E
(p)
2
and the overall reected elds E
(s)
0
and E
(p)
0
in terms of the
incident elds E
(s)
0
and E
(p)
0
.
Both forward and backward traveling plane waves exist in the middle region.
Our intuition rightly tells us that in this region there are many reections, bounc-
ing both forward and backward between the two surfaces. It might therefore seem
that we need to keep track of an innite number of plane waves, each correspond-
ing to a different number of bounces. Fortunately, the many forward-traveling
plane waves all travel in the same direction. Similarly, the backward-traveling
plane waves are all parallel. These plane-wave elds then join neatly into a single
net forward-moving and a single net backward-moving plane wave within the

x-axis directed into page
Figure 4.1 Waves propagating through a dual interface between materials.
4.1 Double-Interface ProblemSolved Using Fresnel Coefcients 89
middle region.
1
As of yet, we do not know the amplitudes or phases of the net forward and
net backward traveling plane waves in the middle layer. We simply denote them
by E
(s)
1
and E
(s)
1
or by E
(p)
1
and E
(p)
1
, separated into their s and p components as
usual. Similarly, E
(s)
0
and E
(p)
0
as well as E
(s)
2
and E
(p)
2
are understood to include
light that leaks through the boundaries from the middle region. Thus, we need
only concern ourselves with the ve plane waves depicted in Fig. 4.1.
The various plane-wave elds are connected to each other at the boundaries
via the single-boundary Fresnel coefcients (3.18)(3.21). At the rst surface we
dene
r
01
s

sin
1
cos
0
sin
0
cos
1
sin
1
cos
0
+sin
0
cos
1
r
01
p

cos
1
sin
1
cos
0
sin
0
cos
1
sin
1
+cos
0
sin
0
t
01
s

2sin
1
cos
0
sin
1
cos
0
+sin
0
cos
1
t
01
p

2cos
0
sin
1
cos
1
sin
1
+cos
0
sin
0
(4.1)
The notation 0 1 indicates the rst surface from the perspective of starting
on the incident side and propagating towards the middle layer. The Fresnel
coefcients for the backward traveling light approaching the rst interface from
within the middle layer are given by
r
10
s
=r
01
s
r
10
p
=r
01
p
t
10
s

2sin
0
cos
1
sin
0
cos
1
+sin
1
cos
0
t
10
p

2cos
1
sin
0
cos
0
sin
0
+cos
1
sin
1
(4.2)
where 1 0 again indicates connections at the rst interface, but from the per-
spective of beginning inside the middle layer. Finally, the single-boundary coef-
cients for light approaching the second interface are
r
12
s

sin
2
cos
1
sin
1
cos
2
sin
2
cos
1
+sin
1
cos
2
r
12
p

cos
2
sin
2
cos
1
sin
1
cos
2
sin
2
+cos
1
sin
1
t
12
s

2sin
2
cos
1
sin
2
cos
1
+sin
1
cos
2
t
12
p

2cos
1
sin
2
cos
2
sin
2
+cos
1
sin
1
(4.3)
In a similar fashion, the notation 1 2 indicates connections made at the second
interface from the perspective of beginning in the middle layer.
To solve for the connections between the ve elds depicted in Fig.4.1, we
will need four equations for either s or p polarization (taking the incident eld as
a given). To simplify things, we will consider s-polarized light in the upcoming
analysis. The equations for p-polarized light look exactly the same; just replace
the subscript s with p. Through the remainder of this section and the next, we
will continue to economize by writing the equations only for s-polarized light
with the understanding that they apply equally well to p-polarized light.
1
The sum of parallel plane waves
j
E
j
e
i (krt )
, where the phase of each wave is contained in
E
j
, can be written as (
j
E
j
)e
i (krt )
, which is effectively one plane wave.
The forward-traveling wave in the middle region arises from both a transmis-
sion of the incident wave and a reection of the backward-traveling wave in the
middle region at the rst interface. Using the Fresnel coefcients, we can write
E
(s)
1
as the sum of elds arising fromE
(s)
0
and E
(s)
1
as follows:
E
(s)
1
=t
01
s
E
(s)
0
+r
10
s
E
(s)
1
(4.4)
The factor t
01
s
and r
10
s
are the single-boundary Fresnel coefcients selected
appropriately from (4.3). Similarly, the overall reected eld E
(s)
0
, is given by the
reection of the incident eld and the transmission of the backward-traveling
eld in the middle region according to
E
(s)
0
=r
01
s
E
(s)
0
+t
10
s
E
(s)
1
(4.5)
Two connections done; two to go.
Before we continue, we need to specify an origin so that we can calculate
phase shifts associated with propagation in the middle region. Propagation was
not an issue in the single-boundary problem studied back in chapter 3. However,
in the double-boundary problem, the thickness of the middle region dictates
phase variations that strongly inuence the result. We take the origin to be
located on the rst interface, as shown in Fig. 4.1. Since all elds in (4.4) and (4.5)
are evaluated at the origin (y, z) =(0, 0), there are no phase factors needed.
We will connect the plane-wave elds across the second interface at the point
r = zd. The appropriate phase-adjusted
2
eld at (y, z) = (0, d) is E
(s)
1
e
i k
1
r
=
E
(s)
1
e
i k
1
d cos
1
, since E
(s)
1
is the eld at the origin (y, z) = (0, 0). The transmitted
eld in the nal mediumarises only fromthe forward-traveling eld in the middle
region, and at our selected point it is
E
(s)
2
=t
12
s
E
(s)
1
e
i k
1
d cos
1
(4.6)
Note that E
(s)
2
stand for the transmitted eld at the point (y, z) =(0, d); its local
phase can be built into its denition so no need to write an explicit phase.
The backward-traveling plane wave in the middle region arises from the
reection of the forward-traveling plane wave in that region:
E
(s)
1
e
i k
1
d cos
1
=r
12
s
E
(s)
1
e
i k
1
d cos
1
(4.7)
Like before, E
(s)
1
is referenced to the origin (y, z) = (0, 0). Therefore, the factor
e
i k
1
r
=e
i k
1
d cos
1
is needed at (y, z) =(0, d).
The relations (4.4)(4.7) permit us to nd overall transmission and reection
coefcients for the two-interface problem.
Example 4.1
Derive the transmission coefcient that connects the nal transmitted eld to the
incident eld for the double-interface problem according to t
tot
s
E
(s)
2
/E
(s)
0
.
2
In the middle region, k
1
=k
1
_
ysin
1
+ zcos
1
_
and k
1
=k
1
_
ysin
1
zcos
1
_
.
4.2 Two-Interface Transmittance at Sub Critical Angles 91
Solution: From (4.6) we may write
E
(s)
1
=
E
(s)
2
t
12
s
e
i k
1
d cos
1
(4.8)
Substitution of this into (4.7) gives
E
(s)
1
=E
(s)
2
r
12
s
t
12
s
e
i k
1
d cos
1
(4.9)
Next, substituting both (4.8) and (4.9) into (4.4) yields the connection we seek
between the incident and transmitted elds:
E
(s)
2
t
12
s
e
i k
1
d cos
1
=t
01
s
E
(s)
0
+r
10
s
E
(s)
2
r
12
s
t
12
s
e
i k
1
d cos
1
(4.10)
After rearranging, we arrive at the more useful form
t
tot
s

E
(s)
2
E
(s)
0
=
t
01
s
e
i k
1
d cos
1
t
12
s
1r
10
s
r
12
s
e
2i k
1
d cos
1
(p can be switched for s) (4.11)
The coefcient t
tot
s
derived in Example 4.1 connects the amplitude and phase
of the incident eld to the amplitude and phase of the transmitted eld in a
manner similar to the single-boundary Fresnel coefcients. The numerator of
(4.11) remind us of the physics of the situation: the eld transmits through the
rst interface, acquires a phase due to propagating through the middle layer, and
transmits through the second interface. The denominator of (4.11) modies the
result to account for feedback from multiple reections in the middle region.
3
The overall reection coefcient is found to be (see P4.1)
r
tot
s

E
(s)
0
E
(s)
0
=r
01
s
+
t
01
s
e
i k
1
d cos
1
r
12
s
e
i k
1
d cos
1
t
10
s
1r
10
s
r
12
s
e
i 2k
1
d cos
1
(p can be switched for s) (4.12)
Again the equation reminds us of the basic physics, and we did not completely
simplify the expression to make this more apparent. There is an initial reection
from the rst interface. That light is joined by light that transmits through the rst
interface (looking at only the numerator of the second term), propagates through
the middle layer, reects from the second interface, propagates back through the
middle layer, and transmits back through the rst interface. The denominator of
the second term accounts for the effects of multiple-reection feedback.
4.2 Two-Interface Transmittance at Sub Critical Angles
Often we are interested in the intensity of the light that goes through or reects
from the double-interface setup. Because the transmission coefcient (4.11) has
3
Our derivation method avoids the need for explicit accounting of multiple reections. For an
alternative approach arriving at the same result via an innite geometric series, see M. Born and E.
Wolf, Principles of Optics, 7th ed., Sect. 7.6.1 (Cambridge University Press, 1999) or G. R. Fowles,
Introduction to Modern Optics, 2nd ed., Sect 4.1 (New York: Dover, 1975).
a simpler form than the reection coefcient (4.12), it will be easier to calcu-
late the total transmittance T
tot
s
and obtain the reectance, if desired, from the
relationship
T
tot
s
+R
tot
s
=1 (4.13)
When the transmitted angle
2
is real, we may write the fraction of the transmitted
power as in (3.30):
T
tot
s
=
n
2
cos
2
n
0
cos
0
t
tot
s
2
=
n
2
cos
2
n
0
cos
0
t
01
s
t
12
s
e
i k
1
d cos
1
r
10
s
r
12
s
e
i k
1
d cos
1
2
(p can be switched for s) (
2
real) (4.14)
(Before squaring, we multiplied the top and bottom of (4.11) by e
i k
1
d cos
1
to
make the denominator more symmetric for later convenience.) Equation (4.14)
remains valid even if the angle
1
is complex. Thus, it can be applied to the case of
evanescent waves tunneling through a gap where
0
lies beyond the critical angle
for total internal reection from the middle layer. This will be studied further in
section 4.3.
When there are no evanescent waves in any of the regions (i.e.
0
and
1
both
do not exceed critical angle) we can simplify (4.14) into the following useful form
(see P4.3):
4
T
tot
s
=
T
max
s
1+F
s
sin
2
_
2
_ (p can be switched for s) (
1
and
2
real) (4.15)
where
T
max
s

T
01
s
T
12
s
_
1
_
R
10
s
R
12
s
_
2
(4.16)
2k
1
d cos
1
+
r
10
s
+
r
12
s
(4.17)
and
F
s
4
_
R
10
s
R
12
s
_
1
_
R
10
s
R
12
s
_
2
(4.18)
The quantity T
max
s
is the maximum possible transmittance of power through the
two surfaces. The single-interface transmittances (T
01
s
and T
12
s
) and reectances
(R
10
s
and R
12
s
) are calculated from the single-interface Fresnel coefcients in
the usual way as described in chapter 3. The numerator of T
max
s
represents the
combined transmittances for the two interfaces without considering feedback
due to multiple reections. The denominator enhances this value to account for
reinforcing feedback in the middle layer.
The phase delay experienced by the plane wave in the middle region is de-
scribed by . The rst term 2k
1
d cos
1
represents the phase delay acquired
during round-trip propagation in the middle region. The terms
r
10
s
and
r
12
s
4
4.2 Two-Interface Transmittance at Sub Critical Angles 93
account for possible phase shifts upon reection from each interface. They are
dened indirectly from the single-boundary Fresnel reection coefcients:
r
10
s
=
r
10
s
e
i
r
10
s
and r
12
s
=
r
12
s
e
i
r
12
s
(4.19)
If all the indices in the double-boundary system are real, then
r
10
s
and
r
12
s
can only be zero or (i.e. the coefcients can only be positive or negative real
numbers).
F
s
is called the coefcient of nesse (not to be confused with reecting nesse
dened in section 4.6), which determines how strongly the transmittance is
inuenced when is varied (for example, through varying d or the wavelength
vac
).
Partial
reflection
coating
Anti-reflection
coating
Glass
46%
54%
Figure 4.2 Side view of a beam-
splitter.
Example 4.2
Consider a beam splitter designed for s-polarized light incident on a substrate of
glass (n =1.5) at 45
as shown in Fig. 4.2. A thin coating of zinc sulde (n =2.32)

is applied to the front of the glass to cause about half of the light to reect. A
magnesium uoride (n =1.38) coating is applied to the back surface of the glass to
minimize reections at that surface.
5
Each coating constitutes a separate double-
interface problem. The front coating is deferred to problem P4.5. In this example,
nd the highest transmittance possible through the antireection lm at the back
of the beam splitter and the smallest possible d
2
that accomplishes this for light
with wavelength
vac
=633 nm.
Solution: For the back coating, we have n
0
= 1.5, n
1
= 1.38, and n
2
= 1. We can
nd
0
and
1
from
2
=45
using Snells law

n
1
sin
1
=sin
2

1
=sin
1
_
sin45
1.38
_
=30.82
n
0
sin
0
=sin
2

0
=sin
1
_
sin45
1.5
_
=28.13
Next we calculate the single-boundary Fresnel coefcients:

r
12
s
=
sin(
1
2
)
sin(
1
+
2
)
=
sin(30.82
45
)
sin(30.82
+45
)
=0.253
r
10
s
=
sin(
1
0
)
sin(
1
+
0
)
=
sin(30.82
28.13
)
sin(30.82
+28.13
)
=0.0549
These coefcients give us the phase shift due to reection
r
10
s
= ,
r
12
s
=0
5
We ignore possible feedback between the front and rear coatings. Since the antireection
lms are usually imperfect, beam splitter substrates are often slightly wedged so that unwanted
reections from the second surface travel in a different direction.
The single-boundary reectances are given by
R
10
s

r
10
s
2
=|0.0549|
2
=0.0030
R
12
s

r
12
s
2
=|0.253|
2
=0.0640
and the transmittances are
T
01
s
=T
10
s
=1R
10
s
=10.0030 =0.997
T
12
s
=1R
12
s
=10.0640 =0.936
Finally, we calculate the coefcient of ness
F =
4
_
R
10
s
R
12
s
_
1
_
R
10
s
R
12
s
_
2
=
4
(0.0030) (0.0640)
_
1
(0.0030) (0.0640)
_
2
=0.0570
and the maximum transmittance
T
max
s
=
T
01
s
T
12
s
_
1
_
R
10
s
R
12
s
_
2
=
(0.997) (0.936)
_
1
(0.0030) (0.0640)
_
2
=0.960
Putting everything together, we have
T
tot
s
=
0.960
1+0.0570sin
2
_
2k
1
d
2
cos
1
+
2
_
The maximum transmittance occurs when the sine is zero. In that case, T
tot
s
=
0.960, meaning that 96%of the light is transmitted. We nd the thickness by setting
the argument of the sine to
2k
1
d
2
cos
1
+=2
Since k
1
=2n
1
/
vac
, we have
d
2
=

vac
4n
1
cos
1
=
633 nm
4(1.38) cos30.82
=134 nm
Without the coating, (i.e. d
2
= 0), the transmittance through the antireection
coating would be 0.908, so the coating does give an improvement.
4.3 BeyondCritical Angle: Tunneling of Evanescent Waves
Figure 4.3 Animation showing
showing frustrated total internal
reection.
When
0
is greater than the critical angle, an evanescent wave forms in the middle
region. In this case the formula (4.15) for the transmittance cannot be used.
However, the formula (4.14) still holds if the angle
2
is real (i.e. if the critical
angle in the absence of the middle layer is not exceeded). Thus, we can use (4.14)
to describe frustrated total internal reection. In this case an evanescent wave
occurs in the middle region, and if the second surface is sufciently close to the
rst surface, the evanescent wave stimulates the second surface to produce a
4.3 Beyond Critical Angle: Tunneling of Evanescent Waves 95
transmitted wave propagating at an angle
2
. This behavior is sometimes referred
to as tunneling.
We do not need to deal directly withthe complex angle
1
. Rather, we just need
sin
1
and cos
1
in order to calculate the single-boundary Fresnel coefcients.
From Snells law we have
sin
1
=
n
0
n
1
sin
0
=
n
2
n
1
sin
2
(4.20)
and for the middle layer we write
cos
1
=i
_
sin
2
1
1 (4.21)
Note that beyond the critical angle, sin
1
is greater than one. We illustrate how to
apply (4.14) via a specic example:

Figure 4.4 Frustrated total internal
reection in two prisms.
Example 4.3
Calculate the transmittance of p-polarized light through the region between two
closely spaced 45
right prisms, as shown in Fig. 4.4, as a function of

vac
and
the prism spacing d. Take the index of refraction of the prisms to be n = 1.5
surrounded by index n = 1, and use
0
=
2
= 45
. Neglect possible reections

from the exterior surfaces of the prisms.
Solution: From (4.20) and (4.21) we have
sin
1
=1.5sin45
=1.0607 and cos

1
=i
_
1.0607
2
1 =i 0.3536
We must compute various expressions involving Fresnel coefcients that appear
in (4.14):
t
01
p
2
=
2cos
0
sin
1
cos
1
sin
1
+cos
0
sin
0
2
=
2
1
2
(1.061)
(i 0.3536) (1.0607) +
1
2
1
2
=5.76
t
12
p
2
=
2cos
1
sin
2
cos
2
sin
2
+cos
1
sin
1
2
=
2(i 0.3536)
1
2
1
2
1
2
+(i 0.3536) (1.0607)
2
=0.640
r
12
p
=
cos
1
sin
1
cos
0
sin
0
cos
1
sin
1
+cos
0
sin
0
=
(i 0.3536) (1.0607)
1
2
1
2
(i 0.3536) (1.061) +
1
2
1
2
=e
i 1.287
For the last step in the r
12
p
calculation, see problem P0.15. Also note that r
12
p
=
r
10
p
=r
01
p
since n
0
=n
2
. We also need
k
1
d cos
1
=
2
vac
d cos
1
=
2
vac
d (i 0.3536) =i 2.22
_
d
vac
_
We are now ready to compute the total transmittance (4.14). The factors out in
front vanish since
0
=
2
and n
0
=n
2
, and we have
T
tot
p
=
t
01
p
t
12
p
e
i k
1
d cos
1
r
10
p
r
12
p
e
i k
1
d cos
1
2
=
(5.76)(0.640)
e
i
_
i 2.22
_
d
vac
__
e
i 1.287
e
i 1.287
e
i
_
i 2.22
_
d
vac
__
2
=
3.69
_
e
2.22
_
d
vac
_
e
2.22
_
d
vac
_
i 2.574
__
e
2.22
_
d
vac
_
e
2.22
_
d
vac
_
+i 2.574
_
=
3.69
e
4.44
_
d
vac
_
+e
4.44
_
d
vac
_
2
_
e
i 2.574
+e
i 2.574
2
_
=
3.69
e
4.44
_
d
vac
_
+e
4.44
_
d
vac
_
2cos(2.574)
=
3.69
e
4.44
_
d
vac
_
+e
4.44
_
d
vac
_
+1.69
(4.22)
Figure 4.5 Plot of (4.22)
Figure 4.5 shows a plot of the transmittance (4.22) calculated in Example 4.3.
Notice that the transmittance is 100% when the two prisms are brought together
as expected (T
tot
p
(d/
vac
=0) =1). When the prisms are about a wavelength apart,
the transmittance is signicantly reduced, andas the distance gets large compared
to a wavelength, the transmittance quickly goes to zero (T
tot
p
(d/
vac
1) 0).
4.4 Fabry-Perot
Maurice Paul Auguste Charles Fabry
(1867-1945, French) was born in Mar-
seille, France. At age 18, he entered the
cole Polytechnique in Paris where he
studied for two years. Following that, he
spent a number of years teaching state
secondary school while simultaneously
working on a doctoral dissertation on
interference phenomona. After com-
pleting his doctorate, he began working
as a lecturer and laboratory assistant
at the University of Marseille where a
decade later he was appointed a pro-
fessor of physics. Soon after his arrival
to the University of Marseille, Fabry
began a long and fruitful collaboration
with Alfred Perot (1863-1925). Fabry
focused on theoretical analysis and mea-
surements while his colleague did the
design work and construction of their
new interferometer, which they continu-
ally improved over the years. During his
career, Fabry made signicant contribu-
tions to spectroscopy and astrophysics
and is credited with co-discovery of the
ozone layer. See J. F. Mulligan, Who
were Fabry and Perot?, Am. J. Phys.
66. 797-802 (1998).
In the 1890s, Charles Fabry realized that a double interface could be used to
distinguish wavelengths of light that are very close together. He and a talented
experimentalist colleague, Alfred Perot, constructed an instrument and began
to use it to make measurements on various spectral sources. The Fabry-Perot
instrument
6
consists simply of two identical (parallel) surfaces separated by
spacing d. We can use our analysis in section 4.2 to describe this instrument. For
simplicity, we choose the refractive index before the initial surface and after the
nal surface to be the same (i.e. n
0
=n
2
). We assume that the transmission angles
are such that total internal reection is avoided. The transmission through the
device depends on the exact spacing between the two surfaces, the reectivity of
the surfaces, as well as on the wavelength of the light.
If the spacing d separating the two parallel surfaces is adjustable (scanned),
the instrument is called a Fabry-Perot interferometer. If the spacing is xed while
the angle of the incident light is varied, the instrument is called a Fabry-Perot
etalon. An etalon can therefore be as simple as a piece of glass with parallel
6
4.4 Fabry-Perot 97
surfaces. Sometimes, a thin optical membrane called a pellicle is used as an
etalon (occasionally inserted into laser cavities to discriminate against certain
wavelengths). However, to achieve sharp discrimination between closely-spaced
wavelengths, a large spacing d is desirable.
Jean-Baptiste Alfred Perot (1863-
1925, French) was born in Metz, France.
He attended the Ecole Polytechnique
and then the University of Paris, where
he earned a doctorate in 1888. He be-
came a professor in in Marseille in 1894
where he began his collaboration with
Fabry. Perot contributed his consider-
able talent of instrument fabrication to
the endeavor. Perot spent much of his
later career making precision astronom-
ical and solar measurements. See J. F.
Mulligan, Who were Fabry and Perot?,
Am. J. Phys. 66. 797-802 (1998).
As we previously derived (4.11), the transmittance through a double boundary
is
T
tot
=
T
max
1+F sin
2
_
2
_ (4.23)
In the case of identical interfaces, the transmittance and reectance coefcients
are the same at each surface (i.e. T = T
01
= T
12
and R = R
10
= R
12
). In this
case, the maximum transmittance and the nesse coefcient simplify to
T
max
=
T
2
(1R)
2
(4.24)
and
F =
4R
(1R)
2
(4.25)
In principle, these equations should be evaluated for either s- or p-polarized light.
However, a Fabry-Perot interferometer or etalon is usually operated near normal
incidence so that there is little difference between the two polarizations.
When using a Fabry-Perot instrument, one observes the transmittance T
tot
as
the parameter is varied. The parameter can be varied by altering d,
1
, or
as prescribed by
=
4n
1
d
vac
cos
1
+
r
(4.26)
To increase the sensitivity of the instrument, it is desirable to have the transmit-
tance T
tot
vary strongly when is varied. By inspection of (4.23), we see that
T
tot
varies strongest if the nesse coefcient F is large. We achieve a large nesse
coefcient by increasing the reectance R.
d
R
T
A
Incident
light
Ag
coatings
Figure 4.6 Typical Fabry-Perot
setup. If the spacing d is variable,
it is called an interferometer; oth-
erwise, it is called an etalon.
The basic setup of a Fabry-Perot instrument is shown in Fig. 4.6. In order to
achieve a relatively high reectivity R (and therefore large F), special coatings can
be applied to the surfaces, for example, a thin layer of silver to achieve a partial
reection, say 90%. Typically, two glass substrates are separated by distance d,
with the coated surfaces facing each other as shown in the gure. The substrates
are aligned so that the interior surfaces are parallel to each other. It is typical for
each substrate to be slightly wedge-shaped so that unwanted reections from the
outer surfaces do not interfere with the double boundary situation between the
two plates.
Technically, each coating constitutes its own double-boundary problem (or
multiple-boundary as the case may be). We can ignore this detail and simply
think of the overall setup as a single two-interface problem. Regardless of the
details of the coatings, we can say that each coating has a certain reectance R
and transmittance T . However, as light goes through a coating, it can also be
attenuated because of absorption. In this case, we have
R +T +A =1 (4.27)
where A represents the amount of light absorbed at a coating. The attenuation A
reduces the amount of light that makes it through the instrument, but it does not
impact the nature of the interferences within the instrument.
p p
Figure 4.7 Transmittance as the
phase is varied. The different
curves correspond to different
values of the nesse coefcient.
0
represents a large multiple of
2.
The total transmittance T
tot
(4.23) through an ideal Fabry-Perot instrument is
depicted in Fig. 4.7 as a function of . The various curves correspond to different
values of F. Typical values of can be extremely large. For example, suppose
that the instrument is used at near-normal incidence (i.e. cos
1

= 1) with a
wavelength of
vac
=500 nmand an interface separation of d
0
=1 cm. From(4.26)
the value of (ignoring the constant phase terms
r
) is approximately
0
=
4(1 cm)
500 nm
=80, 000
As we vary d, , or
1
by small amounts, we can easily cause to change by 2 as
depicted in Fig. 4.7. The gure shows small changes in above a value
0
, which
represents a large multiple of 2.
The reection phase
r
in (4.26) depends on the exact nature of the coatings
in the Fabry-Perot instrument. However, we do not need to know the value of
r
(depending on both the complex index of the coating material and its thickness).
Whatever the value of
r
, we only care that it is constant. Experimentally, we can
always compensate for the
r
by tweaking the spacing d, whose exact value is
likely not controlled for in the rst place. Note that the required tweak on the
spacing need only be a fraction of a wavelength, which is typically tiny compared
to the overall spacing d.
4.5 Setup of a Fabry-Perot Instrument
Angle
Adjustment
Collimated
Light
Interferometer
Actuated
Substrate
Aperture
Detector
Oscilloscope
Sig Trig
Figure 4.8 Setup for a Fabry-Perot
interferometer.
Figure 4.8 shows the typical experimental setup for a Fabry-Perot interferometer.
A collimated beam of light is sent through the instrument. The beam is aligned so
that it is normal to the surfaces. It is critical for the two surfaces of the interferom-
eter to be extremely close to parallel. When aligned correctly, the transmission
of a collimated beam will blink all together as the spacing d is changed (by tiny
amounts). A mechanical actuator can be used to vary the spacing between the
plates while the transmittance is observed on a detector. To make the alignment
of the instrument somewhat less critical, a small aperture can be placed in front
of the detector so that it observes only a small portion of the beam.
T
r
a
n
s
m
i
t
t
a
n
c
e
separation d is varied (F = 100).
d
0
represents a large distance for
which is a multiple of 2.
The transmittance as a function of plate separation is shown in Fig. 4.9. In this
case, varies via changes in d (see (4.26) with cos
1
=1 and xed wavelength).
As the spacing is increased by only a half wavelength, the transmittance changes
through a complete period. The various peaks in the gure are called fringes.
The setup for a Fabry-Perot etalon is similar to that of the interferometer
except that the spacing d remains xed. Often the two surfaces in the etalon are
held parallel to each other by a precision spacer. An advantage to the Fabry-Perot
etalon (as opposed to the interferometer) is that no moving parts are needed. To
make measurements with an etalon, the angle of the light is varied rather than the
plate separation. After all, to see fringes, we just need to cause in (4.23) to vary
in some way. According to (4.26), we can do that as easily by varying
1
as we can
by varying d. One way to obtain a range of angles is to observe light from a point
source, as depicted in Fig. 4.10. Different portions of the beam go through the
device at different angles. When aligned straight on, the transmitted light forms a
bulls-eye pattern on a screen.
Etalon
Point
Source
Angle
Adjustment
Screen
Figure 4.10 A diverging monochro-
matic beam traversing a Fabry-
Perot etalon. (The angle of diver-
gence is exaggerated.)
In Fig. 4.11 we graph the transmittance T
tot
(4.23) as a function of angle
(holding
vac
=500 nm and d =1 cm xed). Since cos
1
is not a linear function,
the spacing of the peaks varies with angle. As
1
increases from zero, the cosine
steadily decreases, causing to decrease. Each time decreases by 2 we get a
new peak. Not surprisingly, only a modest change in angle is necessary to cause
the transmittance to vary from maximum to minimum, or vice versa.
T
r
a
n
s
m
i
s
s
i
o
n
Figure 4.11 Transmittance
through a Fabry-Perot etalon
(F =10) as the angle
1
is varied. It
is assumed that the distance d is
chosen such that is a multiple of
2 when the angle is zero.
The bulls-eye pattern in Fig. 4.10 can be understood as the curve in Fig. 4.11
rotated about a circle. Depending on the exact spacing between the plates, the
radii (or angles) where the fringes occur can be different. For example, the center
spot could be dark.
Spectroscopic samples often are not compact point-like sources. Rather, they
are extended diffuse sources. The point-source setup shown in Fig. 4.10 wont
work for extended sources unless all of the light at the sample is blocked except
for a tiny point. This is impractical if there remains insufcient illumination at
the nal screen for observation.
In order to preserve as much light as possible, we can sandwich the etalon
between two lenses. We place the diffuse source at the focal plane of the rst lens.
We place the screen at the focal plane of the second lens. This causes an image of
the source to appear on the screen.
7
Each point of the diffuse source is mapped
to a corresponding point on the screen. Moreover, the light associated with any
particular point of the source travels as a unique collimated beam in the region
between the lenses. Each collimated beam traverses the etalon with a unique
angle. Thus, light associated with each emission point traverses the etalon with
higher or lower transmittance, according to the differing angles. The result is that
a bulls eye pattern becomes superimposed on the image of the diffuse source.
The lens and retina of your eye can be used for the nal lens and screen.
Diffuse
Source
Lens Etalon Lens
Screen
Figure 4.12 Setup of a Fabry-Perot
etalon for looking at a diffuse
source.
4.6 Distinguishing Nearby Wavelengths in a Fabry-Perot
Instrument
Thus far, we have examined how the transmittance through a Fabry-Perot instru-
ment varies with surface separation d and angle
1
. However, the main purpose
of a Fabry-Perot instrument is to measure small changes in the wavelength of
light, which similarly affect the value of (see (4.26)).
8
7
If the diffuse source has the shape of Mickey Mouse, then an image of Mickey Mouse appears
on the screen. Imaging techniques are discussed in chapter 9.
8
Consider a Fabry-perot interferometer where the transmittance through the
instrument is plotted as a function of surface separation d. Let the spacing d
0
correspond to the case when is a multiple of 2 for the wavelength
vac
=
0
.
Next, suppose we adjust the wavelength of the light from
vac
=
0
to
vac
=
0
+ while observing the transmittance. As we do this, the value of changes.
Figure 4.13 shows what happens as we scan the spacing d of the interferometer in
the neighborhood of d
0
. The dashed line corresponds to a different wavelength.
As the wavelength changes, the plate separation at which a particular fringe
occurs also changes.
T
r
a
n
s
m
i
t
t
a
n
c
e
spacing d is varied for two differ-
ent wavelengths (F = 100). The
solid line plots the transmittance
of light with a wavelength of
0
,
and the dashed line plots the
transmittance of a wavelength
shorter than
0
. Note that the
fringes shift positions for different
wavelengths.
We now derive the connection between a change in wavelength and the
amount that changes, which gives rise to the fringe shift seen in Fig. 4.13. At
the wavelength
0
, we have
0
=
4n
1
d
0
cos
1
0
+
r
(4.28)
which we previously supposed is an integer times 2. At a new wavelength (all
else remaining the same) we have
=
4n
1
d
0
cos
1
0
+
+
r
(4.29)
The change in wavelength is usually very small compared to
0
, so we can
represent the denominator with the rst two terms of a Taylor-series expansion:
1
0
+
=
1
0
(1+/
0
)
=
1/
0
0
(4.30)
Then the difference between
0
and can be rewritten as
0
=
4n
1
d
0
cos
1
2
0
(4.31)
If the change in wavelength is enough to cause =2, the fringes in Fig. 4.13
shift through a whole period, and the picture looks the same.
This brings up an important limitation of the instrument. If the fringes shift
by too much, we might become confused as to what exactly has changed, owing
to the periodic nature of the fringes. If two wavelengths arent sufciently close,
the fringes of one wavelength may be shifted past several fringes of the other
wavelength, and we will not be able to tell by how much they differ.
This introduces the concept of free spectral range, which is the wavelength
change
FSR
that causes the fringes to shift through one period. We nd this by
setting (4.31) equal to 2. After rearranging, we get
FSR
=

2
vac
2n
1
d
0
cos
1
(4.32)
The free spectral range tends to be extremely narrow; a Fabry-Perot instrument is
not well suited for measuring wavelength ranges wider than this. In summary, the
free spectral range is the largest change in wavelength permissible while avoiding
confusion. To convert this wavelength difference
FSR
into a corresponding
frequency difference, one differentiates =c/
vac
to get
|FSR| =
cFSR
2
vac
(4.33)
Figure 4.14 Transmittance of a
diverging beam through a Fabry-
Perot etalon. Two nearby wave-
lengths are sent through the in-
strument simultaneously, (top)
barely resolved and (bottom) eas-
ily resolved.
Example 4.4
A Fabry-Perot interferometer has plate spacing d
0
=1 cm and index n
1
=1. If it
is used in the neighborhood of
vac
=500 nm, nd the free spectral range of the
instrument.
Solution: From (4.32), the free spectral range is
FSR
=

2
vac
2n
1
d
0
cos
1
=
FSR
=
(500 nm)
2
2(1) (1 cm) cos0
=0.0125 nm
This means that we should not use the instrument to distinguish wavelengths that
are separated by more than this small amount.
We next consider the smallest change in wavelength that can be noticed,
or resolved with a Fabry-Perot instrument. For example, if two very near-by
wavelengths are sent through the instrument simultaneously, we can distinguish
them only if the separation between their corresponding fringe peaks is at least
as large as the width of individual peaks. This situation of two barely resolvable
fringe peaks is illustrated in Fig. 4.14 for a diverging beam traversing an etalon.
We will look for the wavelength change that causes a peak to shift by its own
width. We dene the width of a peak by its full width at half maximum(FWHM).
Again, let
0
be a multiple of 2 so that a peak in transmittance occurs when
=
0
. In this case, we have from (4.23) that
T
tot
=
T
max
1+F sin
2
_
0
2
_ =T
max
(4.34)
since sin(
0
/2) =0. If varies from
0
to
0
FWHM
/2, then, by denition, the
transmittance drops to one half. Therefore, we may write
T
tot
=
T
max
1+F sin
2
_
FWHM
/2
2
_ =
T
max
2
(4.35)
In solving for (4.35) for
FWHM
, we see that this equation requires
F sin
2
_
FWHM
4
_
=1 (4.36)
where we have taken advantage of the fact that
0
is a multiple of 2. Next,
we suppose that
FWHM
is rather small so that we may represent the sine by its
argument. This approximation is okay if the nesse coefcient F is rather large
(say, 100). With this approximation, (4.36) simplies to
FWHM
=
4
F
. (4.37)
The ratio of the period between peaks 2 to the width
FWHM
of individual peaks
is called the reecting nesse (or just nesse).
f
2
FWHM
=

F
2
(4.38)
This parameter is often used to characterize the performance of a Fabry-Perot
instrument. Note that a higher nesse f implies sharper fringes in comparison to
the fringe spacing.
The free spectral range
FSR
compared to the minimum wavelength
FWHM
is the same ratio f . Therefore, we have
FWHM
=
FSR
f
=

2
vac
n
1
d
0
cos
1
F
(4.39)
As a nal note, the ratio of
0
to
min
, where
min
is the minimum change
of wavelength that the instrument can distinguish in the neighborhood of
0
is
called the resolving power. For a Fabry-Perot instrument it is
RP

0
FWHM
(4.40)
Fabry-Perot instruments tend to have very high resolving powers since they re-
spond to very small differences in wavelength.
Example 4.5
If the Fabry-Perot interferometer in example 4.5 has reectivity R =0.85, nd the
nesse, the minimum distinguishable wavelength separation, and the resolving
power.
Solution: From (4.25), the nesse coefcient is
F =
4R
(1R)
2
=
4(0.85)
(1(0.85))
2
=151
and by (4.38) the nesse is
f =

F
2
=

151
2
=19.3
The minimum resolvable wavelength change is then
FWHM
=

FSR
f
=
0.0125 nm
19
=0.00065 nm (4.41)
4.7 Multilayer Coatings 103
The instrument can distinguish two wavelengths separated by this tiny amount,
which gives an impressive resolving power of
RP =

vac
FWHM
=
500 nm
0.00065 nm
=772, 000
For comparison, the resolving power of a typical grating spectrometer is much less
(a few thousand). However, a grating spectrometer has the advantage that it can
simultaneously observe wavelengths over hundreds of nanometers, whereas the
Fabry-Perot instrument is conned to the extremely narrow free spectral range.
4.7 Multilayer Coatings
As we saw in Example 4.2, a single coating cannot always accomplish a desired
effect, especially if the goal is to make a highly reective mirror. For example, if
we want to make a mirror surface using a dielectric (i.e. nonmetallic) coating,
a single layer is insufcient to reect the majority of the light. In P4.5 we nd
that a single dielectric layer deposited on glass can reect at most about 46%
of the light, even when we used a material with very high index. We would like
to do much better (e.g. >99%), and this can be accomplished with multilayer
dielectric coatings. Multilayer dielectric coatings can perform considerably better
than metal surfaces such as silver and have the advantage of being less prone to
damage.
In this section, we develop the formalism for dealing with arbitrary numbers
of parallel interfaces (i.e. multilayer coatings).
9
Rather than incorporate the single-
interface Fresnel coefcients into the problem as we did in section 4.1, we will
nd it easier to return to the fundamental boundary conditions for the electric
and magnetic elds at each interface between the layers.
We examine p-polarized light incident on an arbitrary multilayer coating (all
interfaces parallel to each other). It is left as an exercise to re-derive the formalism
for s-polarized light (see P4.13). The upcoming derivation is valid also for complex
refractive indices, although our notation suggests real indices. The ability to deal
with complex indices is very important if, for example, we want to make mirror
coatings work in the extreme ultraviolet wavelength range where virtually every
material is absorptive. Consider the diagram of a multilayer coating in Fig. 4.15
for which the angle of light propagation in each region may be computed from
Snells law:
n
0
sin
0
=n
1
sin
1
= =n
N
sin
N
=n
N+1
sin
N+1
(4.42)
where N denotes the number of layers in the coating. The subscript 0 represents
the initial medium outside of the multilayer, and the subscript N +1 represents
the nal material, or the substrate on which the layers are deposited.
9
G. R. Fowles, Introduction to Modern Optics, 2nd ed., Sect 4.4 (New York: Dover, 1975); E. Hecht,
Optics, 3rd ed., Sect. 9.7.1 (Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1998).
z-direction

Figure 4.15 Light propagation through multiple layers.
In each layer, only two plane waves exist, each of which is composed of light
arising from the many possible bounces from various layer interfaces. The arrows
pointing right indicate plane wave elds in individual layers that travel roughly
in the forward (incident) direction, and the arrows pointing left indicate plane
wave elds that travel roughly in the backward (reected) direction. In the nal
region, there is only one plane wave traveling with a forward direction (E
(p)
N+1
)
which gives the overall transmitted eld.
As we have studied in chapter 3 (see (3.9) and (3.13)), the boundary conditions
for the parallel components of the E eld and for the parallel components of the
B eld lead respectively to
cos
0
_
E
(p)
0
+E
(p)
0
_
=cos
1
_
E
(p)
1
+E
(p)
1
_
(4.43)
and
n
0
_
E
(p)
0
E
(p)
0
_
=n
1
_
E
(p)
1
E
(p)
1
_
(4.44)
Similar equations give the eld connection for s-polarized light (see (3.8) and
(3.14)).
We have applied these boundary conditions at the rst interface only. Of
course there are many more interfaces in the multilayer. For the connection
between the j
th
layer and the next, we may similarly write
cos
j
_
E
(p)
j
e
i k
j
j
cos
j
+E
(p)
j
e
i k
j
j
cos
j
_
=cos
j +1
_
E
(p)
j +1
+E
(p)
j +1
_
(4.45)
and
n
j
_
E
(p)
j
e
i k
j
j
cos
j
E
(p)
j
e
i k
j
j
cos
j
_
=n
j +1
_
E
(p)
j +1
E
(p)
j +1
_
(4.46)
Here we have set the origin within each layer at the left surface. Then when
making the connection with the subsequent layer at the right surface, we must
specically take into account the phase k
j
j
z
_
=k
j
j
cos
j
. This corresponds
to the phase acquired by the plane wave eld in traversing the layer with thickness
j
. The right-hand sides of (4.45) and (4.46) need no phase adjustment since the
( j +1)
th
eld is evaluated on the left side of its layer.
4.7 Multilayer Coatings 105
At the nal interface, the boundary conditions are
cos
N
_
E
(p)
N
e
i k
N
N
cos
N
+E
(p)
N
e
i k
N
N
cos
N
_
=cos
N+1
E
(p)
N+1
(4.47)
and
n
N
_
E
(p)
N
e
i k
N
N
cos
N
E
(p)
N
e
i k
N
N
cos
N
_
=n
N+1
E
(p)
N+1
(4.48)
since there is no backward-traveling eld in the nal medium.
At this point we are ready to solve (4.43)(4.48). We would like to eliminate
all elds besides E
(p)
0
, E
(p)
0
, and E
(p)
N+1
. Then we will be able to nd the overall
reectance and transmittance of the multilayer coating. In solving (4.43)(4.48),
we must proceed with care, or the algebra can quickly get out of hand. Fortunately,
you have probably had training in linear algebra, and this is a case where that
training pays off.
We rst write a general matrix equation that summarizes the mathematics in
(4.43)(4.48), as follows:
_
cos
j
e
i
j
cos
j
e
i
j
n
j
e
i
j
n
j
e
i
j
__
E
(p)
j
E
(p)
j
_
=
_
cos
j +1
cos
j +1
n
j +1
n
j +1
__
E
(p)
j +1
E
(p)
j +1
_
(4.49)
where
j

_
0 j =0
k
j
j
cos
j
1 j N
(4.50)
and
E
(p)
N+1
0 (4.51)
(It would be good to take a moment to convince yourself that this set of matrix
equations properly represents (4.43)(4.48) before proceeding.) We rewrite (4.49)
as
_
E
(p)
j
E
(p)
j
_
=
_
cos
j
e
i
j
cos
j
e
i
j
n
j
e
i
j
n
j
e
i
j
_
1
_
cos
j +1
cos
j +1
n
j +1
n
j +1
__
E
(p)
j +1
E
(p)
j +1
_
(4.52)
Keep in mind that (4.52) represents a distinct matrix equation for each differ-
ent j . We can substitute the j =1 equation into the j =0 equation to get
_
E
(p)
0
E
(p)
0
_
=
_
cos
0
cos
0
n
0
n
0
_
1
M
(p)
1
_
cos
2
cos
2
n
2
n
2
__
E
(p)
2
E
(p)
2
_
(4.53)
where we have grouped the matrices related to the j =1 layer together via
M
(p)
1

_
cos
1
cos
1
n
1
n
1
__
cos
1
e
i
1
cos
1
e
i
1
n
1
e
i
1
n
1
e
i
1
_
1
(4.54)
We can continue to substitute into this equation progressively higher order equa-
tions (i.e. for j =2, j =3, ... ) until we reach the j =N layer. All together this will
give
_
E
(p)
0
E
(p)
0
_
=
_
cos
0
cos
0
n
0
n
0
_
1
_
N
j =1
M
(p)
j
_
_
cos
N+1
cos
N+1
n
N+1
n
N+1
__
E
(p)
N+1
0
_
(4.55)
where the matrices related to the j
th
layer are grouped together according to
M
(p)
j

_
cos
j
cos
j
n
j
n
j
__
cos
j
e
i
j
cos
j
e
i
j
n
j
e
i
j
n
j
e
i
j
_
1
=
_
cos
j
i sin
j
cos
j
/n
j
i n
j
sin
j
/cos
j
cos
j
_
(4.56)
The matrix inversion in the rst line was performed using (0.35). The symbol
signies the product of the matrices with the lowest subscripts on the left:
N
j =1
M
(p)
j
M
(p)
1
M
(p)
2
M
(p)
N
(4.57)
As a nishing touch, we divide (4.55) by the incident eld E
(p)
0
as well as perform
the matrix inversion on the right-hand side to obtain
_
1
E
(p)
0
_
E
(p)
0
_
= A
(p)
_
E
(p)
N+1
_
E
(p)
0
0
_
(4.58)
where
A
(p)
_
a
(p)
11
a
(p)
12
a
(p)
21
a
(p)
22
_
=
1
2n
0
cos
0
_
n
0
cos
0
n
0
cos
0
_
_
N
j =1
M
(p)
j
_
_
cos
N+1
0
n
N+1
0
_
(4.59)
In the nal matrix in (4.59) we have replaced the entries in the right column with
zeros. This is permissable since it operates on a column vector with zero in the
bottom component.
Equation (4.58) represents two equations, which must be solved simultane-
ously to nd the ratios E
(p)
0
/E
(p)
0
and E
(p)
N+1
/E
(p)
0
. Once the matrix A
(p)
is computed,
this is a relatively simple task:
t
p

E
(p)
N+1
E
(p)
0
=
1
a
(p)
11
(Multilayer) (4.60)
r
p

E
(p)
0
E
(p)
0
=
a
(p)
21
a
(p)
11
(Multilayer) (4.61)
The convenience of this notation lies in the fact that we can deal with an
arbitrary number of layers N with varying thickness and index. The essential
information for each layer is contained succinctly in its respective 2 2 char-
acteristic matrix M. To nd the overall effect of the many layers, we need only
4.8 Repeated Multilayer Stacks 107
multiply the matrices for each layer together to nd A from which we compute
the reection and transmission coefcients for the whole system.
The derivation for s-polarized light is similar to the above derivation for p-
polarized light. The equation corresponding to (4.58) for s-polarized light turns
out to be
_
1
E
(s)
0
_
E
(s)
0
_
= A
(s)
_
E
(s)
N+1
_
E
(s)
0
0
_
(4.62)
where
A
(s)
_
a
(s)
11
a
(s)
12
a
(s)
21
a
(s)
22
_
=
1
2n
0
cos
0
_
n
0
cos
0
1
n
0
cos
0
1
_
_
N
j =1
M
(s)
j
_
_
1 0
n
N+1
cos
N+1
0
_
(4.63)
and
M
(s)
j
=
_
cos
j
i sin
j
/(n
j
cos
j
)
i n
j
cos
j
sin
j
cos
j
_
(4.64)
The transmission and reection coefcients are found (as before) from
t
s
E
(s)
N+1
E
(s)
0
=
1
a
(s)
11
(Multilayer) (4.65)
r
s
E
(s)
0
E
(s)
0
=
a
(s)
21
a
(s)
11
(Multilayer) (4.66)
4.8 Repeated Multilayer Stacks
Many different types of multilayer coatings are possible. For example, a Brewsters-
angle polarizer has a coating designed to transmit with high efciency p-polarized
light while simultaneously reecting s-polarized light with high efciency. The
backside of the substrate is left uncoated where p-polarized light passes with
100% efciency at Brewsters angle.
...
s
u
b
s
t
r
a
t
e
Figure 4.16 A repeated multilayer
structure with alternating high
and low indexes where each layer
is a quarter wavelength in thick-
ness. This structure can achieve
very high reectance.
Sometimes multilayer coatings are made with repeated stacks of layers. In
general, if the same series of layers in (4.69) is repeated many times, say q times,
Sylvesters theorem (see appendix 0.3) can come in handy:
_
A B
C D
_
q
=
1
sin
_
Asinqsin
_
q 1
_
B sinq
C sinq Dsinqsin
_
q 1
_
_
(4.67)
where
cos
1
2
(A+D) . (4.68)
This formula relies on the condition ADBC =1, which is true for matrices of
the form (4.56) and (4.64) or any product of them. Here, A, B, C, and D represent
the elements of a matrix composed of a block of matrices corresponding to a
repeated pattern within the stack.
In general, high-reection coatings are designed with alternating high and
low refractive indices. For high reectivity, each layer should have a quarter-
wave thickness. Since the layers alternate high and low indices, at every other
boundary there is a phase shift of upon reection from the interface. Hence,
the quarter wavelength spacing is appropriate to give constructive interference in
the reected direction.
Example 4.6
Derive the reection and transmission coefcients for p polarized light interacting
with a high reector constructed using a /4 stack.
Solution: For a /4 stack we need
j
=

2
This amounts to a thickness requirement of
j
=

vac
4n
j
cos
j
In this situation, the matrix (4.56) for each layer simplies to
M
(p)
j
=
_
0 i cos
j
/n
j
i n
j
/cos
j
0
_
The matrices for a high and a low refractive index layer are multiplied together in
the usual manner. Each layer pair takes the form
_
0
i cos
H
n
H
i n
H
cos
H
0
__
0
i cos
L
n
L
i n
L
cos
L
0
_
=
_

n
L
cos
H
n
H
cos
L
0
0
n
H
cos
L
n
L
cos
H
_
To extend to q =N/2 identical layer pairs, we have
N
j =1
M
(p)
j
=
_

n
L
cos
H
n
H
cos
L
0
0
n
H
cos
L
n
L
cos
H
_
q
=
_
_
_
n
L
cos
H
n
H
cos
L
_
q
0
0
_
n
H
cos
L
n
L
cos
H
_
q
_
_
Substituting this into (4.59), we obtain
A
(p)
=
1
2
_
_
_
n
L
cos
H
n
H
cos
L
_
q
cos
N+1
cos
0
+
_
n
H
cos
L
n
L
cos
H
_
q
n
N+1
n
0
0
_
n
L
cos
H
n
H
cos
L
_
q
cos
N+1
cos
0

_
n
H
cos
L
n
L
cos
H
_
q
n
N+1
n
0
0
_
_
(4.69)
With A
(p)
in hand, we can now calculate the transmission coefcient from (4.60)
t
p
=
1
_
n
L
cos
H
n
H
cos
L
_
q
cos
N+1
cos
0
+
_
n
H
cos
L
n
L
cos
H
_
q
n
N+1
n
0
(/4 stack, p-polarized) (4.70)
and the reection coefcient from (4.61)
r
p
=
_
n
L
cos
H
n
H
cos
L
_
q
cos
N+1
cos
0

_
n
H
cos
L
n
L
cos
H
_
q
n
N+1
n
0
_
n
L
cos
H
n
H
cos
L
_
q
cos
N+1
cos
0
+
_
n
H
cos
L
n
L
cos
H
_
q
n
N+1
n
0
(/4 stack, p-polarized) (4.71)
4.8 Repeated Multilayer Stacks 109
The quarter-wave multilayer considered in Example 4.6 can achieve extraor-
dinarily high reectivity. In the limit of q , we have t
p
0 and r
p
1 (see
Fig. 4.17), giving 100% reection with a phase shift.
t
r
q
Figure 4.17 The transmission and
reection coefcients for a quarter
wave stack as q is varied (n
L
=1.38
and n
H
=2.32).
Exercises
Exercises for 4.1 Double-Interface ProblemSolved Using Fresnel Coefcients
P4.1 Use (4.4)(4.7) to derive r
tot
s
given in (4.12).
P4.2 Consider a 1 micron thick coating of dielectric material (n = 2) on
a piece of glass (n = 1.5). Use a computer to plot the magnitude of
the overall Fresnel coefcient (4.11) from air into the glass at normal
incidence. Plot as a function of wavelength for wavelengths between
200 nm and 800 nm (assume the index remains constant over this
range).
Exercises for 4.2 Two-Interface Transmittance at Sub Critical Angles
P4.3 Verify that in the case that
1
and
2
are real that (4.14) simplies to
(4.15).
P4.4 A light wave impinges at normal incidence on a thin glass plate with
index n and thickness d.
(a) Show that the transmittance through the plate as a function of
wavelength is
T
tot
=
1
1+
(n
2
1)
2
4n
2
sin
2
_
2nd
vac
_
HINT: Find
r
12
=r
10
=r
01
=
n 1
n +1
and then use
T
01
=1R
01
T
12
=1R
12
(b) If n = 1.5, what is the maximum and minimum transmittance
through the plate?
(c) If the plate thickness is d =150 m, what wavelengths transmit with
maximum efciency? Express your answer as a formula involving an
integer j .
P4.5 Show that the maximum reectance possible from the front coating in
Example 4.2 is 46%. Find the smallest possible d
1
that accomplishes
this for light with wavelength
vac
=633 nm.
Exercises 111
Exercises for 4.3 Beyond Critical Angle: Tunneling of Evanescent Waves
P4.6 Re-compute (4.22) in the case of s-polarized light. Write the result in
the same form as the last expression in (4.22).
L4.7 Consider s-polarized microwaves (
vac
= 3 cm) encountering an air
gap separating two parafn wax prisms (n =1.5). The 45
right-angle
prisms are arranged with the geometry shown in Fig. 4.4. The presence
of the second prism frustrates the total internal reection.
T
Separation (cm)
Figure 4.18 Theoretical vs. mea-
sured microwave transmission
through wax prisms. Mismatch is
presumably due to imperfections
in microwave collimation and/or
extraneous reections.
Microwave
Source
Paraffin
Lens
Paraffin
Prisms
Paraffin
Lens
Microwave
Detector
Figure 4.19
(a) Use a computer to plot the transmittance through the gap (i.e. the
result of P4.6) as a function of separation d (normal to gap surface).
Neglect reections from other surfaces of the prisms.
(b) Measure the transmittance of the microwaves through the prisms
as function of spacing d (normal to the surface) and superimpose the
results on the graph of part (a). Figure 4.18 shows a plot of typical data
taken with this setup. (video)
Exercises for 4.6 Distinguishing Nearby Wavelengths in a Fabry-Perot Instru-
ment
P4.8 A Fabry-Perot interferometer has silver-coated plates each with re-
ectance R = 0.9, transmittance T = 0.05, and absorbance A = 0.05.
The plate separation is d =0.5 cm with interior index n
1
=1. Suppose
that the wavelength being observed near normal incidence is 587 nm.
(a) What is the maximum and minimum transmittance through the
interferometer?
(b) What are the free spectral range
FSR
and the fringe width
FWHM
?
(c) What is the resolving power?
P4.9 Generate a plot like Fig. 4.11(a), showing the fringes you get in a Fabry-
Perot etalon when
1
is varied. Let T
max
= 1, F = 10, = 500 nm,
d =1 cm, and n
1
=1.
(a) Plot T vs.
1
over the angular range used in Fig. 4.11(a).
(c) Suppose d was slightly different, say 1.00001 cm. Make a plot of T
vs
1
for this situation.
P4.10 Consider the congurationdepicted inFig. 4.10, where the center of the
diverging light beam
vac
=633 nm approaches the plates at normal
incidence. Suppose that the spacing of the plates (near d =0.5 cm) is
just right to cause a bright fringe to occur at the center. Let n
1
=1. Find
the angle for the m
th
circular bright fringe surrounding the central spot
(the 0
th
fringe corresponding to the center). HINT: cos
=1
2
/2. The
answer has the form a
m; nd the value of a.
L4.11 Characterize a Fabry-Perot etalon in the laboratory using a HeNe laser
(
vac
=633 nm). Assume that the bandwidth
HeNe
of the HeNe laser
is very narrow compared to the fringe width of the etalon
FWHM
.
Assume two identical reective surfaces separated by 5.00 mm. Deduce
the free spectral range
FSR
, the fringe width
FWHM
, the resolving
power, and the reecting nesse (small f ). (video)
Laser
Diverging Lens
Filter
Fabry-Perot
Etalon
CCD
Camera
Figure 4.20
N
S
Filter
Fabry-Perot
Etalon
CCD
Camera
Figure 4.21
L4.12 Use the same Fabry-Perot etalon to observe the Zeeman splitting of the
yellow line =587.4 nm emitted by a krypton lamp when a magnetic
eld is applied. As the line splits and moves through half of the free
spectral range, the peak of the decreasing wavelength and the peak of
the increasing wavelength meet on the screen. When this happens, by
how much has each wavelength shifted? (video)
Exercises for 4.7 Multilayer Coatings
P4.13 (a) Write (4.43) through (4.48) for s-polarized light.
(b) From these equations, derive (4.62)(4.64).
P4.14 Show that (4.65) for a single layer (i.e. two interfaces), is equivalent to
(4.11). WARNING: This is more work than it may appear at rst.
Exercises for 4.8 Repeated Multilayer Stacks
P4.15 (a) What should be the thickness of the high and the low index layers in
a periodic high-reector mirror? Let the light be p-polarized and strike
the mirror surface at 45
. Take the indices of the layers be n

H
= 2.32
Exercises 113
and n
L
= 1.38, deposited on a glass substrate with index n = 1.5. Let
the wavelength be
vac
=633 nm.
(b) Find the reectance R with 1, 2, 4, and 8 periods in the high-low
stack.
P4.16 Find the high-reector matrix for s-polarized light that corresponds to
(4.69).
P4.17 Design an anti-reection coating for use in air (assume the index of air
is 1):
(a) Show that for normal incidence and /4 lms (thickness=
1
4
the
wavelength of light inside the material), the reectance of a single layer
(n
1
) coating on a glass is
R =
_
n
g
n
2
1
n
g
+n
2
1
_
2
(b) Show that for a two coating setup (air-n
1
-n
2
-glass; n
1
and n
2
are
each a /4 lm), that
R =
_
n
2
2
n
g
n
2
1
n
2
2
+n
g
n
2
1
_
2
(c) If n
g
= 1.5, and you have a choice of these common coating ma-
terials: ZnS (n = 2.32), CeF (n = 1.63) and MgF (n = 1.38), nd the
combination that gives you the lowest R for part (b). (Be sure to specify
which material is n
1
and which is n
2
.) What R does this combination
give?
P4.18 Consider a two-coating anti-reection optic (each coating set for
/4, as in problem P4.17) using n
1
= 1.6 and n
2
= 2.1 applied to a
glass substrate n
g
= 1.5 at normal incidence. Suppose the coating
thicknesses are optimized for =550 nm (in the middle of the visible
range) and ignore possible variations of the indices with . Use the
matrix techniques and a computer to plot R(
air
) for 400 to 700 nm
(visible range). Do this for a single bilayer (one layer of each coating),
two bilayers, four bilayers, and 25 bilayers.
Chapter 5
Propagation in Anisotropic Media
To this point, we have considered only isotropic media where the susceptibility
() (and hence the index of refraction) is the same for all propagation directions
and polarizations. In anisotropic materials, such as crystals, it is possible for
light to experience a different index of refraction depending on the orientation
(i.e. polarization) of the electric eld E. This difference in the index of refraction
occurs when the direction and strength of the induced dipoles depends on the
lattice structure of the material in addition to the propagating eld.
1
The unique
properties of anisotropic materials make them important elements in many
optical systems.
In section 5.1 we discuss how to connect E and P in anisotropic media using a
susceptibility tensor. In section 5.2 we apply Maxwells equations to a plane wave
traveling in a crystal. The analysis leads to Fresnels equation, which relates the
components of the k-vector to the components of the susceptibility tensor. In
section 5.3 we apply Fresnels equation to a uniaxial crystal (e.g. quartz, sapphire)
where
x
=
y
=
z
. In the context of a uniaxial crystal, we show that the Poynting
vector and the k-vector are generally not parallel.
More than a century before Fresnel, Christian Huygens successfully described
birefringence in crystals using the idea of elliptical wavelets. His method gives
the direction of the Poynting vector associated with the extraordinary ray in a
crystal. It was Huygens who coined the term extraordinary since one of the
rays in a birefringent material appeared not to obey Snells law. Actually, the
k-vector always obeys Snells law, but in a crystal, the k-vector points in a different
direction than the Poynting vector, which delivers the energy seen by an observer.
Huygens approach is outlined in Appendix 5.D.
5.1 Constitutive Relation in Crystals
In a anisotropic crystal, asymmetries in the lattice can cause the medium polar-
ization P to respond in a different direction than the electric eld E (i.e. P=
0
E).
1
Not all crystals are anisotropic. For instance, crystals with a cubic lattice structure (such as
NaCl) are highly symmetric and respond to electric elds the same in any direction.
115
116 Chapter 5 Propagation in Anisotropic Media
However, at low intensities the response of materials is still linear (or propor-
tional) to the strength of the electric eld. The linear constitutive relation which
connects P to E in a crystal can be expressed in its most general form as
_
_
P
x
P
y
P
z
_
_
=
0
_
_
xx

xy

xz
yx

y y

yz
zx

zy

zz
_
_
_
_
E
x
E
y
E
z
_
_
(5.1)
The matrix in (5.1) is called the susceptibility tensor. To visualize the behavior
Figure 5.1 A physical model of an
electron bound in a crystal lat-
tice with the coordinate system
specially chosen along the princi-
pal axes so that the susceptibility
tensor takes on a simple form.
of electrons in such a material, we imagine each electron bound as though by
tiny springs with different strengths in different dimensions to represent the
anisotropy (see Fig. 5.1). When an external electric eld is applied, the electron
experiences a force that moves it from its equilibrium position. The springs
(actually the electric force from ions bound in the crystal lattice) exert a restoring
force, but the restoring force is not equal in all directionsthe electron tends to
move more along the dimension of the weaker spring. The displaced electron
creates a microscopic dipole, but the asymmetric restoring force causes P to be in
a direction different than E as depicted in Fig. 5.2.
To understand the geometrical interpretation of the many coefcients
i j
,
assume, for example, that the electric eld is directed along the x-axis (i.e. E
y
=
E
z
=0) as depicted in Fig. 5.2. In this case, the three equations encapsulated in
(5.1) reduce to
P
x
=
0
xx
E
x
P
y
=
0
yx
E
x
P
z
=
0
zx
E
x
Notice that the coefcient
xx
connects the strength of P in the x direction with
the strength of E in that same direction, just as in the isotropic case. The other two
coefcients (
yx
and
zx
) describe the amount of polarization P produced in the
y and z directions by the electric eld component in the x-dimension. Likewise,
the other coefcients with mixed subscripts in (5.1) describe the contribution to
P in one dimension made by an electric eld component in another dimension.
Figure 5.2 The applied eld E
and the induced polarization P in
general are not parallel in a crystal
lattice.
As you might imagine, working with nine susceptibility coefcients can get
complicated. Fortunately, we can greatly reduce the complexity of the description
by a judicious choice of coordinate system. In Appendix 5.A we explain how
conservation of energy requires that the susceptibility tensor (5.1) for typical
non-aborbing crystals be real and symmetric (i.e.
i j
=
j i
).
2
Appendix 5.B shows that, given a real symmetric tensor, it is always possible
to choose a coordinate system for which off-diagonal elements vanish. This is
true even if the lattice planes in the crystal are not mutually orthogonal (e.g.
rhombus, hexagonal, etc.). We will imagine that this rotation of coordinates
2
By typical we mean that the crystal does not exhibit optical activity. Optically active crystals
have a complex susceptibility tensor, even when no absorption takes place. Conservation of energy
in this more general case requires that the susceptibility tensor be Hermitian (
i j
=
j i
).
5.2 Plane Wave Propagation in Crystals 117
has been accomplished. In other words, we can let the crystal itself dictate the
orientation of the coordinate system, aligned to the principal axes of the crystal
for which the off-diagonal elements of (5.1) are zero
With the coordinate system aligned to the principal axes, the constitutive
relation for a non absorbing crystal simplies to
_
_
P
x
P
y
P
z
_
_
=
0
_
_
x
0 0
0
y
0
0 0
z
_
_
_
_
E
x
E
y
E
z
_
_
(5.2)
or without the matrix notation (since it no longer offers much convenience)
P= x
0
x
E
x
+ y
0
y
E
y
+ z
0
z
E
z
(5.3)
By assumption,
x
,
y
, and
z
are all real. (We have dropped the double subscript;
x
stands for
xx
, etc.)
5.2 Plane Wave Propagation in Crystals
We consider a plane wave with frequency propagating in a crystal. In a manner
similar to our previous analysis of plane waves propagating in isotropic materials,
we write as trial solutions
E=E
0
e
i (krt )
B=B
0
e
i (krt )
P=P
0
e
i (krt )
(5.4)
where restrictions on E
0
, B
0
, P
0
, and k are yet to be determined. As usual, the
phase of each wave is included in the amplitudes E
0
, B
0
, and P
0
, whereas k is real
in accordance with our assumption of no absorption.
We can make a quick observation about the behavior of these elds by apply-
ing Maxwells equations directly. Gausss law for electric elds requires
(
0
E+P) =k (
0
E+P) =0 (5.5)
and Gausss law for magnetism gives
B=k B=0 (5.6)
We immediately notice the following peculiarity: From its denition, the Poynting
vector S EB/
0
is perpendicular to both E and B, and by (5.6) the k-vector is
perpendicular to B. However, by (5.5) the k-vector is not necessarily perpendicular
to E, since in general k E=0 if P points in a direction other than E. Therefore, k
and S are not necessarily parallel in a crystal. In other words, the ow of energy
and the direction of the phase-front propagation can be different in anisotropic
media.
Our main goal here is to relate the k-vector to the susceptibility parameters
x
,
y
, and
z
. To do this, we plug our trial plane-wave elds into the wave equation
(1.41). Under the assumption J
free
=0, we have
2
E
0
2
E
t
2
=
0
2
P
t
2
+( E) (5.7)
Derivation of the dispersion relation in crystals
We begin by substituting the trial solutions (5.4) into the wave equation (5.7). After
carrying out the derivatives we nd
k
2
E
2
0
(
0
E+P) =k(k E) (5.8)
Inserting the constitutive relation (5.3) for crystals into (5.8) yields
k
2
E
2
0
__
1+
x
_
E
x
x+
_
1+
y
_
E
y
y+
_
1+
z
_
E
z
z
_
=k(k E) (5.9)
This relationship is unwieldy because of the mix of electric eld components that
appear in the expression. This was not a problem when we investigated isotropic
materials for which the k-vector is perpendicular to E, making the right-hand side
of the equations zero. However, there is a trick for dealing with this.
Relation (5.9) actually contains three equations, one for each dimension. Explicitly,
these equations are
_
k
2
2
c
2
_
1+
x
_
_
E
x
=k
x
(k E) (5.10)
_
k
2
2
c
2
_
1+
y
_
_
E
y
=k
y
(k E) (5.11)
and
_
k
2
2
c
2
_
1+
z
_
_
E
z
=k
z
(k E) (5.12)
We have replaced the constants
0
0
with 1/c
2
in accordance with (1.43). We
multiply (5.10)(5.12) respectively by k
x
, k
y
, and k
z
and also move the factor in
square brackets in each equation to the denominator on the right-hand side. Then
by adding the three equations together we get
k
2
x
(k E)
_
k
2
2
(1+
x )
c
2
_ +
k
2
y
(k E)
_
k
2
2
(1+
y )
c
2
_ +
k
2
z
(k E)
_
k
2
2
(1+
z )
c
2
_ =k
x
E
x
+k
y
E
y
+k
z
E
z
=(k E)
(5.13)
Now k E appears in every term and can be divided away. This gives the dispersion
relation (unencumbered by eld components):
k
2
x
_
k
2
c
2
/
2
_
1+
x
__ +
k
2
y
_
k
2
c
2
/
2
_
1+
y
__ +
k
2
z
_
k
2
c
2
/
2
_
1+
z
__ =

2
c
2
(5.14)
As a nal touch, we have multiplied the equation through by
2
/c
2
5.2 Plane Wave Propagation in Crystals 119
The dispersion relation (5.14) allows us to nd a suitable k, given values for ,
x
,
y
, and
z
. Actually, it only restricts the magnitude of k; we must still decide
on a direction for the wave to travel (i.e. we must choose the ratios between k
x
, k
y
,
and k
z
). To remind ourselves of this fact, we introduce a unit vector that points in
the direction of the k:
k =k
x
x+k
y
y+k
z
z =k
_
u
x
x+u
y
y+u
z
z
_
=k u (5.15)
With this unit vector inserted, the dispersion relation (5.14) for plane waves in a
crystal becomes
u
2
x
_
k
2
c
2
/
2
_
1+
x
__ +
u
2
y
_
k
2
c
2
/
2
_
1+
y
__ +
u
2
z
_
k
2
c
2
/
2
_
1+
z
__ =

2
k
2
c
2
(5.16)
We may dene refractive index as the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum
c to the speed of phase propagation in a material /k (see P1.9). The relation
introduced for isotropic media (i.e. (2.19) for real index) remains appropriate.
That is
n =
kc
(5.17)
This familiar relationship between k and , in the case of a crystal, depends on
the direction of propagation in accordance with (5.16).
Inspired by (2.30), we will nd it helpful to introduce several refractive-index
parameters:
n
x

_
1+
x
n
y

_
1+
y
n
z

_
1+
z
(5.18)
With these denitions (5.17)-(5.18), the dispersion relation (5.16) becomes
u
2
x
_
n
2
n
2
x
_ +
u
2
y
_
n
2
n
2
y
_ +
u
2
z
_
n
2
n
2
z
_ =
1
n
2
(5.19)
This is called Fresnels equation (not to be confused with the Fresnel coefcients
studied in chapter 3). The relationship contains the yet unknown index n that
varies with the direction of the k-vector (i.e. the direction of the unit vector u).
After multiplying through by all of the denominators (and after a fortuitous
cancelation owing to u
2
x
+u
2
y
+u
2
z
=1), Fresnels equation (5.19) can be rewritten
as a quadratic in n
2
. The two solutions are
n
2
=
B
B
2
4AC
2A
(5.20)
where
A u
2
x
n
2
x
+u
2
y
n
2
y
+u
2
z
n
2
z
(5.21)
B u
2
x
n
2
x
_
n
2
y
+n
2
z
_
+u
2
y
n
2
y
_
n
2
x
+n
2
z
_
+u
2
z
n
2
z
_
n
2
x
+n
2
y
_
(5.22)
C n
2
x
n
2
y
n
2
z
(5.23)
The upper and lower signs ( + and ) in (5.20) give two positive solutions for
n
2
. The positive square root of these solutions yields two physical values for n.
It turns out that each of the two values for n is associated with a polarization
direction of the electric eld, given a propagation direction k. A broader analysis
carried out in appendix 5.C renders the orientation of the electric elds, whereas
here we only show how to nd the two values of n. We refer to the two indices as
the slow and fast index, since the waves associated with each propagate at speed
v =c/n.
In the special cases of propagation along one of the principal axes of the
crystal, the index n takes on two of the values n
x
, n
y
, or n
z
, depending on which
are orthogonal to the direction of propagation.
Example 5.1
Calculate the two possible values for the index of refraction when k is in the z
direction (in the crystal principal frame).
Solution: With u
z
=1 and u
x
=u
y
=0 we have
A =n
2
z
; B =n
2
z
_
n
2
x
+n
2
y
_
; C =n
2
x
n
2
y
n
2
z
The square-root term is then
_
B
2
4AC =
_
n
4
z
_
n
4
x
+2n
2
x
n
2
y
+n
4
y
_
4n
2
x
n
2
y
n
4
z
=
_
n
4
z
_
n
2
x
n
2
y
_
2
=n
2
z
_
n
2
x
n
2
y
_
Inserting this expression into (5.20), we nd the two values for the index:
n =n
x
, n
y
The index n
x
is experienced by light whose electric eld points in the x-dimension,
and the index n
y
is experienced by light whose electric eld points in the y-
dimension (see appendix 5.C ).
Figure 5.3 Spherical coordinates.
Before moving on, let us briey summarize what has been accomplished so
far. Given values for
x
,
y
, and
z
associated with light in a crystal at a given
frequency, you can dene the indices n
x
, n
y
, and n
z
, according to (5.18). Next, a
direction for the k-vector is chosen (i.e. u
x
, u
y
, and u
z
). This direction generally
has two values for the index of refraction associated with it, found using Fresnels
equation (5.20). Each index is associated with a specic polarization direction
for the electric eld as outlined in appendix 5.C. Every propagation direction u
has its own natural set of polarization components for the electric eld. The two
polarization components travel at different speeds, even though the frequency is
the same. This is known as birefringence.
5.3 Biaxial and Uniaxial Crystals 121
5.3 Biaxial and Uniaxial Crystals
2.35 2.41
2.35 2.22
0 0.19
Figure 5.4 The fast and slow re-
fractive indices (and their differ-
ence) as a function of direction
for potassium niobate (KNbO
3
) at
= 500 nm (n
x
= 2.22, n
y
= 2.35,
and n
z
=2.41) .
All anisotropic crystals have certain special propagation directions where the two
values for n from Fresnels equation are equal. These directions, for which all
polarization components experience the same index of refraction, are referred to
as the optic axes of the crystal. The optic axes do not necessarily coincide with the
principal axes x, y, and z. When propagation is along an optic axis, all polarization
components experience the same index of refraction. If the values of n
x
, n
y
, and
n
z
are all unique, a crystal will have two optic axes, and hence is referred to as a
biaxial crystal.
It is often convenient to use spherical coordinates to represent the compo-
nents of u (see to Fig. 5.3):
u
x
=sincos
u
y
=sinsin
u
z
=cos
(5.24)
Here is the polar angle measured from the z-axis of the crystal and is the
azimuthal angle measured from the x-axis of the crystal. These equations em-
phasize the fact that there are only two degrees of freedom when specifying
propagation direction ( and ). It is important to remember that these angles
must be specied in the frame of the crystals principal axes, which are often not
aligned with the faces of a cut crystal in an optical setup.
By convention, we order the crystal axes for biaxial crystals so that n
x
<n
y
<
n
z
. Under this convention, the two optic axes occur in the x-z plane (=0) at
two values of the polar angle , measured from the z-axis (see P5.3):
cos =
n
x
n
y
_
_
n
2
z
n
2
y
n
2
z
n
2
x
(Optic axes directions, biaxial crystal) (5.25)
While nding the optic axes in a biaxial crystal is not too bad, an expression for
the two indices of refraction is messy. The lower value is commonly referred to
as the fast index and the higher value the slow index. Figure 5.4 shows the
two refractive indices (i.e. the solutions to Fresnels equation (5.20)) for a biaxial
crystal plotted with color shading on the surface of a sphere. Each point on the
sphere represents a different and . The two optic axes are apparent in the plot
of the difference between n
slow
and n
fast
. When propagating in these directions,
either polarization experiences the same index. For the remainder of this chapter,
we will focus on the simpler case of uniaxial crystals.
In uniaxial crystals two of the coefcients
x
,
y
, and
z
are the same. In
this case, there is only one optic axis for the crystal (hence the name uniaxial).
By convention, in uniaxial crystals we label the dimension that has the unique
susceptibility as the z-axis (i.e.
x
=
y
=
z
). This makes the z-axis the optic axis.
The unique index of refraction is called the extraordinary index
n
z
=n
e
(5.26)
and the other index is called the ordinary index
n
x
=n
y
=n
o
(5.27)
These names were coined by Huygens, one of the early scientists to study light
in crystals (see appendix 5.D). A uniaxial crystal with n
e
>n
o
is referred to as a
positive crystal, and one with n
e
<n
o
is referred to as a negative crystal.
1.68 1.68
1.68 1.56
0 0.12
Figure 5.5 The extraordinary and
ordinary refractive indices (and
their difference) as a function of
direction for beta barium borate
(BBO) at = 500 nm (n
o
= 1.68
and n
e
=1.56).
To calculate the index of refraction for a wave propagating in a uniaxial crystal,
we use denitions (5.26) and (5.27) along with the spherical representation of u
(5.24) in Fresnels equation (5.20) to nd the following two values for n (see P5.4):
n =n
o
(uniaxial crystal) (5.28)
and
n =n
e
()
n
o
n
e
_
n
2
o
sin
2
+n
2
e
cos
2
(uniaxial crystal) (5.29)

The index n
e
() in (5.29) is also commonly referred to as the extraordinary index
along with the constant n
e
=n
z
. While this has the potential for some confusion,
the practice is so common that we will perpetuate it here. We will write n
e
()
when the angle dependent quantity specied by (5.29) is required, and write n
e
in formulas where the constant (5.26) is called for (as in the right hand side of
(5.29)). Notice that n
e
() depends only on (the polar angle measured from the
optic axis z) and not (the azimuthal angle). Figure 5.5 shows the two refractive
indices (5.28) and (5.29) as a function and . Since n
e
() has no dependence
and n
o
is constant, the variation is much simpler than for the biaxial case.
As outlined in appendix 5.C, the index n
o
corresponds to an electric eld
component that points perpendicular to the plane containing u and z (e.g. if
u is in the x-z plane, n
o
is associated with light polarized in the y-dimension).
On the other hand, the index n
e
() corresponds to eld polarization that lies
within the plane containing u and z. In this case, the polarization component
is directed partially along the optic axis (i.e. it has a z-component). That is why
(5.29) gives for the refractive index a mixture of n
o
and n
e
. If = 0, then the
k-vector is directed exactly along the optic axis, and n
e
() reduces to n
o
so that
both polarization components experience same index n
o
.
5.4 Refraction at a Uniaxial Crystal Surface
Next we consider refraction as light enters a uniaxial crystal. Snells law (3.7)
describes the connection between the k-vectors incident upon and transmitted
through the surface. We must consider separately the portion of the light that ex-
periences the ordinary index from the portion that experiences the extraordinary
index. Because of the different indices, the ordinary and extraordinary polarized
light refract into the crystal at two different angles; they travel at two different
velocities in the crystal; and they have two different wavelengths in the crystal.
5.5 Poynting Vector in a Uniaxial Crystal 123
If we assume that the index outside of the crystal is one, Snells law for the
ordinary polarization is
sin
i
=n
o
sin
t
(ordinary polarized light) (5.30)
where n
o
is the index inside the crystal. The extraordinary polarized light also
obeys Snells law, but now the index of refraction in the crystal depends on direc-
tion of propagation inside the crystal relative to the optic axis. Snells law for the
extraordinary polarization is
sin
i
=n
e
(
) sin
t
(extraordinary polarized light) (5.31)
where
is the angle between the optic axis inside the crystal and the direction of
propagation in the crystal (given by
t
in the plane of incidence). When the optic
axis is at an arbitrary angle with respect to the surface the connection between
and
t
is cumbersome. We will examine Snells law only for the specic case
when the optic axis is perpendicular to the crystal surface, for which
t
=
.

z-axis
y-axis
x-axis (directed into page)

Figure 5.6 Propagation of light in a
uniaxial crystal with its optic axis
perpendicular to the surface.
Snells Law for a Uniaxial Crystal with Optic Axis Perpendicular to the
Surface
Refer to Fig. 5.6. With the optic axis perpendicular to the surface, if the light
hits the crystal surface straight on, the index of refraction is n
o
, regardless of the
orientation of polarization since
=0. When the light strikes the surface at an

angle, s-polarized light continues to experience the index n
o
, while p-polarized
light experiences the extraordinary index n
e()
.
3
When we insert (5.29) into Snells law (5.31) with
=
t
, the expression can be
inverted to nd the transmitted angle
t
in terms of
i
(see P5.5):
tan
t
=
n
e
sin
i
n
o
_
n
2
e
sin
2
i
(extraordinary polarized, optic axis surface) (5.32)
As strange as this formula may appear, it is Snells law, but with an angularly
dependent index.
5.5 Poynting Vector in a Uniaxial Crystal
When an object is observed through a crystal (acting as a window), the energy
associated with ordinary and extraordinary polarized light follow different paths,
3
The correspondence between s and p and ordinary and extraordinary polarization components
is specic to the orientation of the optic axis in this example. For arbitrary orientations of the
optic axis with respect to the surface, the ordinary and extraordinary components will generally be
mixtures of s and p polarized light.
giving rise to two different images. This phenomenon is one of the more com-
monly observed manifestations of birefringence. Since the Poynting vector dic-
tates the direction of energy ow, it is the direction of S that determines the
separation of the double image seen when looking through a birefringent crystal.
Snells law dictates the connection between the directions of the incident
and transmitted k-vectors. The Poynting vector S for purely ordinary polarized
light points in the same direction as the k-vector, so the direction of energy ow
for ordinary polarized light also obeys Snells law. However, for extraordinary
polarized light, the Poynting vector S is not parallel to k (recall the discussion in
connection with (5.5) and (5.6)). Thus, the energy ow associated with extraordi-
nary polarized light does not obey Snells law. When Christiaan Huygens saw this
in the 1600s, he exclaimed how extraordinary! Huygens method for describing
the phenomenon is outlined appendix 5.D.
To analyze this situation, it is necessary to derive an expression for extraordi-
nary polarized light similar to Snells law, but which applies to S rather than to k.
This describes the direction that the energy associated with extraordinary rays
takes upon entering the crystal. To calculate the direction that the extraordinary
polarized S takes upon entering a crystal, we rst calculate the direction of k
inside the crystal using Snells law (5.31). Then we use the expression (5.62) for E
along with B=(kE)/, to evaluate S =EB/
0
. In general, this process is best
done numerically, since Snells law (5.31) for extraordinary polarized light usually
does not have simple analytic solutions.
Poynting Vector in a Uniaxial Crystal with Optic Axis Perpendicular to
the Surface
To nd the direction of energy ow, we must calculate S =EB/
0
. We will need
to know E associated with n
e
(). We can obtain E from the procedures outlined
in appendix 5.C. Equivalently, we can obtain it from the constitutive relation (5.3)
with the denitions (5.18):
0
E+P=
0
__
1+
x
_
E
x
x+
_
1+
y
_
E
y
y+
_
1+
z
_
E
z
z
_
=
0
_
n
2
o
E
x
x+n
2
o
E
y
y+n
2
e
E
z
z
_ (5.33)
Let the k-vector lie in the y-z plane. We may write it as k = k
_
ysin
t
+ zcos
t
_
.
Then the ordinary component of the eld points in the x-direction, while the
extraordinary component lies in the y-z plane.
Equation (5.33) requires
k (
0
E+P) =k
_
ysin
t
+ zcos
t
_

0
_
n
2
o
E
x
x+n
2
o
E
y
y+n
2
e
E
z
z
_
=
0
k
_
n
2
o
E
y
sin
t
+n
2
e
E
z
cos
t
_
=0
(5.34)
Therefore, the y and z components of the extraordinary eld are related through
E
z
=
n
2
o
E
y
n
2
e
tan
t
(5.35)
5.A Symmetry of Susceptibility Tensor 125
We may write the extraordinary polarized electric eld as
E=E
y
_
y z
n
2
o
n
2
e
tan
t
_
e
i (krt )
(extraordinary polarized) (5.36)
The associated magnetic eld (see (2.56)) is
B=
kE
=
k
_
ysin
t
+ zcos
t
_
E
y
_
y z
n
2
o
n
2
e
tan
t
_
e
i (krt )
= x
kE
y
_
n
2
o
n
2
e
sin
t
tan
t
+cos
t
_
e
i (krt )
The time-averaged Poynting vector then becomes
S
t
=
_
Re{E} Re
_
B
0
__
t
=
k|E
y
|
2
_
y z
n
2
o
n
2
e
tan
t
_
_
n
2
o
n
2
e
sin
t
tan
t
+cos
t
_
x
_
cos
2
(k r t +
E
y
)
_
t
=
k|E
y
|
2
2
0
_
n
2
o
n
2
e
sin
t
tan
t
+cos
t
__
z+ y
n
2
o
n
2
e
tan
t
_
Let us label the direction of the Poynting vector with the angle
S
. By denition,
the tangent of this angle is the ratio of the two vector components of S:
tan
S
S
y
S
z
=
n
2
o
n
2
e
tan
t
While the k-vector is characterized by the angle
t
, the Poynting vector is charac-
terized by the angle
S
. Combining (5.32) and (5.39), we can connect
S
to the
incident angle
i
:
tan
S
=
n
o
sin
i
n
e
_
n
2
e
sin
2
i
As we noted in the last example, we have the case where ordinary polarized light is
s-polarized light, and extraordinary polarized light is p-polarized light due to our
specic choice of orientation for the optic axis in this section. In general, the s- and
p-polarized portions of the incident light can each give rise to both extraordinary
and ordinary rays.
Appendix 5.A Symmetry of Susceptibility Tensor
Here we show that the assumption of a non-absorbing (and non optically active)
medium implies that the susceptibility tensor is symmetric. We assume that P is
due to a single species of electron, so that we have P=Np. Here N is the number
of microscopic dipoles per volume and p = q
e
r, where q
e
is the charge on the
electron and r is the microscopic displacement of the electron. The force on this
electron due to the electric eld is given by F =Eq
e
. With these denitions, we
can use (5.1) to write a connection between the force due to a static E and the
electron displacement:
Nq
e
_
_
x
y
z
_
_
=

0
q
e
_
_
xx

xy

xz
yx

y y

yz
zx

zy

zz
_
_
_
_
F
x
F
y
F
z
_
_
(5.41)
The column vector on the left represents the components of the displacement
r. We next invert (5.41) to nd the force of the electric eld on an electron as a
function of its displacement
4
_
_
F
x
F
y
F
z
_
_
=
_
_
k
xx
k
xy
k
xz
k
yx
k
y y
k
yz
k
zx
k
zy
k
zz
_
_
_
_
x
y
z
_
_
(5.42)
where
_
_
k
xx
k
xy
k
xz
k
yx
k
y y
k
yz
k
zx
k
zy
k
zz
_
_
Nq
2
e
0
_
_
xx

xy

xz
yx

y y

yz
zx

zy

zz
_
_
1
(5.43)
The total work done on an electron in moving it to its displaced position is
given by
W =
_
path
F(r
) dr
(5.44)
While there are many possible paths for getting the electron to any specic dis-
placement (each path specied by a different history of the electric eld), the
work done along any of these paths must be the same if the systemis conservative
(i.e. no absorption). For example, for a nal displacement of r =x x+y y we could
have the following two paths:
(0,0,0)
(x,y,0)
(0,0,0)
(x,y,0)
Path 1
Path 2
We can use (5.42) in (5.44) to calculate the total work done on the electron
along path 1:
W =
_
x
0
F
x
(x
, y
=0, z
=0)dx
+
_
y
0
F
y
(x
=x, y
, z
=0)dy
=
_
x
0
k
xx
x
dx
+
_
y
0
(k
yx
x +k
y y
y
) dy
=
k
xx
2
x
2
+k
yx
xy +
k
y y
2
y
2
4
This inversion assumes the eld changes slowly so the forces on the electron are always es-
sentially balanced. This is not true for optical elds, but the proof gives the right avor for why
conservation of energy results in the symmetry. A more formal proof that doesnt make this as-
sumption can be found in Principles of Optics, 7th Ed., Born and Wolf, pp. 790-791.
5.B Rotation of Coordinates 127
If we take path 2, the total work is
W =
_
y
0
F
y
(x
=0, y
, z
=0)dy
+
_
x
0
F
x
(x
, y
= y, z
=0)dx
=
_
y
0
k
y y
y
dy
+
_
x
0
(k
xx
x
+k
xy
y) dx
=
k
y y
2
y
2
+k
xy
xy +
k
xx
2
x
2
Since the work must be the same for these two paths, we clearly have k
xy
=k
yx
.
Similar arguments for other pairs of dimensions ensure that the matrix of k
coefcients is symmetric. From linear algebra, we learn that if the inverse of a
matrix is symmetric then the matrix itself is also symmetric. When we combine
this result with the denition (5.43), we see that the assumption of no absorption
requires the susceptibility matrix to be symmetric.
Appendix 5.B Rotation of Coordinates
In this appendix, we go through the labor of showing that (5.1) can always be
written as (5.3) via rotations of the coordinate system, given that the susceptibility
tensor is symmetric (i.e.
i j
=
j i
). We have
P=
0
E (5.45)
where
E
_
_
E
x
E
y
E
z
_
_
P
_
_
P
x
P
y
P
z
_
_

_
_
xx

xy

xz
xy

y y

yz
xz

yz

zz
_
_
(5.46)
Our task is to nd a new coordinate system x
, y
, and z
for which the susceptibil-

ity tensor is diagonal. That is, we want to choose x
, y
, and z
such that
P
=
0
, (5.47)
where
E
_
_
_
E
_
_
_ P
_
_
_
P
_
_
_
_
_
_
0 0
0
0
0 0
_
_
_ (5.48)
To arrive at the new coordinate system, we are free to make pure rotation trans-
formations. In a manner similar to (6.29), a rotation through an angle about the
z-axis, followed by a rotation through an angle about the resulting y-axis, and
nally a rotation through an angle about the new x-axis, can be written as
R
_
_
R
11
R
12
R
13
R
21
R
22
R
23
R
31
R
32
R
33
_
_
=
_
_
1 0 0
0 cos sin
0 sin cos
_
_
_
_
cos 0 sin
0 1 0
sin 0 cos
_
_
_
_
cos sin 0
sin cos 0
0 0 1
_
_
=
_
_
coscos cossin sin
cossinsinsincos coscossinsinsin sincos
sinsincossincos sincoscossinsin coscos
_
_
(5.49)
The matrix Rproduces an arbitrary rotation of coordinates in three dimensions.
Specically, we can write:
E
=RE
P
=RP
(5.50)
These transformations can be inverted to give
E=R
1
E
P=R
1
P
(5.51)
where
R
1
=
_
_
coscos cossinsinsincos sinsincossincos
cossin coscossinsinsin sincoscossinsin
sin sincos coscos
_
_
=
_
_
R
11
R
21
R
31
R
12
R
22
R
32
R
13
R
23
R
33
_
_
=R
T
(5.52)
Note that the inverse of the rotation matrix is the same as its transpose, an impor-
tant feature that we exploit in what follows.
Upon inserting (5.51) into (5.45) we have
R
1
P
=
0
R
1
E
(5.53)
or
P
=
0
RR
1
E
(5.54)
From this equation we see that the new susceptibility tensor we seek for (5.47) is
RR
1
=
_
_
R
11
R
12
R
13
R
21
R
22
R
23
R
31
R
32
R
33
_
_
_
_
xx

xy

xz
xy

y y

yz
xz

yz

zz
_
_
_
_
R
11
R
21
R
31
R
12
R
22
R
32
R
13
R
23
R
33
_
_
=
_
_
_
_
_
_ (5.55)
5.C Electric Field in Crystals 129
We have expressly indicated that the off-diagonal terms of
are symmetric (i.e.
i j
=
j i
). This can be veried by performing the multiplication in (5.55). It is a
consequence of being symmetric and R
1
being equal to R
T
The three off-diagonal elements of
(appearing both above and below the

diagonal) are found by performing the matrix multiplication in the second line
of (5.55). The specic expressions for these three elements are not particularly
enlightening. The important point is that we can make all three of them equal to
zero since we have three degrees of freedom in the angles , , and . Although,
we do not expressly solve for the angles, we have demonstrated that it is always
possible to set
y
=0
z
=0
z
=0
(5.56)
This justies (5.3).
Appendix 5.C Electric Field in Crystals
To determine the direction of the electric eld associated with the each value
of n, we return to (5.10), (5.11), and (5.12) in the analysis in section 5.2. These
equations can be written in matrix format as
5
_
_
_
_
2
c
2
_
1+
x
_
k
2
y
k
2
z
k
x
k
y
k
x
k
z
k
x
k
y

2
c
2
_
1+
y
_
k
2
x
k
2
z
k
y
k
z
k
x
k
z
k
y
k
z

2
c
2
_
1+
z
_
k
2
x
k
2
y
_
_
_
_
_
_
E
x
E
y
E
z
_
_
=0
(5.57)
where we have used k
2
x
+k
2
y
+k
2
z
= k
2
. We can divide every element by k
2
and
employ the denitions (5.15), (5.17), and (5.18) to make this matrix equation look
slightly nicer:
_
_
_
_
n
2
x
n
2
u
2
y
u
2
z
u
x
u
y
u
x
u
z
u
x
u
y
n
2
y
n
2
u
2
x
u
2
z
u
y
u
z
u
x
u
z
u
y
u
z
n
2
z
n
2
u
2
x
u
2
y
_
_
_
_
_
_
E
x
E
y
E
z
_
_
=0 (5.58)
For (5.58) to have a non-trivial solution (i.e. non zero elds), the determinant
of the matrix must be zero. Imposing this requirement is an equivalent way to
derive Fresnels equation (5.19) for n.
Given a direction for u and a value for n (from Fresnels equation), we can use
(5.58) to determine the direction of the electric eld associated with that index.
It is left as an exercise to show that when all three u
x
=0, u
y
=0, and u
z
=0, the
5
A. Yariv and P. Yeh, Optical Waves in Crystals, Sect. 4.2 (New York: Wiley, 1984).
appropriate eld direction for a value of n is given by
_
_
_
E
x
E
y
E
z
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
u
x
n
2
n
2
x
u
y
n
2
n
2
y
u
z
n
2
n
2
z
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
(5.59)
This is a proportionality rather than an equation, since Maxwells equation only
species the direction of Ewe are free to choose the amplitude. Because Fres-
nels equation gives two values for n, (5.59) species two distinct polarization
components associated with each u. These polarization components forma natu-
ral basis for describing light propagation in a crystal. When light is composed of a
mixture of these two polarizations, the two polarization components experience
different indices of refraction.
If any of the components of u (i.e. u
x
, u
y
, or u
z
) is precisely zero, the cor-
responding entry in (5.59) yields a zero-over-zero situation. This happens as at
least one of the dimensions in (5.58) becomes decoupled from the others. In
these cases, you can and re-solve (5.58) for the polarization directions as in the
following example.
Example 5.2
Determine the directions of the two polarization components associated with light
propagating in the u= z direction. (Compare with Example 5.1.)
Solution: In this case we have u
x
=u
y
=0, so as noted above, we have to go back
to (5.58) and re-solve. In our case, the set of equations becomes
_
_
_
_
n
2
x
n
2
1 0 0
0
n
2
y
n
2
1 0
0 0
n
2
z
n
2
_
_
_
_
_
_
E
x
E
y
E
z
_
_
=0 (5.60)
Notice that all three dimensions are decoupled in this system (i.e. there are no
off-diagonal terms). In Example 5.1 we found that the two values of n associated
with u= z are n
x
and n
y
. If we use n =n
x
in our set of equations, we have
_
_
_
_
_
0 0 0
0
n
2
y
n
2
x
1 0
0 0
n
2
z
n
2
x
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
E
x
E
y
E
z
_
_
=0
Assuming n
x
and n
y
are unique so that n
y
/n
x
=1, these equations require E
y
=
E
z
=0 but allowE
x
to be non-zero. This proves our earlier assertion that the index
n
x
is associated with light polarized in the x-dimension in the special case of u= z.
Similarly, when n
y
is inserted into (5.60), we nd that it is associated with light
polarized in the y-dimension.
5.C Electric Field in Crystals 131
(a) Polarization Direction for Slow Index
(b) Polarization Direction for Fast Index
(c) Angle Between Polarization Components
Figure 5.7 Polarization direction
associated with the two values of n
in Potassium Niobate (KNbO
3
) at
= 500 nm (n
x
= 2.22, n
y
= 2.34,
and n
z
=2.41) and =/4. Frame
(c) shows the angle between the
two polarization components.
We can use (5.59) to study the behavior of polarization direction as the direc-
tion of propagation varies. Figure 5.7 shows plots of the polarization direction (i.e.
normalized E
x
, E
y
, and E
z
) in Potassium Niobate as the propagation direction
is varied. The plot is created by inserting the spherical representation of u (5.24)
into Fresnels equation (5.20) for a chosen sign of the , and then inserting the re-
sulting n into (5.59) to nd the associated electric eld. As we saw in Example 5.2,
at =0 the light associated with the slow index is polarized along the y-axis and
the light associated with the fast index is polarized along the x-axis.
In Fig. 5.7(c) we have plotted the angle between the two polarization com-
ponents. At =0, the two polarization components are 90
apart, as you might

expect. However, notice that in other propagation directions the two linear polar-
ization components are not precisely perpendicular.
6
Even so, the two polariza-
tion components of E are orthogonal in a mathematical sense, so that they still
comprise a useful basis for decomposing the light eld.
Determining the Fields in a Uniaxial Crystal.
E
o
( u)
_
_
sin
cos
0
_
_
(5.61)
This is shown by inserting n = n
o
into the requirement (5.58), and nding the
allowed elds (see P5.9). This eld component is associated with the ordinary
wave because just as in an isotropic medium such as glass, the index of refraction
for light with this polarization does not vary with . The polarization component
associated with n
e
() is found by using (5.59):
E
e
( u)
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
sincos
n
2
e
() n
2
o
sinsin
n
2
e
() n
2
o
cos
n
2
e
() n
2
e
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
(5.62)
Notice that this polarization component is partially directed along the optic axis
(i.e. it has a z-component), and it is not perpendicular to k since u E
e
( u) =0 (see
P5.10). It is, however, perpendicular to the ordinary polarization component, since
E
e
E
o
=0.
Notice that when =0, (5.29) reduces to n =n
o
so that both indices are the same.
On the other hand, if =/2 then (5.29) reduces to n =n
e
.
6
The two components of the electric displacement vector D=
0
E+P remain perpendiular.
Appendix 5.D Huygens Elliptical Construct for a Uniaxial
Crystal
In 1690 Christian Huygens developed a way to predict the direction of extraordi-
nary rays in a crystal by examining an elliptical wavelet. The point on the elliptical
wavelet that propagates along the optic axis is assumed to experience the index
n
e
. The point on the elliptical wavlet that propagates perpendicular to the optic
axis is assumed to experience the index n
o
. It turns out that Huygens approach
agreed with the direction energy propagation (5.40) (as opposed to the direction
of the k-vector). This was quite satisfactory in Huygens day (except that he was
largely ignored for a century, owing to Newtons corpuscular theory) since the
direction of energy propagation is what an observer sees.

y-axis
Figure 5.8 Elliptical wavelet.
Consider a plane wave entering a uniaxial crystal with the optic axis perpen-
dicular to the surface. In Huygens point of view, each point on a wave front acts
as a wavelet source which combines with neighboring wavelets to preserve the
overall plane wave pattern. Inside the crystal, the wavelets propagate in the shape
of an ellipse. The equation for an elliptical wave front after propagating during a
time t is
y
2
(ct /n
e
)
2
+
z
2
(ct /n
o
)
2
=1 (5.63)
After rearranging, the equation of the ellipse inside the crystal can also be written
as
z =
ct
n
o
_
1
y
2
(ct n
e
)
2
(5.64)
In order to have the wavelet joint neatly with other wavelets to build a plane wave,
the wave front of the ellipse must be parallel to a new wave front entering the sur-
face at a distance ct /sin
i
above the original point. This distance is represented
by the hypotenuse of the right triangle seen in Fig. 5.8. Let the point where the
wave front touches the ellipse be denoted by
_
y, z
_
=(z tan
S
, z). The slope (rise
over run) of the line that connects these two points is then
dz
dy
=
z
ct /sin
i
z tan
S
(5.65)
At the point where the wave front touches the ellipse (i.e.,
_
y, z
_
=(z tan
S
, z)), the
slope of the curve for the ellipse is
dz
dy
=
yn
2
e
n
o
ct
_
1
y
2
(ct /n
e
)
2
=
n
2
e
y
n
2
o
z
=
n
2
e
n
2
o
tan
S
(5.66)
We would like these two slopes to be the same. We therefore set them equal to
each other:
n
2
e
n
2
o
tan
S
=
z
ct /sin
i
z tan
S
ct
z
n
2
e
n
2
o
tan
S
sin
i
=
n
2
e
n
2
o
tan
2
S
+1 (5.67)
5.D Huygens Elliptical Construct for a Uniaxial Crystal 133
If we evaluate (5.63) for the point
_
y, z
_
=(z tan
S
, z), we obtain
ct
z
=n
o
_
n
2
e
n
2
o
tan
2
S
+1 (5.68)
Upon substitution of this into (5.67) we arrive at
n
2
e
n
2
o
tan
S
sin
i
=
_
n
2
e
n
2
o
tan
2
S
+1
n
4
e
n
2
o
tan
2
S
sin
2
i
=
n
2
e
n
2
o
tan
2
S
+1 (5.69)
_
n
2
e
sin
2
i
1
_
tan
2
S
=
n
2
o
n
2
e
tan
S
=
n
o
sin
i
n
e
_
n
2
e
sin
2
i
(5.70)
This agrees with (5.40) as anticipated. Again, Huygens approach obtained the
correct direction of the Poynting vector associated with the extraordinary wave.
Exercises
Exercises for 5.2 Plane Wave Propagation in Crystals
P5.1 Solve Fresnels equation (5.19) to nd the two values of n associated
with a given u. Show that both solutions yield a positive index of
refraction
HINT: Show that (5.19) can be manipulated into the form
0 =
__
u
2
x
+u
2
y
+u
2
z
_
1
_
n
6
+
__
n
2
x
+n
2
y
+n
2
z
_
u
2
x
_
n
2
y
+n
2
z
_
u
2
y
_
n
2
x
+n
2
z
_
u
2
z
_
n
2
x
+n
2
y
__
n
4
__
n
2
x
n
2
y
+n
2
x
n
2
z
+n
2
y
n
2
z
_
u
2
x
n
2
y
n
2
z
u
2
y
n
2
x
n
2
z
u
2
z
n
2
x
n
2
y
_
n
2
+n
2
x
n
2
y
n
2
z
The coefcient of n
6
is identically zero since by denition we have
u
2
x
+u
2
y
+u
2
z
=1.
P5.2 Suppose you have a crystal with n
x
=1.5, n
y
=1.6, and n
z
=2.0. Use
Fresnels equation to determine what the two indices of refraction are
for a k-vector in the crystal along the u=( x+2 y+3 z)/
14 direction.
Exercises for 5.3 Biaxial and Uniaxial Crystals
P5.3 Given that the optic axes are in the x-z plane, show that the direction
of the optic axes are given by (5.25).
HINT: The two indices are the same when B
2
4AC =0. You will want
to use polar coordinates for the direction unit vector, as in (5.24). Set
= 0 so you are in the x-z plane. Use sin
2
+cos
2
= 1 to get an
equation that only has cosine terms and solve for cos
2
.
P5.4 Use denitions (5.26) and(5.27) along withthe spherical representation
of u (5.24) in Fresnels equation (5.20) to calculate the two values for
the index in a uniaxial crystal (i.e. (5.28) and (5.29)).
HINT: First show that
A =n
2
o
sin
2
+n
2
e
cos
2
B =n
2
o
n
2
e
+n
4
o
sin
2
+n
2
e
n
2
o
cos
2
C =n
4
o
n
2
e
and then use these expressions to evaluate Fresnels equation.
P5.5 Derive (5.32).
Exercises 135
P5.6 A quartz plate (uniaxial crystal with the optic axis perpendicular to
the surfaces) has thickness d = 0.96 mm. The indices of refraction
are n
o
= 1.54424 and n
e
= 1.55335. A plane wave with wavelength
vac
=633 nmpasses throughthe plate. After emerging fromthe crystal,
there is a phase difference between the two polarization components
of the plane wave, and this phase difference depends on incident angle
i
. Use a computer to plot as a function of incident angle from zero
to 90
.

Figure 5.9 Diagram for P5.6.
HINT: For s-polarized light, show that the number of wavelengths
that t in the plate is
d
(
vac
/n
o
) cos
(s)
t
. For p-polarized light, show that
the number of wavelengths that t in the plate and the extra leg
outside of the plate (see Fig. 5.9) is
d
(
vac
/n
p)cos
(p)
t
+

vac
, where =
d
_
tan
(s)
t
tan
(p)
t
_
sin
i
and n
p
is given by (5.29). Find the difference
between these expressions and multiply by 2 to nd .
L5.7 In the laboratory, send a HeNe laser (
vac
= 633 nm) through two
crossed polarizers, oriented at 45
and 135
. Place the quartz plate

described in P5.6 between the polarizers on a rotation stage. Now
equal amounts of s- and p-polarized light strike the crystal as it is
rotated from normal incidence. (video)
Phase Difference
Dim spots
Bright spots
Figure 5.10 Plot for P5.6 and L 5.7.
Laser
Polarizer Quartz Crystal
on a rotation stage
Polarizer Screen
Figure 5.11 Schematic for L 5.7.
If the phase shift between the two paths is an odd integer times , the
crystal acts as a half wave plate and maximum transmission through
the second polarizer results. If the phase shift is an even integer times ,
then minimum transmission through the second polarizer results. Plot
these measured maximum and minimum points on your computer-
generated graph of the previous problem.
Exercises for 5.C Electric Field in Crystals
P5.8 Show that (5.59) is a solution to (5.58).
P5.9 Show that the eld polarization component associated with n =n
o
in
a uniaxial crystal is directed perpendicular to the plane containing u
and z by substituting this value for n into (5.58) and determining what
combination of eld components are allowable.
HINT: Use (5.24) to represent u with =0 (the index is the same for all
, so you may as well use one that makes calculation easy). When you
substitute into (5.58) you will nd that E
y
can be any value because of
the location of zeros in the matrix.
To get a requirement on E
x
and E
z
, collapse the matrix equation down
to a 22 system. For non-trivial solutions to exist (i.e. E
x
=0 or E
y
=0),
the determinant of the matrix must be zero. Show that this is only the
case if n
o
=n
e
(i.e. the crystal is isotropic).
P5.10 Show that the electric eld for extraordinary polarized light E
e
( u) in a
uniaxial crystal is not perpendicular to k (i.e. u), but that it is perpen-
dicular to the ordinary polarization component E
o
( u).
Review, Chapters 15
To prepare for an exam, you should understand the following questions and
problems thoroughly enough to be able to work them without referring back to
previous chapters.
True and False Questions
R1 T or F: The optical index of any material (not vacuum) varies with
frequency.
R2 T or F: The frequency of light can change as it enters a crystal (consider
low intensityno nonlinear effects).
R3 T or F: The entire expression E
0
e
i (krt )
associated with a light eld
(both the real part and the imaginary parts) is physically relevant.
R4 T or F: The real part of the refractive index cannot be less than one.
R5 T or F: s-polarized light and p-polarized light experience the same
phase shift upon reection from a material with complex index.
R6 T or F: When light is incident upon a material interface at Brewsters
angle, only one polarization can transmit.
R7 T or F: When light is incident upon a material interface at Brewsters
angle one of the polarizations stimulates dipoles in the material to
oscillate with orientation along the direction of the reected k-vector.
R8 T or F: The critical angle for total internal reection exists on both sides
of a material interface.
R9 T or F: From any given location above a (smooth at) surface of water,
it is possible to see objects positioned anywhere under the water.
R10 T or F: Fromany given location beneath a (smooth at) surface of water,
it is possible to see objects positioned anywhere above the water.
R11 T or F: An evanescent wave travels parallel to an interface surface on
the transmitted side.
137
138 Review, Chapters 15
R12 T or F: When p-polarized light enters a material at Brewsters angle, the
intensity of the transmitted beam is the same as the intensity of the
incident beam.
R13 T or F: For incident angles beyond the critical angle for total internal
reection, the Fresnel coefcients t
s
and t
p
are both zero.
R14 T or F: It is always possible to completely eliminate reections using a
single-layer antireection coating if you are free to choose the coating
thickness but not its index.
R15 T or F: For a given incident angle and value of n, there is only one
single-layer coating thickness d that will minimize reections.
R16 T or F: When coating each surface of a lens with a single-layer antire-
ection coating, the thickness of the coating on the exit surface will
need to be different from the thickness of the coating on the entry
surface.
R17 T or F: As light enters a crystal, the Poynting vector always obeys Snells
law.
R18 T or F: As light enters a crystal, the k-vector does not obey Snells for
the extraordinary wave.
Problems
R19 (a) Write down Maxwells equations.
(b) Derive the wave equation for E under the assumptions that J
free
=0
and P=
0
E. Note: (f) =( f)
2
f.
(c) Show by direct substitution that E(r, t ) =E
0
e
i (krt )
is a solution to
the wave equation. Find the resulting connection between k and .
Give appropriate denitions for c and n, assuming that is real.
(d) If k =k z and E
0
=E
0
x, nd the associated B-eld.
(e) The Poynting vector is S =EB/
0
, where the elds are real. Derive
an expression for I S
t
.
z-axis

x-axis
directed into page
Figure 5.12
R20 Consider an interface between two isotropic media where the incident
eld is dened by
E
i
=
_
E
(p)
i
_
ycos
i
zsin
i
_
+ xE
(s)
i
_
e
i [k
i (y sin
i
+z cos
i )
i
t ]
The plane of incidence is shown in Fig. 5.12
(a) By inspection of the gure, write down similar expressions for the
reected and transmitted elds (i.e. E
r
and E
t
).
139
(b) Find an expression relating E
i
, E
r
, and E
t
using the boundary condi-
tion at the interface. From this expression obtain the law of reection
and Snells law.
(c) The boundary condition requiring that the tangential component
of B must be continuous leads to
n
i
(E
(p)
i
E
(p)
r
) =n
t
E
(p)
t
n
i
(E
(s)
i
E
(s)
r
) cos
i
=n
t
E
(s)
t
cos
t
Use this and the results from part (b) to derive
r
p

E
(p)
r
E
(p)
i
=
tan(
i
t
)
tan(
i
+
t
)
You may use the identity
sin
i
cos
i
sin
t
cos
t
sin
i
cos
i
+sin
t
cos
t
=
tan(
i
t
)
tan(
i
+
t
)
R21 The Fresnel equations are
r
s
E
(s)
r
E
(s)
i
=
sin
t
cos
i
sin
i
cos
t
sin
t
cos
i
+sin
i
cos
t
t
s
E
(s)
t
E
(s)
i
=
2sin
t
cos
i
sin
t
cos
i
+sin
i
cos
t
r
p

E
(p)
r
E
(p)
i
=
cos
t
sin
t
cos
i
sin
i
cos
t
sin
t
+cos
i
sin
i
t
p

E
(p)
t
E
(p)
i
=
2cos
i
sin
t
cos
t
sin
t
+cos
i
sin
i
(a) Find what each of these equations reduces to when
i
=0. Give your
answer in terms of n
i
and n
t
.
(b) What percent of light (intensity) reects from a glass surface (n =
1.5) when light enters from air (n =1) at normal incidence?
(c) What percent of light reects from a glass surface when light exits
into air at normal incidence?
R22 Light goes through a glass prism with optical index n =1.55. The light
enters at Brewsters angle and exits at normal incidence as shown in
Fig. 5.13.
Figure 5.13
(a) Derive and calculate Brewsters angle
B
. You may use the results of
R20 (c).
(b) Calculate .
(c) What percent of the light (power) goes all the way through the prism
if it is p-polarized? You may use the Fresnel coefcients given in R21.
(d) What percent for s-polarized light?
Figure 5.14
R23 A 45
- 90
- 45
prism is a good device for reecting a beam of light

parallel to the initial beam (see Fig. 5.14). The exiting beam will be
parallel to the entering beam even when the incoming beam is not
normal to the front surface (although it needs to be in the plane of the
drawing).
(a) How large an angle can be tolerated before there is no longer total
internal reection at both interior surfaces? Assume n =1 outside of
the prism and n =1.5 inside.
(b) If the light enters and leaves the prism at normal incidence, what
will the difference in phase be between the s and p-polarizations? You
may use the Fresnel coefcients given in R21.
R24 A thin glass plate with index n =1.5 is oriented at Brewsters angle so
that p-polarized light with wavelength
vac
= 500 nm goes through
with 100% transmittance.
(a) What is the minimum thickness that will make the reection of
s-polarized light be maximum?
(b) What is the total transmittance T
tot
s
for this thickness assuming
s-polarized light?
R25 Consider a Fabry-Perot interferometer. Note: R
1
=R
2
=R.
(a) Show that the free spectral range for a Fabry-Perot interferometer is
FSR
=

2
2nd cos
(b) Show that the fringe width is
FWHM
=

2
Fnd cos
where F
4R
(1R)
2
.
(c) Derive the reecting nesse f =
FSR
/
FWHM
.
R26 For a Fabry-Perot etalon, let R = 0.90,
vac
= 500 nm, n = 1, and d =
5.0 mm.
(a) Suppose that a maximum transmittance occurs at the angle =0.
What is the nearest angle where the transmittance will be half of the
maximum transmittance? You may assume that cos
=1
2
/2.
141
(b) You desire to use a Fabry-Perot etalon to view the light from a large
diffuse source rather than a point source. Draw a diagram depicting
where lenses should be placed, indicating relevant distances. Explain
briey how it works.
R27 You need to make an antireective coating for a glass lens designed to
work at normal incidence.
Figure 5.15
The matrix equation relating the incident eld to the reected and
transmitted elds (at normal incidence) is
_
1
n
0
_
+
_
1
n
0
_
E
0
E
0
=
_
cosk
1
i
n
1
sink
1
i n
1
sink
1
cosk
1
__
1
n
2
_
E
2
E
0
(a) What is the minimum thickness the coating should have?
HINT: It is less work if you can gure this out without referring to the
above equation. You may assume n
1
<n
2
.
(b) Find the index of refraction n
1
that will make the reectivity be zero.
R28 Second harmonic generation (the conversion of light with frequency
into light with frequency 2) can occur when very intense laser light
travels in a material. For good harmonic production, the laser light
and the second harmonic light need to travel at the same speed in the
material. In other words, both frequencies need to have the same index
of refraction so that harmonic light produced down stream joins in
phase with the harmonic light produced up stream, referred to as phase
matching. This ensures a coherent building of the second harmonic
eld rather than destructive cancellations.
Unfortunately, the index of refraction is almost never the same for dif-
ferent frequencies in a given material, owing to dispersion. However,
we can achieve phase matching in some crystals where one frequency
propagates as an ordinary wave and the other propagates as an extraor-
dinary wave. We cause the two indices to be precisely the same by
tuning the angle of the crystal.
Consider a ruby laser propagating and generating the second harmonic
in a uniaxial KDP crystal (potassium dihydrogen phosphate). The
indices of refraction are given by n
o
and
n
o
n
e
_
n
2
o
sin
2
+n
2
e
cos
2
where is the angle made with the optic axis. At the frequency of a
ruby laser, KDP has indices n
o
() = 1.505 and n
e
() = 1.465. At the
frequency of the second harmonic, the indices are n
o
(2) =1.534 and
n
e
(2) =1.487.
Show that phase matching can be achieved if the laser is polarized so
that it experiences only the ordinary index and the second harmonic
light is polarized perpendicular to that. At what angle does this phase
matching occur?
Selected Answers
R21: (b) 4% (c) 4%.
R22: (b) 33
, (c) 95%, (d) 79%.

R23: (a) 4.8
, (b) 74
.
R24: (a) 100 nm. (b) 0.55.
R26: (a) 0.074
.
P27: (b) 1.24.
R28: 51.12
.
Chapter 6
Polarization of Light
When the direction of the electric eld of light oscillates in a regular, predictable
fashion, we say that the light is polarized. Polarization describes the direction
of the oscillating electric eld, a distinct concept from dipoles per volume in a
material P also called polarization. In this chapter, we develop a formalism for
describing polarized light and the effect of devices that modify polarization. If the
electric eld oscillates in a plane, we say that it is linearly polarized. The electric
eld can also spiral around while a plane wave propagates, and this is called
elliptical polarization. There is a convenient way for keeping track of polarization
using a two-dimensional Jones vector.
different polarization states of
light.
Many devices can affect polarization such as polarizers and wave plates. Their
effects on a light eld can be represented by 22 Jones matrices that operates on
the Jones vector representing the light. A Jones matrix can describe, for example,
a linear polarizer oriented at an arbitrary angle with respect to the coordinate
system. Likewise, a Jones matrix can describe the manner in which a wave plate
introduces a relative phase between two components of the electric eld. A wave
plate can be used to convert, for example, linearly polarized light into circularly
polarized light.
In this chapter, we will also see how reection and transmission at a material
interface inuences eld polarization. The Fresnel coefcients studied in chap-
ters 3 and 4 can be conveniently incorporated into the 22 matrix formulation
for handling polarization. As we saw previously, the amount of light reected
from a surface depends on the type of polarization, s or p. In addition, upon
reection, s-polarized light can acquire a phase lag or phase advance relative to
p-polarized light. This is especially true at metal surfaces, which have complex
indices of refraction (i.e. highly absorptive). Ellipsometry, outlined in appendix
6.A, is the science of characterizing optical properties of materials through an
examination of these effects.
Throughout this chapter, we consider light to have well characterized polar-
ization. However, most natural sources of light (e.g. sunlight or the light from an
incandescent lamp)have an electric-eld direction that varies rapidly and ran-
domly. Such sources are commonly referred to as unpolarized. It is common to
143
144 Chapter 6 Polarization of Light
have a mixture of unpolarized and polarized light, called partially polarized light.
The Jones vector formalism used in this chapter is inappropriate for describing
the unpolarized portions of the light. In appendix 6.B we describe a more general
formalism for dealing with light having an arbitrary degree of polarization.
6.1 Linear, Circular, and Elliptical Polarization
Consider the plane-wave solution to Maxwells equations given by
E(r, t ) =E
0
e
i (krt )
(6.1)
The wave vector k species the direction of propagation. We neglect absorption
so that the refractive index is real and k =n/c =2n/
vac
(see (2.19)(2.24)). In
an isotropic medium we know that k and E
0
are perpendicular, but even after
the direction of k is specied, we are still free to have E
0
point anywhere in two
dimensions perpendicular to k. If we orient our coordinate systemwith the z-axis
in the direction of k, we can write (6.1) as
E(z, t ) =
_
E
x
x+E
y
y
_
e
i (kzt )
(6.2)
As always, only the real part of (6.2) is physically relevant. The complex amplitudes
of E
x
and E
y
keep track of the phase of the oscillating eld components. In
general the complex phases of E
x
and E
y
can differ, so that the wave in one of the
dimensions lags or leads the wave in the other dimension.
The relationship between E
x
and E
y
describes the polarization of the light.
For example, if E
y
is zero, the plane wave is said to be linearly polarized along the
x-dimension. Linearly polarized light can have any orientation in the xy plane,
and it occurs whenever E
x
and E
y
have the same complex phase (or a phase
differing by an integer times ). For our purposes, we will take the x-dimension
to be horizontal and the y-dimension to be vertical unless otherwise noted.
x
+
y
z
Figure 6.2 The combination of
two orthogonally polarized plane
waves that are out of phase results
in elliptically polarized light. Here
we have left circularly polarized
light created as specied by (6.3).
As an example, suppose E
y
=i E
x
, where E
x
is real. The y-component of the
eld is then out of phase with the x-component by the factor i =e
i /2
. Taking the
real part of the eld (6.2) we get
E(z, t ) =Re
_
E
x
e
i (kzt )
_
x+Re
_
e
i /2
E
x
e
i (kzt )
_
y
=E
x
cos(kz t ) x+E
x
cos(kz t +/2) y
=E
x
_
cos(kz t ) xsin(kz t ) y
_
(left circular) (6.3)
In this example, the eld in the y-dimension lags the eld in the x-dimension
by a quarter cycle. That is, the behavior seen in the x-dimension happens in the
y-dimension a quarter cycle later. The eld never goes to zero simultaneously
in both dimensions. In fact, in this example the strength of the electric eld
is constant, and it rotates in a circular pattern in the x-y dimensions. For this
reason, this type of eld is called circularly polarized. Figure 6.2 graphically shows
the two linear polarized pieces in (6.3) adding to make circularly polarized light.
6.2 Jones Vectors for Representing Polarization 145
If we viewa circularly polarized light eld throughout space at a frozen instant
in time (as shown in Fig. 6.2), the electric eld vector spirals as we move along
the z-dimension. If the sense of the spiral (with time frozen) matches that of a
common wood screw oriented along the z-axis, the polarization is called right
handed. (It makes no difference whether the screw is ipped end for end.) If
instead the eld spirals in the opposite sense, then the polarization is called
left handed. The eld shown in Fig. 6.2 is an example of left-handed circularly
polarized light.
An equivalent way to view the handedness convention is to imagine the light
impinging on a screen as a function of time. The eld of a right-handed circularly
polarized wave rotates counter clockwise at the screen, when looking along the k
direction (towards the front side of the screen). The eld rotates clockwise for a
left-handed circularly polarized wave.
Linearly polarized light can become circularly or, in general, elliptically po-
larized after reection from a metal surface if the incident light has both s- and
p-polarized components. A good experimentalist working with light needs to
know this. Reections from multilayer dielectric mirrors can also exhibit these
phase shifts.
6.2 Jones Vectors for Representing Polarization
R. Clark Jones (19162004, American)
was born in Toledo Ohio. He was one
of six high school seniors to receive a
Harvard College National Prize Fellow-
ship. He earned both his undergraduate
(summa cum laude 1938) and Ph.D.
degrees from Havard (1941). After
working several years at Bell Labs, he
spent most of his professional career
at Polaroid Corporation in Cambridge
MA, until his retirement in 1982. He
is well-known for a series of papers on
polarization published during the period
1941-1956. He also contributed greatly
to the development of infrared detectors.
He was an avid train enthusiast, and
even wrote papers on railway engineer-
ing. See J. Opt. Soc. Am. 63, 519-522
(1972). Also see SPIE oemagazine, p.
52 (Aug.2004).
In 1941, R. Clark Jones introduced a two-dimensional matrix algebra that is useful
for keeping track of light polarization and the effects of optical elements that
inuence polarization.
1
The algebra deals withlight having a denite polarization,
such as plane waves. It does not apply to un-polarized or partially polarized light
(e.g. sunlight). For partially polarized light, a four-dimensional algebra known as
Stokes calculus is used (see Appendix 6.B).
In preparation for introducing Jones vectors, we explicitly write the complex
phases of the eld components in (6.2) as
E(z, t ) =
_
|E
x
|e
i
x
x+|E
y
|e
i
y
y
_
e
i (kzt )
(6.4)
and then factor (6.4) as follows:
E(z, t ) =E
eff
_
A x+Be
i
y
_
e
i (kzt )
(6.5)
where
E
eff
_
|E
x
|
2
+
E
y
2
e
i
x
(6.6)
A
|E
x
|
_
|E
x
|
2
+
E
y
2
(6.7)
B
E
y
_
|E
x
|
2
+
E
y
2
(6.8)
1
E. Hecht, Optics, 3rd ed., Sect. 8.12.2 (Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1998).

y
x
(6.9)
Please notice that A and B are real non-negative dimensionless numbers that
satisfy A
2
+B
2
=1. If E
y
is zero, then B =0 and everything is well-dened. On the
other hand, if E
x
happens to be zero, then its phase e
i
x
is indeterminant. In this
case we let E
eff
=|E
y
|e
i
y
, B =1, and =0.
Linearly polarized along x
_
1
0
_
Linearly polarized along y
_
0
1
_
Linearly polarized at angle
(measured fromthe x-axis)
_
cos
sin
_
Right circularly polarized
1
2
_
1
i
_
Left circularly polarized
1
2
_
1
i
_
Table 6.1 Jones Vectors for several
common polarization states.
The overall eld strength E
eff
is often unimportant in a discussion of polariza-
tion. It represents the strength of an effective linearly polarized eld that would
correspond to the same intensity as (6.4). Specically, from (6.5) and (2.62) we
have
I =S
t
=
1
2
nc
0
E E
=
1
2
nc
0
|E
eff
|
2
(6.10)
The phase of E
eff
represents an overall phase shift that one can trivially adjust by
physically moving the light source (a laser, say) forward or backward by a fraction
of a wavelength.
The portion of (6.5) that is relevant to our discussion of polarization is the
vector A x+Be
i
y, referred to as the Jones vector. This vector contains the essential
information regarding eld polarization. Notice that the Jones vector is a kind
of unit vector, in that (A x+Be
i
y) (A x+Be
i
y)
= 1. (The asterisk represents

the complex conjugate.) When writing a Jones vector we dispense with the x and
y notation and organize the components into a column vector (for later use in
matrix algebra) as follows:
_
A
Be
i
_
(6.11)
This vector can describe the polarization state of any plane wave eld. Table 6.1
lists some Jones vectors representing various polarization states.
6.3 Elliptically Polarized Light
In general, the Jones vector (6.11) represents a polarization state in between linear
and circular. This in-between state is known as elliptically polarized light. As
the wave travels, the eld vector makes a spiral motion. If we observe the eld
vector at a point as the eld goes by, the eld vector traces out an ellipse oriented
perpendicular to the direction of travel (i.e. in the xy plane). One of the axes of
the ellipse occurs at the angle
=
1
2
tan
1
_
2AB cos
A
2
B
2
_
(6.12)
with respect to the x-axis (see P6.8). This angle sometimes corresponds to the
minor axis and sometimes to the major axis of the ellipse, depending on the exact
values of A, B, and . The other axis of the ellipse (major or minor) then occurs at
/2 (see Fig. 6.3).
We can deduce whether (6.12) corresponds to the major or minor axis of the
ellipse by comparing the strength of the electric eld when it spirals through the
6.4 Linear Polarizers and Jones Matrices 147
direction specied by and when it spirals through /2. The strength of the
electric eld at is given by (see P6.8)
E
=|E
eff
|
_
A
2
cos
2
+B
2
sin
2
+AB cossin2 (E
max
or E
min
) (6.13)
and the strength of the eld when it spirals through the orthogonal direction
(/2) is given by
E
/2
=|E
eff
|
_
A
2
sin
2
+B
2
cos
2
AB cossin2 (E
max
or E
min
) (6.14)
After computing (6.13) and (6.14), we decide which represents E
min
and which
E
max
according to
E
max
E
min
(6.15)
We could predict in advance which of (6.13) or (6.14) corresponds to the major
axis and which corresponds to the minor axis. However, making this prediction is
as complicated as simply evaluating (6.13) and (6.14) and determining which is
greater.

Figure 6.3 The electric eld of el-
liptically polarized light traces an
ellipse in the plane perpendicular
to its propagation direction. The
two plots are for different values
of A, B, and . The angle can
describe the major axis (left gure)
or the minor axis (right gure),
depending on the values of these
parameters.
Elliptically polarized light is often characterized by the ratio of the minor axis
to the major axis. This ratio is called the ellipticity, which is a dimensionless
number:
e
E
min
E
max
(6.16)
The ellipticity e ranges between zero (corresponding to linearly polarized light)
and one (corresponding to circularly polarized light). Finally, the helicity or
handedness of elliptically polarized light is as follows (see P6.2):
0 < < left-handed helicity (6.17)
< <2 right-handed helicity (6.18)
6.4 Linear Polarizers and Jones Matrices
In 1928, Edwin Land invented Polaroid at the age of nineteen. He did it by stretch-
ing a polymer sheet and infusing it with iodine. The stretching caused the polymer
chains to align along a common direction, whereupon the sheet was cemented
to a substrate. The infusion of iodine caused the individual chains to become
conductive, like microscopic wires.
When light impinges upon a Polaroid sheet, the component of electric eld
that is parallel to the polymer chains causes a current J
free
to oscillate in that
dimension. The resistance to the current quickly dissipates the energy (i.e. the re-
fractive index is complex) and the light is absorbed. The thickness of the Polaroid
sheet is chosen sufciently large to ensure that virtually none of the light with
electric eld component oscillating along the chains makes it through the device.
The component of electric eld that is orthogonal to the polymer chains
encounters electrons that are essentially bound to the narrow width of individual
polymer molecules. For this polarization component, the wave passes through
the material much like it does through typical dielectrics such as glass (i.e. the
refractive index is real). Today, there is a wide variety of technologies for making
polarizers, many very different from Polaroid.
Transmitted polarization
component
Transmission Axis
Arbitrary incident
polarization
Figure 6.4 Light transmitting
through a Polaroid sheet. The
conducting polymer chains run
vertically in this drawing, and
light polarized along the chains
is absorbed. Light polarized per-
pendicular to the polymer chains
passes through the polarizer.
Apolarizer can be represented as a 22 matrix that operates on Jones vectors.
2
The function of a polarizer is to pass only the component of electric eld that
is oriented along the polarizer transmission axis. Thus, if a polarizer is oriented
with its transmission axis along the x-dimension, then only the x-component
of polarization transmits; the y-component is killed. If the polarizer is oriented
with its transmission axis along the y-dimension, then only the y-component of
the eld transmits, and the x-component is killed. These two scenarios can be
represented with the following Jones matrices:
_
1 0
0 0
_
(polarizer with transmission along x-axis) (6.19)
_
0 0
0 1
_
(polarizer with transmission along y-axis) (6.20)
These matrices operate on any Jones vector representing the polarization of
incident light. The result gives the Jones vector for the light exiting the polarizer.
Example 6.1
Use the Jones matrix (6.19) to calculate the effect of a horizontal polarizer on
light that is initially horizontally polarized, vertically polarized, and arbitrarily
polarized.
Solution: First we consider a horizontally polarized plane wave traversing a polar-
izer with its transmission axis oriented also horizontally (x-dimension):
_
1 0
0 0
__
1
0
_
=
_
1
0
_
(horizontal polarizer on horizontally polarized eld)
As expected, the polarization state is unaffected by the polarizer. (We have ignored
possible attenuation from surface reections.)
Now consider vertically polarized light traversing the same horizontal polarizer. In
this case, we have:
_
1 0
0 0
__
0
1
_
=
_
0
0
_
(horizontal polarizer on vertical linear polarization)
As expected, the polarizer extinguishes the light.
Finally, when a horizontally oriented polarizer operates on light with an arbitrary
Jones vector (6.11), we have
_
1 0
0 0
__
A
Be
i
_
=
_
A
0
_
(horizontal polarizer on arbitrary polarization)
Only the horizontal component of polarization is transmitted through the polar-
izer.
2
6.4 Linear Polarizers and Jones Matrices 149
While you might readily agree that the matrices given in (6.19) and (6.20)
can be used to get the right result for light traversing a horizontal or a vertical
polarizer, you probably arent very impressed as of yet. In the next few sections,
we will derive Jones matrices for a number of optical elements that can modify
polarization: polarizers at arbitrary angle, wave plates at arbitrary angle, and
reection or transmissions at an interface. Table 6.2 shows Jones matrices for
each of these devices. Before deriving these specic Jones matrices, however, we
take a moment to appreciate why the Jones matrix formulation is useful.
Linear polarizer
_
cos
2
sincos
sincos sin
2
_
Half wave plate
_
cos2 sin2
sin2 cos2
_
Quarter wave plate
_
cos
2
+i sin
2
(1i ) sincos
(1i ) sincos sin
2
+i cos
2
_
Right circular polarizer
1
2
_
1 i
i 1
_
Left circular polarizer
1
2
_
1 i
i 1
_
Reection froman interface
_
r
p
0
0 r
s
_
Transmission through an
interface
_
t
p
0
0 t
s
_
Table 6.2 Common Jones Matri-
ces. The angle is measured with
respect to the x-axis and species
the transmission axis of a linear
polarizer or the fast axis of a wave
plate.
The real power of the formalism becomes clear as we consider situations
where light encounters multiple polarization elements in sequence. In these situ-
ation, we use a product of Jones matrices to represent the effect of the compound
systems. We can represent this situation by
_
A
_
=J
system
_
A
Be
i
_
(6.21)
where the unprimed Jones vector represents light going into the system and the
primed Jones vector represents light emerging from the system. In general, A
and B
will turn out to be complex. However, if desired they can be changed into
the usual form by writing
_
A
_
=e
i
A
_
|A
|
|B
|e
i
_
where
A
is an unimportant overall phase, and
is the phase difference between

B
and A
.
The matrix J
system
is a Jones matrix formed by the series polarization devices.
If there are N devices in the system, the compound matrix is calculated as
J
system
J
N
J
N1
J
2
J
1
(6.22)
where J
n
is is the matrix for the n
th
polarizing optical element encountered in
the system. Notice that the matrices operate on the Jones vector in the order that
the light encounters the devices. Therefore, the matrix for the rst device (J
1
) is
written on the right, and so on until the last device encountered, which is written
on the left, farthest from the Jones vector.
When part of the light is absorbed by passing through one or more polarizers
in a system, the Jones vector of the exiting light does not necessarily remain
normalized to magnitude one (see example 6.1). Since the components of a Jones
vector represent the electric eld, we nd the factor by which the intensity of the
light decreases by dotting the vector with its complex conjugate. In accordance
with (6.10), the intensity of the exiting light is
I =
1
2
nc
0
|E
eff
|
2
_
A
x+B
e
i
y
_
_
A
x+B
e
i
y
_
=
1
2
nc
0
|E
eff
|
2
_
2
+
2
_
(6.23)
Notice that the intensity is attenuated by the factor
2
+
2
after propagating
through the system. Recall that E
eff
represents the effective strength of the eld
before it enters the polarizer (or other device), so that the initial Jones vector is
normalized to one (see (6.10)). As a reminder, we normally remove an overall
phase factor from the Jones vector so that A
is real and non-negative, and we

choose
so that B
is real and non-negative. However, if we dont bother doing

this, the absolute value signs on A
and B
in (6.23) ensure that we get the correct

value for intensity.
6.5 Jones Matrix for Polarizers at Arbitrary Angles
Transmission
Axis
Transmitted
component
Incident Light
Figure 6.5 Light transmitting
through a polarizer oriented with
transmission axis at angle from
x-axis.
In this section we develop a Jones matrix for describing an ideal polarizer with
its transmission axis at an arbitrary angle from the x-axis. We will do this in a
general context so that we cantake advantage of the present work whendiscussing
wave plates in the next section. To help keep things on a more conceptual level,
we revert back to using electric eld components directly. We will make the
connection with Jones calculus at the end.
The polarizer acts on a plane wave with arbitrary polarization. The electric
eld of our plane wave may be written as
E(z, t ) =
_
E
x
x+E
y
y
_
e
i (kzt )
(6.24)
Let the transmission axis of the polarizer be specied by the unit vector e
1
and the absorption axis of the polarizer be specied by e
2
(orthogonal to the
transmission axis). The vector e
1
is oriented at an angle from the x-axis, as
shown in Fig. 6.6. We need to write the electric eld components in terms of the
new basis specied by e
1
and e
2
. By inspection of the geometry, the x-y unit
vectors are connected to the new coordinate system via:
x =cos e
1
sin e
2
y =sin e
1
+cos e
2
(6.25)
Substitution of (6.25) into (6.24) yields for the electric eld
E(z, t ) =(E
1
e
1
+E
2
e
2
) e
i (kzt )
(6.26)
where
E
1
E
x
cos+E
y
sin
E
2
E
x
sin+E
y
cos
(6.27)

Figure 6.6 Electric eld compo-
nents written in the e
1
e
2
basis.
Now we introduce the effect of the polarizer on the eld: E
1
is transmitted
unaffected, while E
2
is extinguished. To account for the effect of the device, we
multiply E
2
by a parameter . In the case of the polarizer, is simply zero, but
when we consider wave plates we will use other values for . After traversing the
polarizer, the eld becomes
E
after
(z, t ) =(E
1
e
1
+E
2
e
2
) e
i (kzt )
(6.28)
6.6 Jones Matrices for Wave Plates 151
We nowhave the eld after the polarizer, but it would be nice to rewrite it in terms
of the original xy basis. By inverting (6.25), or again by inspection of Fig. 6.6, we
see that
e
1
=cos x+sin y
e
2
=sin x+cos y
(6.29)
Substitution of these relationships into (6.28) together with the denitions (6.27)
for E
1
and E
2
yields
E
after
(z, t ) =
__
E
x
cos+E
y
sin
__
cos x+sin y
_
+
_
E
x
sin+E
y
cos
__
sin x+cos y
__
e
i (kzt )
=
_
E
x
_
cos
2
+sin
2
_
+E
y
(sincossincos)
_
xe
i (kzt )
+
_
E
x
(sincossincos) +E
y
_
sin
2
+cos
2
__
ye
i (kzt )
(6.30)
Notice that if =1 (i.e. no polarizer), then we get back exactly what we started
with (i.e. (6.30) reduces to (6.24)).
To get to the Jones matrix for the polarizer, we note that (6.30) is a linear mix-
ture of E
x
and E
y
which can be represented with matrix algebra. If we represent
the electric eld as a two-dimensional column vector with its x component in the
top and its y component in the bottom (like a Jones vector), then we can rewrite
(6.30) as
E
after
(z, t ) =
_
cos
2
+sin
2
sincossincos
sincossincos sin
2
+cos
2
__
E
x
E
y
_
e
i (kzt )
(6.31)
The matrix here is a properly normalized Jones matrix, even though we did not
bother factoring out E
eff
to make a properly normalized Jones vector, as speci-
ed in (6.5). We can now write down the Jones matrix for a polarizer by simply
inserting =0 into the matrix:
_
cos
2
sincos
sincos sin
2
_
(polarizer with transmission axis at angle ) (6.32)
Notice that when =0 this matrix reduces to that of a horizontal polarizer (6.19),
and when =/2, it reduces to that of a vertical polarizer (6.20).
6.6 Jones Matrices for Wave Plates
We next consider wave plates (or retarders), which are usually made from a bire-
fringent crystals. The index of refraction in the crystal depends on the orientation
of the electric eld polarization. A wave plate has the appearance of a thin win-
dow through which the light passes. The crystal is cut such that the wave plate
has a fast and a slowaxis, which are 90
apart in the plane of the window. If the

light is polarized along the fast axis, it experiences index n
fast
. The orthogonal
polarization component experiences higher index n
slow
.
When a plane wave passes through a wave plate, the component of the electric
eld oriented along the fast axis travels faster than its orthogonal counterpart,
which introduces a relative phase between the two polarization components.
As light passes through a wave plate of thickness d, the phase difference that
accumulates between the fast and the slow polarization components is
k
slow
d k
fast
d =
2d
vac
(n
slow
n
fast
) (6.33)
By adjusting the thickness of the wave plate, one can introduce any desired phase
difference.
Slow axis
Fast axis
Waveplate
Transmitted polarization
components have altered
relative phase
Figure 6.7 Wave plate interacting
with a plane wave.
The most common types of wave plates are the quarter-wave plate and the
half-wave plate. The quarter-wave plate introduces a phase difference of
k
slow
d k
fast
d =/2+2m (quarter-wave plate) (6.34)
between the two polarization components, where m is an integer. This means
that the polarization component along the slow axis is delayed spatially by a
quarter wavelength (or ve quarters, etc.).
The half-wave plate introduces a phase difference of
k
slow
d k
fast
d =+2m (half-wave plate) (6.35)
where m is an integer. This means that the polarization component along the
slow axis is delayed spatially by a half wavelength (or three halves, etc.). When
m=0 in either (6.34) or (6.35), the wave plate is said to be zero order.
The derivation of the Jones matrix for the two wave plates is essentially the
same as the derivation for the polarizer in the previous section. Let e
1
correspond
to the fast axis, and let e
2
correspond to the slow axis, as illustrated in Fig. 6.7. We
proceed as before. However, instead of setting equal to zero in (6.31), we must
choose values for appropriate for each wave plate. Since nothing is absorbed,
should have a magnitude equal to one. The important feature is the phase of
. As seen in (6.33), the eld component along the slow axis accumulates excess
phase relative to the component along the fast axis, and we let account for this.
In the case of the quarter-wave plate, the appropriate factor from (6.34) is
=e
i /2
=i (quarter-wave plate) (6.36)
This describes a relative phase delay for the light emerging with polarization along
the slow axis. Substituting (6.36) into (6.30) yields the Jones matrix for a quarter
wave plate:
_
cos
2
+i sin
2
sincosi sincos
sincosi sincos sin
2
+i cos
2
_
quarter-wave plate Jones matrix (6.37)
For the half-wave plate, the appropriate factor applied to the slow axis is
=e
i
=1 (half-wave plate) (6.38)
and the Jones matrix becomes:
_
cos
2
sin
2
2sincos
2sincos sin
2
cos
2
_
=
_
cos2 sin2
sin2 cos2
_
half-wave plate Jones matrix (6.39)
6.6 Jones Matrices for Wave Plates 153
Remember that refers to the angle that the fast axis makes with respect to the
x-axis.
effects of polarizers and wave
plates on polarized light.
Before moving on, consider the following two examples that illustrate how
wave plates are often used:
Example 6.2
Calculate the Jones matrix for a quarter-wave plate at =45
, and determine its

effect on horizontally polarized light.
Solution: At =45
, the Jones matrix for the quarter-wave plate (6.37) reduces to

e
i /4
2
_
1 i
i 1
_
(quarter-wave plate, fast axis at =45
) (6.40)
The overall phase factor e
i /4
in front is not important since it merely accompanies
the overall phase of the beam, which can be adjusted arbitrarily by moving the
light source forwards or backwards through a fraction of a wavelength.
Now we calculate the effect of the quarter-wave plates (oriented at =45
) operat-
ing on horizontally polarized light:
1
2
_
1 i
i 1
__
1
0
_
=
1
2
_
1
i
_
(6.41)
The previous example shows that a quarter-wave plate (properly oriented) can
turn linearly polarized light into right-circularly polarized light (see Table 6.1).
On the other hand, as seen in the next example, a half-wave plate can rotate the
polarization angle of linearly polarized light by varying degrees while preserving
the linear polarization.
Example 6.3
Calculate the effect of a half wave plate at an arbitrary on horizontally polarized
light.
Solution: Carrying out the multiplication, we obtain
_
cos2 sin2
sin2 cos2
__
1
0
_
=
_
cos2
sin2
_
(6.42)
The resulting Jones vector describes linearly polarized light an angle of =2 from
the x-axis (see Table 6.1).
6.7 Polarization Effects of Reection and Transmission
When light encounters a material interface, the amount of reected and trans-
mitted light depends on the polarization. The Fresnel coefcients (3.18)(3.21)
dictate how much of each polarization is reected and how much is transmitted.
In addition, the Fresnel coefcients keep track of phases intrinsic in the reec-
tion phenomenon. This is true also for reections from multilayer coatings with
effective Fresnel coefcients (4.60), (4.61), (4.65) and (4.66).
To the extent that the s and p components of the eld behave differently,
the overall polarization state is altered. For example, a linearly-polarized eld
upon reection can become elliptically polarized (see L 6.9). Even when a wave
reects at normal incidence so that the s and p components are indistinguishable,
right-circular polarized light becomes left-circular polarized. This is the same
effect that causes a right-handed person to appear left-handed when viewed in a
mirror.

x-axis
directed into page
Figure 6.9 Incident, reected and
transmitted plane waves, each
propagating along the z-axis of its
own reference frame.
We can use Jones calculus to keep track of how reection and transmission
inuences polarization. However, before proceeding, we emphasize that in this
context we do not strictly adhere to a single coordinate system as we did in
chapter 3, for example in Fig. 3.1. Instead, we consider each plane wave, whether
incident, reected or transmitted, to propagate in the z-direction of its own frame,
regardless of the relative angles between the incident and reected wave. This
loose manner of dening coordinate systems, depicted in Fig. 6.9, has a great
advantage. The x and y dimensions in each individual frame is aligned parallel
to their respective s and p eld component. We will adopt the convention that
p-polarized light in all cases is associated with the x-dimension (horizontal, say).
The s-polarized component then lies along the y-dimension (vertical).
We are now in a position to see why there is a handedness inversion upon
reection from a mirror. Notice in Fig. 6.9 that for the incident light, the s-
component of the eld crossed into the p-component of the eld yields a vector
pointing along beams propagation direction. However, for the reected light,
the s-component crossed into the p-component points opposite to that beams
propagation direction.
The Jones matrix corresponding to reection from a surface is simply
_
r
p
0
0 r
s
_
(Jones matrix for reection) (6.43)
By convention, we place the minus sign on the coefcient r
p
to take care of
handedness inversion. We could put the minus sign on r
s
instead; the important
point is that the two polarizations acquire a relative phase differential of when
the propagation direction ips.
3
The Fresnel coefcients specify the ratios of the exiting elds to the incident
ones. When (6.43) operates on an arbitrary Jones vector such as (6.11), r
p
3
The minus sign is needed for our specic convention of eld directions, as drawn in Fig. 6.9. In
our convention, r
s
and r
p
are identical at normal incidence.
6.A Ellipsometry 155
multiplies the horizontal component of the eld, and r
s
multiplies the vertical
component of the eld. Especially in the case of reection from an absorbing
surface such as a metal, the phases of the two polarization components can vary
markedly (see P6.11). Thus, linearly polarized light containing both s- and p-
components in general becomes elliptically polarized when reected from such a
surface. When light undergoes total internal reection, again the phases of the s-
and p-components differ markedly, which can cause linearly polarized light to
become elliptically polarized (see P6.12).
Transmission through a material interface can also inuence the polarization
of the eld, although typically to a lesser degree. However, there is no handedness
inversion, since the light continues on in a forward sense. The Jones matrix for
transmission is
_
t
p
0
0 t
s
_
(Jones matrix for transmission) (6.44)
rotated
y-axis
original
x-axis
original
y-axis
rotated x-axis
(in the plane of incidence)
Figure 6.10 If the plane of inci-
dence does not coincide for suc-
cessive elements in an optical
system, a rotation matrix must be
applied to rotate the x-axis to the
plane of incidence before comput-
ing the effect of each element.
If a beam of light encounters a series of mirrors, the nal polarization is
determined by multiplying the sequence of appropriate Jones matrices (6.43)
onto the initial polarization. This procedure is straightforward if the normals
to all of the mirrors lie in a single plane (say parallel to the surface of an optical
bench). However, if the beam path deviates from this plane (due to vertical
tilt on the mirrors), then we must reorient our coordinate system before each
mirror to have a new horizontal (p-polarized dimension) and the new vertical
(s-polarized dimension). Earlier in this chapter we performed a rotation of a
coordinate system through an angle , described in (6.27), which is also useful
here. The rotation can be accomplished by multiplying the following matrix onto
the incident Jones vector:
_
cos sin
sin cos
_
(rotation of coordinates through an angle ) (6.45)
This is understood as a rotation about the z-axis. The angle of rotation is
chosen such that the rotated x-axis lies in the plane of incidence for the mirror.
When such a reorientation of coordinates is necessary, the two orthogonal eld
components in the initial coordinate system are stirred together to form the eld
components in the new system. This does not change the intrinsic characteristics
of the polarization, just its representation.
Appendix 6.A Ellipsometry
Measuring the polarization of light reected from a surface can yield information
regarding the optical constants of that surface (i.e. n and ). As done in L 6.9, it is
possible to characterize the polarization of a beam of light using a quarter-wave
plate and a polarizer. However, we often want to know n and at a range of
frequencies, and this would require a different quarter-wave plate thickness d
for each wavelength used (see (6.34)). Therefore, many commercial ellipsometers
do not try to extract the helicity of the light, but only the ellipticity. In this case
only polarizers are needed, which can be made to work over a wide range of
wavelengths. If, inaddition, a variety of incident angles are measured, it is possible
to extract detailed information about the optical constants n and and the
thicknesses of possibly many layers of materials inuencing the reection.
Commercial ellipsometers
4
typically employ two polarizers, one before and
one after the sample, where s and p-polarized reections take place. The rst
polarizer ensures that linearly polarized light arrives at the test surface (polarized
at angle to give both s and p-components). The Jones matrix for the test surface
reection is given by (6.43), and the Jones matrix for the analyzing polarizer
oriented at angle is given by (6.32). The Jones vector for the light arriving at the
detector is then
_
cos
2
sincos
sincos sin
2
__
r
p
0
0 r
s
__
cos
sin
_
=
_
r
p
coscos
2
+r
s
sinsincos
r
p
cossincos+r
s
sinsin
2
_
(6.46)
and the intensity arriving to the detector is
I
r
p
coscos
2
+r
s
sincossin
2
+
r
p
coscossin+r
s
sinsin
2
2
=
r
p
2
cos
2
cos
2
+|r
s
|
2
sin
2
sin
2
_
r
p
r
s
+r
s
r
p
_
4
sin2sin2
(6.47)
For ellipsometry measurements, it is customary to express the ratio of Fresnel
coefcients as
r
p
_
r
s
tane
i
(6.48)
In this case, the intensity may be shown to be proportional to (see problem P6.13)
I 1sin2+cos2 (6.49)
where
2
tancostan
tan
2
+tan
2
and
tan
2
tan
2
tan
2
+tan
2
(6.50)
In commercial ellipsometers, the angle of the analyzing polarizer often rotates at
a high speed, and the time dependence of the light reaching a detector is analyzed.
From this type of measurement, the coefcients and can be extracted with
high precision. Then equations (6.50) can be inverted (see problem P6.13) to
reveal
tan=
_
1+
1
|tan| and cos=

_
1
2
sign() (6.51)
From a series of these types of measurements, it is possible to extract the values
of n and for materials from the expressions for r
s
and r
p
(with the aid of a
computer!). A more extensive series of such measurements are needed in the case
of multilayers involving multiple layers with varying thicknesses.
4
See Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Tutorial at J. A. Woollam Co.
6.B Partially Polarized Light 157
Appendix 6.B Partially Polarized Light
Sir George Gabriel Stokes (18191903,
Irish) was born in Skreen, Ireland. He
entered Cambridge University at age 18
and graduated four years later with the
distinction of senior wrangler. In 1849,
he became a professor of mathematics
at Cambridge where he later worked
with James Clerk Maxwell and Lord
Kelvin to form the Cambridge School
of Mathematical Physics. Stokes was a
powerful mathematician as well as good
experimentalist, often testing his the-
oretical solutions in the laboratory. In
addition to his contributions to optics,
Stokes made important contributions to
uid dynamics (e.g. the Navier-Stokes
equations) and to mathematical physics;
Stokes theorem is employed several
places in this in this book.(Wikipedia)
We outline here an approach for dealing with partially polarized light, which is a
mixture of polarized and unpolarized light. Most natural light such as sunshine is
unpolarized. The transverse electric eld direction in natural light varies rapidly
(and quasi randomly). Such variations imply the superposition of multiple fre-
quencies as opposed to the single frequency assumed in the formulation of Jones
calculus earlier in this chapter. Unpolarized light can become partially polarized
when it, for example, reects from a surface at oblique incidence, since s and p
components of the polarization might reect with differing strength.
Stokes vectors are used to keep track of the partial polarization (and atten-
uation) of a light beam as the light progresses through an optical system.
5
In
contrast, Jones vectors are designed for pure polarization states. We can consider
any light beam as an intensity sum of completely unpolarized light and perfectly
polarized light:
I = I
pol
+I
un
(6.52)
It is assumed that both types of light propagate in the same direction.
The main characteristic of unpolarized light is that it cannot be extinguished
by a single polarizer (even in combination with a wave plate). Moreover, the
transmission of unpolarized light through an ideal polarizer is always 50%. On the
other hand, polarized light (be it linearly, circularly, or elliptically polarized) can
always be represented by a Jones vector, and it is always possible to extinguish
polarized light with a wave plate and a single polarizer.
We may introduce the degree of polarization as the fraction of the intensity
that is in a denite polarization state:
pol
I
pol
I
pol
+I
un
(6.53)
The degree of polarization takes on values between zero and one. Thus, if the light
is completely unpolarized (such that I
pol
=0), the degree of polarization is zero,
and if the beam is fully polarized (such that I
un
=0), the degree of polarization is
one.
A Stokes vector, which characterizes a partially polarized beam, is written as
_
_
_
_
_
S
0
S
1
S
2
S
3
_
_
_
_
_
The parameter
S
0
I
I
in
(6.54)
5
is a comparison of the beams intensity (or power) to a benchmark or input
intensity, I
in
, measured before the beam enters the optical system under consid-
eration. I represents the intensity at the point of investigation, where one wishes
to characterize the beam. Thus, the value S
0
=1 represents the input intensity,
and S
0
can drop to values less than one, to account for attenuation of light by
polarizers in the system. (S
0
could increase in the atypical case of amplication.)
The next parameter, S
1
, describes howmuch the light looks either horizontally
or vertically polarized, and it is dened as
S
1
2I
hor
I
in
S
0
(6.55)
Here, I
hor
represents the amount of light detected if an ideal linear polarizer is
placed with its axis aligned horizontally directly in front of the detector (inserted
where the light is characterized). S
1
ranges between negative one and one, taking
on its extremes when the light is linearly polarized either horizontally or vertically,
respectively. If the light has been attenuated, it may still be perfectly horizontally
polarized even if S
1
has a magnitude less than one. (Alternatively, you might wish
to examine S
1
/S
0
, which is guaranteed to range between negative one and one.)
The parameter S
2
describes how much the light looks linearly polarized along
the diagonals. It is given by
S
2
2I
45
I
in
S
0
(6.56)
Similar to the previous case, I
45
represents the amount of light detected if an
ideal linear polarizer is placed with its axis at 45
directly in front of the detector

(inserted where the light is characterized). As before, S
2
ranges between negative
one and one, taking on extremes when the light is linearly polarized either at 45
or 135
.
Finally, S
3
characterizes the extent to which the beam is either right or left
circularly polarized:
S
3
2I
r-cir
I
in
S
0
(6.57)
Here, I
r-cir
represents the amount of light detected if an ideal right-circular po-
larizer is placed directly in front of the detector. A right-circular polarizer is
one that passes right-handed polarized light, but blocks left handed polarized
light. One way to construct such a polarizer is a quarter wave plate, followed
by a linear polarizer with the transmission axis aligned 45
from the wave-plate

fast axis, followed by another quarter wave plate at 45
from the polarizer (see

P6.14).
6
Again, this parameter ranges between negative one and one, taking on
the extremes for right and left circular polarization, respectively.
Importantly, if any of the parameters S
1
, S
2
, or S
3
take on their extreme values
(i.e. a magnitude equal to S
0
), the other two parameters necessarily equal zero. As
an example, if a beam is linearly horizontally polarized with I = I
in
, then we have
6
The nal quarter wave plate is to put the light back into the original circular state not needed
to measure the Stokes parameter.
I
hor
= I
in
, I
45
= I
in
/2, and I
r-cir
= I
in
/2. This yields S
0
=1, S
1
=1, S
2
=0, and S
3
=0.
As a second example, suppose that the light has been attenuated to I = I
in
/3 but is
purely left circularly polarized. Then we have I
hor
= I
in
/6, I
45
= I
in
/6, and I
r-cir
=0.
Whereas the Stokes parameters are S
0
=1/3, S
1
=0, S
2
=0, and S
3
=1/3.
Another interesting case is completely unpolarized light, which transmits 50%
through all of the polarizers discussed above. In this case, I
hor
= I
45
= I
r-cir
= I /2
and S
1
=S
2
=S
3
=0.
Example 6.4
Find the Stokes parameters for perfectly polarized light, represented by an arbitrary
Jones vector
_
A
B
_
where A and B are complex.
7
Depending on the values A and B,
the polarization can follow any ellipse.
Solution: The input intensity of this polarized beam is I
in
= I
pol
=|A|
2
+|B|
2
, ac-
cording to Eq. (6.23), where we absorb the factor
1
2
0
c |E
eff
|
2
into |A|
2
and |B|
2
for convenience. The Jones vector for the light that passes through a horizontal
polarizer is
_
1 0
0 0
__
A
B
_
=
_
A
0
_
which gives a measured intensity of I
hor
=|A|
2
. Similarly, the Jones vector when
the beam is passed through a polarizer oriented at 45
is
1
2
_
1 1
1 1
__
A
B
_
=
A+B
2
_
1
1
_
leading to an intensity of
I
45
=
|A+B|
2
2
=
|A|
2
+|B|
2
+A
B +AB
2
Finally, the Jones vector for light passing through a right-circular polarizer (see
P6.14) is
1
2
_
1 i
i 1
__
A
B
_
=
A+i B
2
_
1
i
_
giving an intensity of
I
r-cir
=
|A+i B|
2
2
=
|A|
2
+|B|
2
+i (A
B AB
)
2
Thus, the Stokes parameters become
S
0
=
|A|
2
+|B|
2
I
in
=1
S
1
=
2|A|
2
I
in
|A|
2
+|B|
2
I
in
=
|A|
2
|B|
2
I
in
7
We will nd it easier in this appendix to write
_
A
B
_
instead of
_
|A|
|B|e
i
_
, where is the phase
difference between B and A.
S
2
=
|A|
2
+|B|
2
+A
B +AB
I
in
|A|
2
+|B|
2
I
in
=
A
B +AB
I
in
S
3
=
|A|
2
+|B|
2
+i (A
B AB
)
I
in
|A|
2
+|B|
2
I
in
=i
(A
B AB
)
I
in
It is clear from the linear dependence of S
0
, S
1
, S
2
, and S
3
on intensity (see
Eqs. (6.54)(6.57)) that the overall Stokes vector may be regarded as the sum of
the individual Stokes vectors for polarized and unpolarized light. That is, we may
write S
j
=S
(pol)
j
+S
(un)
j
, j =0, 1, 2, 3.
This is certainly true for
S
0
=
I
I
in
=
I
pol
+I
un
I
in
(6.58)
and in the other cases the unpolarized portion of the light does not contribute to
the Stokes parameters. Half of the unpolarized light survives any of the test lters,
which cancels neatly with the unpolarized portion of S
0
in Eqs. (6.55)(6.57).
With the aid of the results in example 6.4, a completely general form of the
Stokes vector may then be written as
_
_
_
_
_
S
0
S
1
S
2
S
3
_
_
_
_
_
=
1
I
in
_
_
_
_
_
I
pol
+I
un
|A|
2
|B|
2
A
B +AB
i (A
B AB
)
_
_
_
_
_
(6.59)
where the Jones vector for the polarized portion of the light is
_
A
B
_
and the intensity of the polarized portion of the light is
I
pol
=|A|
2
+|B|
2
(6.60)
Again, we have hidden the factor
1
2
0
c |E
eff
|
2
for the polarized portion of the light
inside |A|
2
and |B|
2
.
We would like to express the degree of polarization in terms of the Stokes
parameters. We rst note that the quantity
_
S
2
1
+S
2
2
+S
2
3
can be expressed as
_
S
2
1
+S
2
2
+S
2
3
=
_
_
|A|
2
|B|
2
I
in
_
2
+
_
(A
B +AB
)
I
in
_
2
+
_
i (A
B AB
)
I
in
_
2
=
|A|
2
+|B|
2
I
in
=
I
pol
I
in
(6.61)
Substituting (6.58) and (6.61) into the expression for the degree of polarization
(6.53) yields
pol
1
S
0
_
S
2
1
+S
2
2
+S
2
3
(6.62)
If the light is polarized such that it perfectly transmits through or is perfectly
extinguished by one of the three test polarizers associated with S
1
, S
2
, or S
3
, then
the degree of polarization will be unity. Obviously, it is possible to have pure
polarization states that are not aligned with the axes of any one of these test
polarizers. In this situation, the degree of polarization is still one, although the
values S
1
, S
2
, and S
3
may all three contribute to (6.62).
Finally, it is possible to represent polarizing devices as matrices that operate
on the Stokes vectors in much the same way that Jones matrices operate on
Jones vectors. Since Stokes vectors are four-dimensional, the matrices used are
four-by-four. These are known as Mueller matrices.
8
Hans Mueller (Swiss) was a shepherd
until his late teens. As a physics pro-
fessor at MIT, he built on the work of
Stokes and in 1943 formulated a ma-
trix method for manipulating Stokes
vectors. He was an engaging lecturer
into the 1950s and was known for his
exciting demonstrations. He was a stu-
dent of Arnold Sommerfeld, and did
seminal work on ferroelectricity (he is
reported to have coined the term). See
Laszlo Tisza,Adventures of a Theoret-
ical Physicist, Part II: America, Phys.
Perspect. 11, 120-168 (2009).
Derivation: Mueller Matrix for a Linear Polarizer
We know that the 50% of the unpolarized light transmits through a polarizer,
ending up as polarized light with Jones vector
_
A
1
B
1
_
=
_
I
un
2
_
cos
sin
_
(see table 6.1). As usual, let give the angle of the transmission axis relative to the
horizontal. The Jones matrix (6.23) acts on the polarized portion of the light as
follows
_
A
2
B
2
_
=
_
cos
2
cossin
cossin sin
2
__
A
B
_
=[Acos+B sin]
_
cos
sin
_
One might be tempted to add
_
A
1
B
1
_
and
_
A
2
B
2
_
, but this would be wrong, since
the two beams are not coherent. As mentioned previously, unpolarized light
necessarily contains multiple frequencies, and so the elds from the polarized and
unpolarized beams destructively interfere as often as they constructively interfere.
In this case, we simply add intensities rather than elds. That is, we have
2
=
2
+
2
=
_
I
un
2
+|Acos+B sin|
2
_
cos
2
=
_
I
un
2
+|A|
2
cos
2
+|B|
2
sin
2
+
_
A
B +AB
_
sincos
_
cos
2
= I
in
_
S
0
2
+
cos2
2
S
1
+
sin2
2
S
2
_
cos
2
Similarly,
2
=
2
+
2
= I
in
_
S
0
2
+
cos2
2
S
1
+
sin2
2
S
2
_
sin
2
8
Since the light has gone through a linear polarizer, we are guaranteed that A
and
B
have the same phase. Therefore, A
= A
=|A
||B
|. In viewof (6.59), these

results lead to
S
0
=
2
+
2
I
in
=
S
0
2
+
cos2
2
S
1
+
sin2
2
S
2
S
1
=
2
I
in
=
_
S
0
2
+
cos2
2
S
1
+
sin2
2
S
2
_
_
cos
2
sin
2
_
=
cos2
2
S
0
+
cos
2
2
2
S
1
+
sin4
4
S
2
S
2
=
I
in
=2
_
S
0
2
+
cos2
2
S
1
+
sin2
2
S
2
_
cossin
=
sin2
2
S
0
+
sin4
4
S
1
+
sin
2
2
2
S
2
S
3
=i
I
in
=0
These transformations expressed in matrix format become
_
_
_
_
S
0
S
1
S
2
S
3
_
_
_
_
=
1
2
_
_
_
_
1 cos2 sin2 0
cos2 cos
2
2
1
2
sin4 0
sin2
1
2
sin4 sin
2
2 0
0 0 0 0
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
S
0
S
1
S
2
S
3
_
_
_
_
which reveals the Mueller matrix for a linear polarizer.
The Mueller matrix for a half wave plate is worked out below. The Mueller
matrix for a quarter wave plate is deferred to problem P6.15
Derivation: Mueller Matrix for a Half Wave Plate
We know that all of the light transmits through the wave plate. This immediately
gives
S
0
=S
0
The wave plate does nothing to unpolarized light. On the other hand, the polarized
portion of the light is inuenced by the wave plate as follows (see (6.39)):
_
A
_
=
_
cos2 sin2
sin2 cos2
__
A
B
_
=
_
Acos2+B sin2
Asin2B cos2
_
As usual, is the angle of the fast axis relative to the horizontal. (As expected,
2
+
2
=|A|
2
+|B|
2
; the intensity of the light is unaltered.) Using (6.59) we get
S
1
=
2
I
in
=
|Acos2+B sin2|
2
|Asin2B cos2|
2
I
i n
=
_
|A|
2
|B|
2
_
cos4+(A
B +AB
) sin4
I
i n
=S
1
cos4+S
2
sin4
S
1
=
2
I
in
=
|Acos2+B sin2|
2
|Asin2B cos2|
2
I
i n
=
_
|A|
2
|B|
2
_
cos4+(A
B +AB
) sin4
I
i n
=S
1
cos4+S
2
sin4
S
2
=
A
+A
I
i n
=
(A
cos2+B
sin2) (Asin2B cos)

I
i n
+
(Acos2+B sin2) (A
sin2B
cos)
I
i n
=
|A|
2
|B|
2
I
i n
sin4
AB
+A
B
I
i n
cos4 =S
1
sin4S
2
cos4
S
3
=i
A
I
i n
=i
(A
cos2+B
sin2) (Asin2B cos)

I
i n
i
(Acos2+B sin2) (A
sin2B
cos)
I
i n
=i
A
B AB
I
i n
=S
3
These transformations expressed in matrix format become
_
_
_
_
S
0
S
1
S
2
S
3
_
_
_
_
=
_
_
_
_
1 0 0 0
0 cos4 sin4 0
0 sin4 cos4 0
0 0 0 1
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
S
0
S
1
S
2
S
3
_
_
_
_
which reveals the Mueller matrix for a half wave plate.
Exercises
Exercises for 6.2 Jones Vectors for Representing Polarization
P6.1 Show that
_
A x+Be
i
y
_
_
A x+Be
i
y
_
= 1, as dened in connection
with (6.5).
P6.2 Prove that if 0 < <, the helicity is left-handed, and if < <2 the
helicity is right-handed.
HINT: Write the relevant real eld associated with (6.5)
E(z, t ) =|E
eff
|
_
xAcos
_
kz t +
_
+ yB cos
_
kz t ++
__
where is the phase of E
eff
. Freeze time at, say, t =/. Determine the
eld at z =0 and at z =/4 (a quarter cycle), say. If E(0, t ) E(/4, t )
points in the direction of k, then the helicity matches that of a wood
screw.
P6.3 For the following cases, what is the orientation of the major axis, and
what is the ellipticity of the light? Case I: A =B =1/
2; =0 Case II:
A =B =1/
2; =/2; Case III: A =B =1/
2; =/4.
L6.4 Determine how much right-handed circularly polarized light (
vac
=
633 nm) is delayed (or advanced) with respect to left-handed circularly
polarized light as it goes through approximately 3 cm of Karo syrup
(the neck of the bottle). This phenomenon is called optical activity.
Because of a denite-handedness to the molecules in the syrup, right-
and left-handed polarized light experience slightly different refractive
indices. (video)
Screen
Laser
Polarizer
Karo Light
Corn Syrup
Polarizer
Figure 6.11 Lab schematic for L 6.4
HINT: Linearly polarized light contains equal amounts of right and left
circularly polarized light. Consider
1
2
_
1
i
_
+
e
i
2
_
1
i
_
Exercises 165
where is the phase delay of the right circular polarization. Show that
this can be written as
e
i
_
cos/2
sin/2
_
The overall phase is unimportant. Compare this with
_
cos
sin
_
where is the angle of linearly polarized light (see table 6.1).
Exercises for 6.4 Linear Polarizers and Jones Matrices
P6.5 (a) Suppose that linearly polarized light is oriented at an angle with
respect to the horizontal axis (x-axis) (see table 6.1). What fraction of
the original intensity gets through a vertically oriented polarizer?
(b) If the original light is right-circularly polarized, what fraction of the
original intensity gets through the same polarizer?
Exercises for 6.5 Jones Matrix for Polarizers at Arbitrary Angles
P6.6 Horizontally polarized light (=0) is sent through two polarizers, the
rst oriented at
1
=45
and the second at

2
=90
. What fraction of
the original intensity emerges? What is the fraction if the ordering of
the polarizers is reversed?
P6.7 (a) Suppose that linearly polarized light is oriented at an angle with
respect to the horizontal or x-axis. What fraction of the original inten-
sity emerges from a polarizer oriented with its transmission at angle
from the x-axis?
Answer: cos
2
(); compare with P6.5.
(b) If the original light is right circularly polarized, what fraction of the
original intensity emerges from the same polarizer?
P6.8 Derive (6.12), (6.13), and (6.14).
HINT: Analyze the Jones vector just as you would analyze light in the
laboratory. Put a polarizer in the beam and observe the intensity of the
light as a function of polarizer angle. Compute the intensity via (6.23).
Then nd the polarizer angle (call it ) that gives a maximum (or a
minimum) of intensity. The angle then corresponds to an axis of the
ellipse inscribing the E-eld as it spirals. When taking the arctangent,
remember that it is dened only over a range of . You can add for
another valid result (which corresponds to the second ellipse axis).
Exercises for 6.6 Jones Matrices for Wave Plates
L6.9 Create a source of unknown elliptical polarization by reecting a lin-
early polarized laser beam (with both s and p-components) from a
metal mirror with a large incident angle (i.e.
i
80
). Use a quarter-
wave plate and a polarizer to determine the Jones vector of the reected
beam. Find the ellipticity, the helicity (right or left handed), and the
orientation of the major axis. (video)
Screen
Polarizer
set at 45
Silver Mirror
~80 angle of incidence
Polarizer
Laser
o
o
1/4 wave
plate
Figure 6.12 Lab schematic for L 6.9
HINT: A polarizer alone can reveal the direction of the major and minor
axes and the ellipticity, but it does not reveal the helicity. Use a quarter-
wave plate (oriented at a special angle ) to convert the unknown
elliptically polarized light into linearly polarized light. A subsequent
polarizer can then extinguish the light, from which you can determine
the Jones vector of the light coming through the wave plate. This must
equal the original (unknown) Jones vector (6.11) operated on by the
wave plate (6.37). As you solve the matrix equation, it is helpful to note
that the inverse of (6.37) is its own complex conjugate.
P6.10 What is the minimum thickness (called zero-order thickness) of a
quartz plate made to operate as a quarter-wave plate for
vac
=500 nm?
The indices of refraction are n
fast
=1.54424 and n
slow
=1.55335.
Exercises for 6.7 Polarization Effects of Reection and Transmission
p
s
80
Figure 6.13 Geometry for P6.11
P6.11 Light is linearly polarized at =45
with a Jones vector according to

table 6.1. The light is reected from a vertical silver mirror with angle
of incidence
i
= 80
, as described in (P3.15). Find the Jones vector

representation for the polarization of the reected light. NOTE: The
answer may be somewhat different than the result measured in L 6.9.
For one thing, we have not considered that a silver mirror inevitably
has a thin oxide layer.
Answer:
_
0.668
0.702e
1.13i
_
.
Exercises 167
P6.12 Calculate the angle to cut the glass in a Fresnel rhomb such that after
the two internal reections there is a phase difference of /2 between
the two polarization states. The rhomb then acts as a quarter wave
plate.
Fresnel
Rhomb
Side
View
Figure 6.14 Fresnel Rhomb geom-
etry for P6.12
HINT: You need to nd the phase difference between (3.40) and (3.41).
Set the difference equal to /4 for each bounce. The equation you get
does not have a clean analytic solution, but you can plot it to nd a
numerical solution.
Answer: There are two angles that work:
=50
and
=53
.
Exercises for 6.A Ellipsometry
P6.13 Derive (6.49) and (6.51), often used for ellipsometry measurements.
HINT: Using sin
2
=
1cos2
2
and cos
2
=
1+cos2
2
, rst show
I 1
_
r
p
r
s
+r
s
r
p
__
|r
s
|
2
tan
r
p
2
_
|r
s
|
2
+tan
2
sin2+
r
p
2
_
|r
s
|
2
tan
2
r
p
2
_
|r
s
|
2
+tan
2
cos2
Exercises for 6.B Partially Polarized Light
P6.14 (a) One way to construct a right-circular polarizer is using a quarter
wave plate with fast axis at 45
, followed by a linear polarizer oriented

vertically, and nally a quarter wave plate with fast axis at 45
. Calcu-
late the Jones matrix for this system.
Answer:
1
2
_
1 i
i 1
_
(b) Check that the device leaves right-circularly polarized light unal-
tered while killing left-circularly polarized light.
P6.15 Derive the Mueller matrix for a quarter wave plate.
Answer:
_
_
_
_
1 0 0 0
0 cos
2
2
1
2
sin4 sin2
0
1
2
sin4 sin
2
2 cos2
0 sin2 cos2 0
_
_
_
_
Chapter 7
Superposition of Quasi-Parallel
Plane Waves
To this point in our study of optical behavior, we have typically only considered
individual plane-wave elds which have uniform intensity throughout space and
time. Some optical elds can be well-approximated by a plane wave, but most
have much more complicated structure. Nevertheless, it turns out that any eld
(e.g. pulses or focused beams), regardless of how complicated, can be described
by a superposition of many plane wave elds. In this chapter, we develop the
techniques for superimposing plane waves.
We begin our analysis with a discrete sum of plane wave elds and show how
to calculate the intensity in this case. We will introduce the concept of group
velocity, which describes the motion of interference ripples resulting when
multiple plane waves are superimposed. Group velocity is distinct from phase
velocity that we encountered previously. As we saw in chapter 2, the real part of
refractive index in certain situations can be less than one, indicating superluminal
wave crest propagation (i.e. greater than c)! In this case, the group velocity is
usually less than c. Since group velocity tracks the speed of the interference
ripples, regions of light intensity tend to advance with the group velocity rather
than the phase velocity.
Beginning in section 7.3, we extend our analysis of wave superposition to
waveforms composed of continua of plane waves rather than from discrete sums.
The analysis is based on Fourier theory (see section 0.4 for a review), which in
essence is simply a tool for keeping track of the plane waves that make up a given
waveformE(r
1
, t ). Since it is easiest to deal with plane waves, we will learn how
to decompose arbitrary waveforms into plane waves for purposes of determining
effects such as propagation in a material (with a frequency-dependent index).
Conversely, we will also learn how to reassemble plane waves into a nal pulse at
the end of propagation.
Different frequency components of the waveform experience different phase
velocities, causing the waveform to undergo distortion as it propagates, a phe-
nomenon called dispersion. We shall see that the group velocity tracks the move-
169
170 Chapter 7 Superposition of Quasi-Parallel Plane Waves
ment of the center of the wave packet. For narrowband packets (i.e. packets
comprised of a narrow range of frequencies and hence long duration), the packet
tends to maintain its shape (with some spreading) while propagating at the group
velocity. On the other hand, broadband pulses (i.e. packets comprised of many
frequencies and possibly of short duration) tend to distort severely while prop-
agating in materials. Nevertheless, the group velocity tracks the center of the
pulse.
It turns out that group velocity can become superluminal when signicant
absorption and/or amplication of the light pulse is involved. This is no cause
for alarm (nor is it cause for an abundance of gee-wiz papers on the subject).
Absorption and amplication can cause a pulse to appear to move unexpectedly
fast through a reshaping effect. Group velocity, or rather its inverse group delay,
takes this into account, which makes it remarkably general. In such a scenario,
energy can be lost fromthe back of a pulse or perhaps added to an already-present
forward portionof a pulse such that the average pulse positionappears to advance
abruptly. When all energy is accounted for (both the energy in the medium and in
the light pulse), however, nothing advances faster than the universal speed limit
c. Appendix 7.B gives a good look under the hood at how a medium exchanges
energy with a pulse to produce these eye-catching effects.
Sir Isaac Newton (16431727, En-
glish) was born in Lincolnshire, England
three months after the death of his fa-
ther who was a farmer. Newton spent
much of his childhood with is maternal
grandmother, after his mother remarried.
(Newton did not like his stepfather.)
In his teenage years, Newtons mother
tried to persuade him to take up farm-
ing, but his love for education won out.
He became the top-ranked student
and was admitted into Trinity College,
Cambridge at age 18. Newton was in-
uenced by the works of Descartes,
Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler. Upon
graduation four years later, the univer-
sity closed for two years because of a
plague. Newtons return to farm life co-
incided with a remarkable period when
he rst developed ideas on calculus,
gravitation, and optics. Newton later
returned to Cambridge where he spent
his extraordinarily prolic career and
became the rst scientist to be knighted.
In optics, Newton advanced the ray the-
ory of light and image formation. He
showed that white light is comprised of
many colors and that the amount of re-
fraction depends on color. He built the
rst reecting telescope, which avoids
chromatic aberration. Newton advo-
cated against the wave theory of light in
favor of his corpuscular theory. (Imag-
ining that by this Newton foresaw the
quantized nature of light energy gives
too much credit!) (Wikipedia)
7.1 Intensity of Superimposed Plane Waves
We can construct arbitrary waveforms by adding together many plane waves with
different propagation directions, amplitudes, phases, frequencies and polariza-
tions. Consider the following discrete sum of plane waves:
E(r, t ) =
j
E
j
e
i (k
j
r
j
t )
(7.1)
The corresponding magnetic eld according to (2.56)) is
B(r, t ) =
j
B
j
e
i (k
j
r
j
t )
=
j
k
j
E
j
j
e
i (k
j
r
j
t )
(7.2)
As usual, the (time- and space-independent) individual eld components E
j
contain both amplitude and phase information for each plane wave.
The Poynting vector (2.52) associated with the elds (7.1) and (7.2) is
S(r, t ) =Re{E(r, t )}
Re{B(r, t )}
0
=
j ,m
1
0
Re
_
E
j
e
i (k
j
r
j
t )
_
_
k
m
Re
_
E
m
e
i (k
m
r
m
t )
__ (7.3)
(Recall the conspiracy that only the real parts of the elds are relevant crucial
when multiplying.) The above expression is cumbersome because of the many
cross terms that arise when the two summations are multiplied. We need some
7.1 Intensity of Superimposed Plane Waves 171
simplifying assumptions before we can make any real progress on this expression.
For example, we can time-average the rapid uctuations in the expression that
vary on the scale of optical frequencies. Additionally, it is common to encounter
the situation where all plane-wave components travel roughly parallel to each
other, which will be a big help in simplifying (7.3).
Intensity for Quasi Parallel-Traveling Light
For simplicity, we assume that all vectors k
j
are real. If the wave vectors are
complex, the result is essentially the same, but, as in (2.62), the eld amplitudes E
j
correspond to local amplitudes (adjusted for absorption or amplication during
prior propagation). We apply the BAC-CAB rule (P0.3) to (7.3) and obtain
S(r, t ) =
j ,m
1
0
_
k
m
_
Re
_
E
j
e
i
_
k
j
r
j
t
__
Re
_
E
m
e
i (k
m
r
m
t )
__
Re
_
E
m
e
i (k
m
r
m
t )
__
Re
_
E
j
e
i
_
k
j
r
j
t
__
k
m
__
(7.4)
The last term in (7.4) can be dismissed if all k-vectors are approximately parallel to
each other, in which case all of the k
m
are essentially perpendicular to each of the
E
j
. We will make this rather stringent assumption and kill the last line in (7.4). The
magnitude of the Poynting vector then becomes (with the help of (0.30))
S(r, t ) =
j ,m
k
m
0
_
_
_
E
j
e
i
_
k
j
r
j
t
_
+E
j
e
i
_
k
j
r
j
t
_
2
_
_
_
_
E
m
e
i (k
m
r
m
t )
+E
m
e
i (k
m
r
m
t )
2
_
=
j ,m
k
m
4
m
0
_
E
j
E
m
e
i
__
k
j
+k
m
_
r
_
j
+
m
_
t
_
+E
j
E
m
e
i
__
k
j
+k
m
_
r
_
j
+
m
_
t
_
+ E
j
E
m
e
i
__
k
j
k
m
_
r
_
m
_
t
_
+E
j
E
m
e
i
__
k
j
k
m
_
r
_
m
_
t
__
(parallel k-vectors)
(7.5)
The terms involving (
j
+
m
)t oscillate rapidly and time-average to zero. By
comparison, the terms involving (
j
m
)t oscillate slowly (especially when the
j
are all in the neighborhood of the
m
) or not at all when j =m. We retain the
slower uctuations and discard the rapid oscillations. For purposes of computing
the intensity (as opposed to determining phase changes with propagation) we can
approximate the index as a constant, and write k
m
/(
m
0
) n
0
c. (We seldom
measure intensity inside of materials anyway.) With these simplications, (7.5)
becomes
S(r, t )
osc
=
n
0
c
2
j ,m
E
j
E
m
e
i
__
k
j
k
m
_
r
_
m
_
t
_
+E
j
E
m
e
i
__
k
j
k
m
_
r(
n
m
)t
_
2
=
n
0
c
2
Re
_
j
E
j
e
i
_
k
j
r
j
t
_
m
E
m
e
i (k
m
r
m
t )
_
=
n
0
c
2
Re
_
E(r, t ) E
(r, t )
_
.
(parallel k-vectors) (7.6)
The nal expression in (7.6) is already manifestly real so there is no need
to apply the operation Re{}. The time-averaged intensity for light composed of
parallel wave vectors is then well-approximated by
I (r, t ) =
n
0
c
2
E(r, t ) E
(r, t ) (valid for parallel or antiparallel

k-vectors and constant n)
(7.7)
In a surprising turn of events, it is important that E(r, t ) in (7.7) be written as the
entire complex expression for the electric eld rather than just the real part. Then
(7.7) automatically time-averages over rapid oscillations in such a way that I (r, t )
retains a slowly varying time dependence. This expression is reminiscent of (2.62),
but it should be kept in mind that we previously considered only a single plane
wave (perhaps with two distinct polarization components).
If some of the k-vectors point in an anti-parallel direction, we can still use
(7.7) with negative signs entered explicitly for those components. This brings up
a distinction between irradiance S and intensity I . For example, S is zero for
standing waves because there is no net ow of energy, whereas (7.7) still gives a
result. Intensity species whether atoms locally experience an oscillating electric
eld without regard for whether there is a net owof energy carried by a light eld.
At extreme intensities, however, when the inuence of the magnetic eld becomes
comparable to that of the electric eld, the distinction between propagating and
standing elds becomes important to the behavior of charged particles in that
eld.
The assumption that all vectors k
j
are all parallel is not as serious as might
seem at rst. For example, the output of a Michelson interferometer (studied
in chapter 8) is the superposition of two elds, each composed of a range of
frequencies with parallel k
j
s. We can relax the restriction of parallel k
j
s slightly
and apply (7.7) also to plane waves with nearly parallel k
j
s such as occurs in a
Youngs two-slit diffraction experiment (studied in chapter 8). In such diffraction
problems, (7.7) is viewed as an approximation valid to the extent that the vectors
k
j
are close to parallel. For the remainder of the chapter we will assume that the
k-vectors for all frequency components in our waveform are essentially parallel.
7.2 Group vs. Phase Velocity: Sumof Two Plane Waves
To begin our study of interference, consider just two plane waves with equal
amplitudes given by
E
1
=E
0
e
i (k
1
r
1
t )
and E
2
=E
0
e
i (k
2
r
2
t )
(7.8)
As we previously studied (see P1.9), the velocities of the wave crests for these two
waves are
v
p1
=
1
/k
1
and v
p2
=
2
/k
2
(7.9)
These are known as the phase velocities of the individual plane waves.
Figure 7.1 Animation showing su-
perposition of two plane waves
(electric elds) with different fre-
quencies and traveling at different
speeds.
7.2 Group vs. Phase Velocity: Sumof Two Plane Waves 173
Next consider a composite wave created from the superposition of the above
two plane waves:
E(r, t ) =E
0
e
i (k
1
r
1
t )
+E
0
e
i (k
2
r
2
t )
(7.10)
The two plane waves interfere, producing regions of higher and lower intensity
that move in time. Remarkably, these intensity peaks can propagate at a speeds
quite different from either of the phase velocities in (7.9). The intensity (7.7) for
the eld (7.10) is computed as follows:
I (r, t ) =
n
0
c
2
E
0
E
0
_
e
i (k
1
r
1
t )
+e
i (k
2
r
2
t )
__
e
i (k
1
r
1
t )
+e
i (k
2
r
2
t )
_
=
n
0
c
2
E
0
E
0
_
2+e
i [(k
2
k
1
)r(
2
1
)t ]
+e
i [(k
2
k
1
)r(
2
1
)t ]
_
=n
0
cE
0
E
0
[1+cos[(k
2
k
1
) r (
2
1
) t ]]
=n
0
cE
0
E
0
[1+cos(k r t )]
(7.11)
where
k k
2
k
1
1
(7.12)
I
n
t
e
n
s
i
t
y
Position
Figure 7.2 Intensity of two inter-
fering plane waves. The solid line
shows intensity averaged over
rapid oscillations.
The darker line in Fig. 7.2 shows the intensity computed with (7.11). Keep in
mind that this intensity is averaged over rapid oscillations. For comparison, the
lighter line shows the Poynting ux with the rapid oscillations retained, according
to (7.5). It is left as an exercise (see P7.3) to show that the rapid-oscillation peaks
in Fig. 7.2 move with a phase velocity derived from the average k and average
of the two plane waves:
v
p

ave{}
ave{k}
(7.13)
An examination of the cosine argument in (7.11) reveals that the time-averaged
curve in Fig. 7.2 (solid) travels with speed
v
g

k
(7.14)
This is known as the group velocity. Essentially, v
g
may be thought of as the
velocity for the envelope that encloses the rapid oscillations.
In general, v
g
and v
p
are not the same. This means that as the waveform
propagates, the rapid oscillations move within the larger modulation pattern, for
example, continually disappearing at the front and reappearing at the back of
each modulation. The group velocity is identied with the propagation of overall
waveforms. The presence of eld energy in a waveform is clearly tied more to v
g
than to v
p
.
Example 7.1
Determine the phase velocity and group velocity for the superposition of two plane
waves in a plasma (see P2.7).
Solution: The index of refraction is given by
n
plasma
() =
_
1
2
p
/
2
<1 (assuming >
p
) (7.15)
The phase velocity for each frequency is computed as
v
p
=

1
+
1
n
plasma
(
1
)
1
/c +n
plasma
(
2
)
2
/c
=
c
n
plasma
()
(7.16)
For convenience, we have taken
1
and
2
to lie very close to each other. Since
n
plasma
<1, both of these velocities exceed c. However, the group velocity is
v
g
=

k
=
d
dk
=
_
dk
d
_
1
=
_
d
d
n
plasma
()
c
_
1
=n
plasma
() c (7.17)
which is clearly less than c. The derivation of the nal expression in (7.17) from
the previous one is left as an exercise.
John William Strutt (3rd Baron
Rayleigh) (18421919, British) was
born in Langford Grove, Essex, Eng-
land and was frequently ill during in
his youth. He entered the University of
Cambridge in 1861 and graduated four
years later as senior wrangle in mathe-
matics. He married in 1871 and became
the father of three sons. In 1873, Strutt
inherited the Barony of Rayleigh (and
the title Lord Rayleigh) from his father
who died that year. In 1879 Strutt suc-
ceeded James Clerk Maxwell as the
Cavendish Professor of Physics at Cam-
bridge. Rayleigh studied a wide variety
of subjects. He is credited with the dis-
covery of argon. He studied how atoms
scatter light (Rayleigh scattering) and
explained why the sky is blue. He devel-
oped the notion of group velocity and
used it to understand the propagation
of sound. He won the Nobel prize in
physics in 1904. (Wikipedia)
Example 7.1 illustrates that in an environment where the index of refraction is
real (i.e. no net exchange of energy with the medium), the group velocity does not
exceed c, even when the phase velocity does. The fast-moving phase velocity
v
p
result merely from an interplay between the eld and the plasma. In a similar
sense, the intersection of an ocean wave with the shoreline can also exceed c, if
different points on the wave front happen to strike the shore nearly simultane-
ously. The point of intersection between the wave and the shoreline does not
constitute an actual object under motion. Similarly, wave crests of individual
plane waves do not necessarily constitute actual objects that are moving. In short,
v
p
is not the relevant speed at which events up stream inuence events down
stream.
Individual plane waves have innite length and innite duration. They do not
exist in isolation except in our imagination. All real waveforms are comprised of a
range of frequency components, and so interference always happens. Energy is
associated with regions of constructive interference between those waves. Group
velocity v
g
tracks the presence of eld energy, whether that energy propagates or
is extracted from a medium. Although sometimes v
g
can exceed c (i.e. when ab-
sorption or amplication is involved), energy is never transported faster than the
universal speed limit c. An examination of energy ow is given in Appendix 7.B.
7.3 Frequency Spectrumof Light
A waveform constructed from a discrete sum (as in the previous two sections)
must eventually repeat over and over (i.e. it is periodic). To create a waveformthat
does not repeat (e.g. a single laser pulse or, technically speaking, any waveform
that exists in the physical world since no light source repeats forever) we must
replace the discrete sum (7.1) with an integral that combines a continuum of
plane waves. Such a waveform at a point r can be expressed as
E(r, t ) =
1
E(r, ) e
i t
d (7.18)
7.3 Frequency Spectrumof Light 175
The function E(r, ), called the spectrum, has units of eld per frequency. Essen-
tially, it gives the amplitude and phase of each plane wave that makes up the over-
all waveform. It includes any spatially dependent factors such as exp{i k() r}.
We distinguish the spectrumE(r, ) from the wholly separate function E(r, t ) by
its argument (i.e. instead of t ). (Sorry for using E for both functions, but this is
standard notation.) The operation (7.18) is called an inverse Fourier transform
as outlined in section 0.4; actually, it would be a good idea to review section 0.4
thoroughly. Now. Why havent you turned to section 0.4 yet? The factor 1/
2 is
introduced to match our Fourier-transform convention. Regardless of what the
function is called, please notice that (7.18) merely sums together a range of plane
waves in much the same way that our earlier discrete summation (7.1) does.
If we already have/know a waveform E(r, t ), one might wonder what plane
waves should be added together in order to construct it. Equation (7.18) can be
inverted, which remarkably has a very similar form:
E(r, ) =
1
E(r, t ) e
i t
dt (7.19)
This operation is called the Fourier transform. It is used to generate the spectrum
E(r, ) from the eld E(r, t ) in much the same way that (7.18) is used to generate
the eld E(r, t ) from the spectrum E(r, ).
Although only the real part of E(r, t ) is physically relevant, we can continue
our habit of working with the complex eld and taking the real part of E(r, t ) at
our leisure.
1
In fact, we will nd it advantageous to work with the complex eld
instead of only the real part. We will not run into trouble as long as we remember
never to discard the imaginary part of E(r, ), only the imaginary part of E(r, t ).
The intensity formula (7.7) remains useful for continuous superpositions of
plane waves (i.e. a eld dened by the inverse Fourier transform (7.18)):
I (r, t )
n
0
c
2
E(r, t ) E
(r, t ) (7.20)
Remember, this formula specically requires the elds to be in complex for-
mat, and it takes care of the time-average over rapid oscillations automatically.
2
Moreover, the above expression for I (r, t ) assumes that all relevant k-vectors are
essentially parallel.
Similarly, we will dene the power spectrumproduced from E(r, ), which we
write as
I (r, )
n
0
c
2
E(r, ) E
(r, ) (7.21)
1
Since Fourier transforms are linear, one can take the Fourier transformof the real and imaginary
parts of a eld separately. Appropriate modications to E(r, ) in the frequency domain will not
cause the two parts to become mingled. Upon taking the inverse Fourier transform to obtain E(r, t )
again, the original real part remains purely real, and the original imaginary part remains purely
imaginary.
2
To use this expression there needs to be a sufcient number of oscillations within the waveform
to make the rapid time average meaningful.
The power spectrum I (r, ) is what one observes when the waveform is sent into
a spectral analyzer or spectrometer. We must apologize again for the potentially
confusing notation (in wide usage): I (r, ) is not the Fourier transform of I (r, t )!
They are dened exclusively through (7.18) and (7.21).
Parsevals theorem(see example 0.7) imposes an interesting connection be-
tween the time-integral of the intensity and the frequency-integral of the power
spectrum:
I (r, t )dt =
I (r, ) d (7.22)
With the above formalities out of the way, we will illustrate the use of Fourier
transforms through some examples.
Figure 7.3 Real part of electric
eld (7.23) with T = 4/
0
and
T = 10/
0
, where 2/
0
is the
period of the carrier frequency.
Example 7.2
Find E(r, ) associated with the eld
E(r, t ) =E
0
(r) e
t
2
_
2T
2
e
i
0
t
(7.23)
The real part of this eld is shown in Fig. 7.4 for two different durations T. The
intensity prole computed by (7.20) is shown in Fig. 7.3 .
Solution: The argument r is unimportant to our calculation. It merely species
that we are considering the eld at the point r. We compute the Fourier transform
as follows:
E(r, ) =
1
E
0
(r) e
t
2
_
2T
2
e
i
0
t
e
i t
dt
=
E
0
(r)
e
t
2
/2T
2
+i (
0
)t
dt
(7.24)
This integral can be performed with the help of (0.55), and we obtain
Figure 7.4 The intensity (7.20) of
the elds in Fig. 7.3.
E(r, ) =TE
0
(r) e
T
2
(
0
)
2
2
(7.25)
Notice that E(r, ) has units of Field multiplied by time, or in other words, eld per
frequency.
In general, E(r, ) is a complex function. E(r, ) keeps track of the amplitude
and phase of each plane wave needed to compose the waveform E(r, t ). More of-
ten than not, E(r, ) exhibits a complicated complex phase structure, depending
on the time-shape of E(r, t ).
The spectrum (7.19) of the eld in example 7.2 is shown in Fig. 7.5. The
complex phase turns out to be boringly uniform for this example; if E
0
is real,
the imaginary part of the spectrum turns out to be zero for all frequencies. The
corresponding power spectrum (7.21) is plotted in Fig. 7.6. As expected, the
waveform includes frequencies in the neighborhood of
0
. A range of frequencies
7.3 Frequency Spectrumof Light 177
are needed to construct waveforms that turns on and off. The shorter the duration
of the waveform, the more frequency components that are necessary. This trend
can be seen for the two pulse durations T plotted.
Figure 7.5 Spectral components
(7.25) of the elds in Fig. 7.3 with
T =4/
0
and T =10/
0
, where
2/
0
is the period of the carrier
frequency.
Example 7.3
Check Parsevals theorem for the eld and spectrum in Example 7.2.
Solution: The time integration in (7.22) yields
I (r, t )dt =
n
0
c
2
E
0
(r) E
0
(r)
e
t
2
_
T
2
dt
=
n
0
c
2
E
0
(r) E
0
(r) T
where we have used (0.55) to perform the integration. This result has units of
energy per area. It is the energy per area absorbed by a detector after the pulse has
concluded. The frequency integration in (7.22) yields
I (r, ) d=
n
0
c
2
E
0
(r) E
0
(r) T
2
e
T
2
(
0
)
2
d
=
n
0
c
2
E
0
(r) E
0
(r) T
2
T
which is the same answer.
Figure 7.6 Power spectrum based
on (7.28) for the spectral compo-
nents shown in Fig. 7.5.
As mentioned previously, the inverse Fourier transform is interpreted as sum-
ming together many plane waves to create a waveform.
Example 7.4
Take the inverse Fourier transform of (7.25) to recover the original waveform (7.23).
Solution: The inverse Fourier transform (eq:7.4.1) is
E(r, t ) =
1
E(r, ) e
i t
d
=
TE
0
(r)
T
2
(
0
)
2
2
e
i t
d
=
TE
0
(r)
T
2
2
2
+(T
2
0
i t )
T
2
0
2
2
d
(7.26)
This integral can be performed with the help of (0.55), which gives
E(r, t ) =
TE
0
(r)
2
_

T
2
/2
e
(
T
2
0
i t
)
2
4
(
T
2
/2
)

T
2
2
0
2
=E
0
(r) e
t
2
_
2T
2
e
i
0
t
Since only the real part of the time prole E(r, t ) is physically relevant, you
might be curious about how the Fourier transform of the real part of the eld
compares with that of the complex version of the eld that we have been using.
Indeed, there are situations where it is more appropriate to use the real version
of the eld rather than its complex form. For example, if a waveform includes
multiple propagation directions or if a waveform contains only a few cycles, then
the motivation/interpretation behind (7.20) and the convenience of the complex
format begins to wane.
Figure 7.7 Spectrum based on
(7.28) with T =10/
0
. Compare
with the lower curve in Fig. 7.5
Example 7.5
Take the Fourier transform of just the real part of waveform (7.23).
Solution: The real part of (7.23) is
E
r
(r, t ) =
E(r, t ) +E
(r, t )
2
=e
t
2
_
2T
2 E
0
(r) e
i
0
t
+E
0
(r) e
i
0
t
2
(7.27)
If E
0
(r) is real, then this eld can be written as E
0
(r) e
t
2
/2T
2
cos(
0
t ). The Fourier
transform (7.19) yields (see P0.24)
E
r
(r, ) =T
E
0
(r) e
T
2
(+
0
)
2
2
+E
0
(r) e
T
2
(
0
)
2
2
2
(7.28)
The spectrum is shown in Fig. 7.7.
From the above example, you might notice that the transform of the real
part of a eld tends to be more cumbersome than the transform of the entire
complex eld. For the real eld, bothpositive andnegative frequency components
contribute to the over all spectrum.
3
Moreover, the Fourier transform of a real
function E
r
(r, t ) obeys the following symmetry relation:
E
r
(r, ) =E
r
(r, ) (if E
r
(r, t ) is real) (7.29)
The spectrum in Fig. 7.7 obeys this symmetry relation, whereas the Fourier trans-
form of the complex eld depicted in Fig. 7.5 does not.
7.4 Packet Propagation and Group Delay
Once we have the spectrum for a waveform (obtained by Fourier transform),
we can apply effects to the individual spectral components. In particular, we
can nd how an overall waveform propagates in a uniform medium by taking
3
Essentially, the spectrum of the complex representation of the eld can be understood to be
twice the spectrum of the real representation, but plotted only for the positive frequencies.
7.4 Packet Propagation and Group Delay 179
advantage of our knowledge of how individual plane waves propagate (as studied
in chapter 2). At any point in the medium, we can perform an inverse Fourier
transform, which recombines spectral components (i.e. plane waves) to reveal
how the overall waveform looks as a function of time. Thus, we will be able to
predict the temporal prole of a waveform at any location given knowledge of
that waveform at another location.
4
Let E(r
0
, t ) be the temporal prole of a pulse at some point r
0
in a medium.
The spectrum of this pulse E(r
0
, ) (found using (7.19)) gives the amplitudes and
phases of the individual plane wave components at the point r
0
. We already
know how to propagate individual plane waves through a material (see (2.20)). A
phase shift associated with a displacement r modies the spectral components
according to
E(r
0
+r, ) =E(r
0
, ) e
i k()r
(7.30)
The k-vector contains the frequency-dependent information about the material
via k = n()/c. (A complex wave vector k may also be used if absorption or
amplication is present.) We take the inverse Fourier transform of E(r
0
+r, ) at
the new position to determine the waveform E(r
0
+r, t ):
E(r
0
+r, t ) =
1
E(r
0
+r, )e
i t
d
=
1
E(r
0
, )e
i (k()rt )
d (7.31)
Example 7.6 If a waveform at r
0
=0 has the formE(0, t ) =E
0
e
t
2
/2T
2
e
i
0
t
,
compute the waveform at r = z z if propagation occurs in vacuum in the
z-direction.
Solution: Of course, after traversing r =z z in vacuum, the waveform will
look the same, only arriving a time z/c later. Well demonstrate that the
tools described above yield this expected result. The Fourier transform of
the Gaussian pulse is given in (7.25):
E(0, ) =TE
0
e
T
2
(
0)
2
2
To nd the eld downstream we invoke (7.30), assuming k() =k
vac
() z =
c
z, which gives the appropriate phase shift for each plane wave compo-
nent:
E(z, ) =E(0, ) e
i k()r
=TE
0
e
T
2
(
0)
2
2
e
i

c
z
4
See J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics, 3rd ed., Sect. 7.8 (New York: John Wiley, 1999).
We compute the nal waveform using (7.31) and obtain
E(z, t ) =
1
E
0
Te
T
2
(
0)
2
2
e
i

c
z
e
i t
d=E
0
e
(t z/c)
2
2T
2
e
i
0
(t z/c)
(7.32)
Not surprisingly, after traveling a distance z though vacuum, the pulse looks
identical to the original pulse, only delayed by time z/c.
A waveform propagating in a material such as glass can undergo signicant
temporal dispersion, as different frequency components experience different
indices of refraction. Each frequency component propagates at its own phase
velocity. The speed of the pulse, however, can be quite different; it propagates
approximately with the group velocity, as will be shown below.
The exponent in (7.30) is called the phase delay for the pulse propagation. It
is often expanded in a Taylor series about the pulse carrier frequency
0
:
k r
=
_
k|
0
+
k
0
(
0
) +
1
2
2
k
0
(
0
)
2
+
_
r (7.33)
The k-vector has a sometimes-complicated frequency dependence through the
functional form of n(). If we retain only the rst two terms in this expansion
then (7.31) becomes
E(r
0
+r, t ) =
1
E(r
0
, )e
i
__
k(
0
)+
k
0
(
0
)
_
rt
_
d
= e
i
_
k(
0
)
0
k
0
_
r
1
E(r
0
, ) e
i
_
t
k
0
r
_
d
= e
i [k(
0
)r
0
t
]
1
E(r
0
, ) e
i (t t
)
d (7.34)
where in the last line we have introduced by denition
t
0
r
=
Rek
0
r (7.35)
and assumed that the imaginary part of k is roughly constant near
0
so that t
is
real. Then the integral in (7.34) is recognized as simply the Fourier transform of
the original pulse with a new time argument:
E(r
0
+r, t ) =E
_
r
0
, t t
_
e
i (k(
0
)r
0
t
)
(7.36)
Notice that (7.32) from example 7.6 agrees with this result, since k
vac
(
0
) r =
0
z/c. The second factor in (7.36) merely gives an overall phase shift due to prop-
agation. The phase shift is dictated by the phase velocity of the carrier frequency
(see (7.9)):
v
p
(
0
) =

0
k (
0
)
(7.37)
7.5 Quadratic Dispersion 181
Otherwise (7.36) is unaltered except for a delay t
, the time required for the pulse

to traverse the displacement r.
The function Rek
_
r is known as the group delay function, and in (7.35)
it is evaluated only at the carrier frequency
0
. Traditional group velocity is
obtained by dividing the displacement r by the group delay time t
to obtain
v
1
g
(
0
) =
Re{k()}
0
(7.38)
Group delay (or group velocity) essentially tracks the center of the packet.
In our derivation we have assumed that the phase delay k()r could be well-
represented by the rst two terms of the expansion (7.33). While this assumption
gives results that are often useful, higher-order terms can also play a role. In
section 7.5 well nd that the next termin the expansion controls the rate at which
the wave packet spreads as it travels. We should also note that there are times
when the expansion (7.33) fails to converge (when
0
is near a resonance of the
medium), and the above expansion approach is not valid. Well analyze pulse
propagation in these sticky situations in section 7.6.
7.5 Quadratic Dispersion
A light pulse traversing a material in general undergoes dispersion when different
frequency components propagate with different phase velocities. As an example,
consider a short laser pulse traversing an optical component such as a lens or
window, as depicted in Fig. 7.8. The short light pulse can broaden in time
5
with
the different frequency components becoming separated (often called stretching
or chirping). If absorption (and surface reections) can be neglected, then the
amplitude of E(r, ) does not change only its phase changes and the power
spectrum (7.21) remains unaltered.
25 fs
56 fs
Figure 7.8 A 25 fs pulse traversing
a 1 cm piece of BK7 glass.
Consider light traveling in a material such as glass. Let the plane-wave com-
ponents all point in the z-direction. We place r
0
at the start of the glass where we
assign z =0, so that k r =kz. Let the polarization of the eld be the same for all
frequencies.
To nd the waveform at the new position z (where the pulse presumably
has just exited the glass), we take the inverse Fourier transform (7.31). However,
before doing this we must specify the function k (). In general, with the exact
functional formfor the index the inverse Fourier transformcan only be performed
numerically. For our present purposes, we again resort to an expansion of the
type (7.33), but this time we will keep one additional term:
k () z
=k
0
z +v
1
g
(
0
) z +(
0
)
2
z +... (7.39)
5
where
k
0
k (
0
) =

0
n(
0
)
c
(7.40)
v
1
g

k
0
=
n(
0
)
c
+
0
n
(
0
)
c
(7.41)
1
2
2
k
0
=
n
(
0
)
c
+
0
n
(
0
)
2c
(7.42)
As before, we have supposed that the imaginary part of the index is negligible.
Example 7.7 A Gaussian waveform similar to that in example 7.6 propa-
gates throught a piece of glass with thickness r =z. Compute the wave-
form exiting the glass.
Solution: Again, the Fourier transform of the Gaussian pulse before propa-
gation is given by (7.25):
E(0, ) =TE
0
e
T
2
(
0)
2
2
With the aid of expansion (7.39), the inverse Fourier transform(7.31) (which
yields the pulse after propagation) becomes
E(z, t ) =
1
E
0
Te
T
2
(
0)
2
2
e
i k
0
z+i v
1
g
(
0
)z+i (
0
)
2
z
e
i t
d
=
TE
0
e
i (k
0
z
0
t )
e
(T
2
/2i z)(
0
)
2
e
i v
1
g
(
0
)zi (
0
)t
d
(7.43)
We can avoid considerable clutter if we change variables to

0
.
Then the inverse Fourier transform becomes
E(z, t ) =
TE
0
e
i (k
0
z
0
t )
T
2
2
(1i 2z/T
2
)
2
i (t z/v
g )
(7.44)
The above integral can be performed with the aid of (0.55). The result is
E(z, t ) =
TE
0
e
i (k
0
z
0
t )
2
_

T
2
2
_
1i 2z/T
2
_
e
(
t z/vg )
2
4
T
2
2
(
1i 2z/T
2
)
=E
0
e
i (k
0
z
0
t )
e
i
2
tan
1 2z
T
2
4
_
1+
_
2z/T
2
_
2
e
(
t z/vg )
2
2T
2
_
1+
(
2z/T
2
)
2
_
(1+i 2z/T
2
)
(7.45)
7.6 Generalized Context for Group Delay 183
Next, we spruce up the appearance of this rather cumbersome formula as
follows:
E(z, t ) =
E
0
_

T(z)/T
e
(
t z/vg )
2
2

T
2
(z)
e
i
(
t z/vg )
2
2

T
2
(z)
(z)+i (k
0
z
0
t )+i
1
2
tan
1
(z)
(7.46)
where
(z)
2
T
2
z (7.47)
and
T(z) T
_
1+
2
(z) (7.48)
Figure 7.9 Animation of a
Gaussian-envelope pulse (elec-
tric eld) undergoing dispersion
during transit.
We can immediately make a few observation about (7.46). First, note that
at z = 0 (i.e. zero thickness of glass), (7.46) reduces to the input pulse E(0, t ) =
E
0
e
t
2
/2T
2
e
i
0
t
, as it should. Secondly, the peak of the pulse moves at speed v
g
since the factor e
(t z/v
g )
2
/2

T
2
(z)
controls the pulse amplitude, while the other
terms (multiplied by i ) in the exponent of (7.46) merely alter the phase. Also
note that the duration of the pulse increases and its peak intensity decreases as it
travels, since

T(z) increases with z. In P7.8 we will nd that (7.46) also predicts
that for large z, the eld of the spread-out pulse oscillates less rapidly at the begin-
ning of the pulse than at the end (assuming >0). This phenomenon, known as
pulse chirping, means that red frequencies get ahead of blue frequencies during
propagation since the red frequencies experience a lower index of refraction.
While example 7.7 is worked out for the specic case of a Gaussian pulse,
the results are qualitatively similar for all pulses. The exact details vary with
pulse shape, but all short pulses eventually broaden and chirp as they propagate
through a dispersive medium such as glass. Higher-order terms in the expansion
(7.33) that were neglected cause additional spreading, chirping, and other defor-
mations to the pulses as they propagates. The inuence of each order becomes
progressively more cumbersome to study analytically. In that case, it is easier to
perform the inverse Fourier transform numerically; there is no need to resort to
the expansion k() if the integration is done numerically.
7.6 Generalized Context for Group Delay
parts of the refractive index for an
absorptive medium.
The expansion of k() in (7.33) is inconvenient if the frequency content (band-
width) of a waveform encompasses a substantial portion of a resonance structure.
In this case, it becomes necessary to retain a large number of terms in (7.33) to
describe accurately the phase delay k() r. Moreover, if the bandwidth of the
waveform is wider than the spectral resonance of the medium (such as shown
in Fig. 7.10), the series altogether fails to converge. These difculties have led
to the traditional viewpoint that group velocity loses meaning for broadband
waveforms near a resonance. In this section, we study a broader context for group
velocity (or rather its inverse, group delay dk/d), which is always valid, even for
Detector Detector
Initial Pulse
Final Pulse
Figure 7.11 Transit time dened as the difference between arrival time at two points.
broadband pulses where the expansion (7.33) utterly fails. The analysis avoids
the expansion and so is not restricted to a narrowband context.
We are interested in the arrival time of a waveform (or pulse) to a point, say,
where a detector is located. The denition of the arrival time of pulse energy
need only involve the Poynting ux (or the intensity), since it alone is responsible
for energy transport. To deal with arbitrary broadband pulses, the arrival time
should avoid presupposing a specic pulse shape, since the pulse may evolve
in complicated ways during propagation. For example, the pulse peak or the
midpoint on the rising edge of a pulse are poor indicators of arrival time if the
pulse contains multiple peaks or a long and non-uniform rise time.
For the reasons given, we use a time expectation integral (or time center-of-
mass) to describe the arrival time of a pulse:
t
r
t I (r, t ) dt
I (r, t ) dt
(7.49)
For simplication, we have assumed that the light travels in a uniform direction
by using intensity rather than the Poynting vector.
Consider a pulse as it travels from point r
0
to point r =r
0
+r in a homoge-
neous medium. The difference in arrival times at the two points is
t t
r
t
r
0
(7.50)
The pulse shape can evolve in complicated ways between the two points, spread-
ing with different portions being absorbed (or amplied) during transit as de-
picted in Fig. 7.11. Nevertheless, (7.50) renders an unambiguous time interval
between the passage of the pulse center at each point.
This difference in arrival time can be shown to consist of two terms (see
P7.11):
6
t =t
G
(r) +t
R
(r
0
) (7.51)
The rst term, called the net group delay, dominates if the eld waveform is
initially symmetric in time (e.g. an unchirped Gaussian). It amounts to a spectral
6
M. Ware, S. A. Glasgow, and J. Peatross, The Role of Group Velocity in Tracking Field Energy in
Linear Dielectrics, Opt. Express textbf9, 506-518 (2001).
7.6 Generalized Context for Group Delay 185
average of the group delay function taken with respect to the spectral content of
the pulse arriving at the nal point r =r
0
+r:
t
G
(r) =
I (r, )
_
Rek
r
_
d
I (r, ) d
(7.52)
where I (r, ) is given in (7.21). The two curves in Fig. 7.12 show I (r
0
, ) (before
propagation) and I (r, ) (after propagation) for an initially Gaussian pulse. As
seen in (7.52), the pulse travel time depends on the spectral shape of the pulse at
the end of propagation.
After Propagation
Before Propagation
Figure 7.12 Normalized power
spectrum of a broadband pulse
before and after propagation
through an absorbing medium
with the complex index shown in
Fig. 7.10. The absorption line eats
a hole in the spectrum.
Note the close resemblance between the formulas (7.49) and (7.52). Both are
expectation integrals. The former is executed as a center-of-mass integral on
time; the latter is executed in the frequency domain on Rek r/, the group
delay function (7.38). The group delay at every frequency present in the pulse
inuences the result. If the pulse has a narrow bandwidth in the neighborhood of
0
, the integral reduces to Rek/|
0
r, inagreement with(7.38) (see P7.9). The
net group delay depends only on the spectral content of the pulse, independent
of its temporal organization (i.e., the phase of E(r, ) has no inuence). Only the
real part of the k-vector plays a direct role in (7.52).
Figure 7.13 The center of a
chirped pulse can shift owing
to the reshaping effect when spec-
trum is removed.
The second term in (7.51), called the reshaping delay, represents a delay
that arises solely from a reshaping of the spectral amplitude. Often this term is
negligible. The term takes into account how the pulse time center-of-mass shifts
as portions of the spectrum are removed (or added), as illustrated in Fig. 7.13. It
is computed at r
0
before propagation takes place:
7
t
R
(r
0
) = t
r
0
altered
t
r
0
(7.53)
Here t
r
0
represents the usual arrival time of the pulse at the initial point r
0
,
according to (7.49). The intensity at this point is associated with a eld E(r
0
, t )
whose spectrum is E(r
0
, ). On the other hand, t
r
0
altered
is the arrival time of
a pulse with modied spectrum E(r
0
, ) e
Imkr
. Notice that E(r
0
, ) e
Imkr
is
still evaluated at the initial point r
0
. Only the spectral amplitude (not the phase)
is modied, according to what is anticipated to be lost (or gained) during the trip.
In contrast to the net group delay, the reshaping delay is sensitive to how a pulse
is organized. The reshaping delay is negligible if the pulse is initially symmetric
(in amplitude and phase) before propagation. The reshaping delay also goes to
zero in the narrowband limit, and the total delay reduces to the net group delay.
Example 7.8
Find the time required for a Gaussian pulse (7.23) to traverse a slab of absorption
material (neglecting possible surface reections). Let the material response be
7
The reshaping delay can instead be computed after propagation takes place, in which case the
net group delay should be computed with the initial rather than nal spectrum.
described by the Lorentz model described in section 2.2 with the carrier frequency
of the pulse
0
, coinciding with the material resonance frequency. Let the slab
have thickness r =c
1
/10 and absorption strength
2
p
=10.
Solution: The spectrum of the initially Gaussian pulse is given by (7.25), and its
power spectrum is
8
I (r
0
, ) e
T
2
(
0
)
2
After propagating from r
0
to r =r
0
+r , the power spectrum becomes
I (r, ) e
T
2
(
0
)
2
e
2
()
c
r
The net group delay is then
t
G
(r) =r
I (r, )
_
(n/c)
_
d
I (r, )d
=
r
c
e
T
2
(
0
)
2
e
2
c
r
_
n +
n
_
d
e
T
2
(
0
)
2
e
2
c
r
d
The index of refraction n +i is given by (2.39) (see also (2.27) and (2.29)). Since
the expressions for n and are complicated, the integration in the above formula
must be performed numerically.
The result when T =T
1
=10
1
/
2 (narrowband) is
t
G
=5.1/ =51r /c =0.72T
1
and the result when T =T
2
=
1
/
2 (broadband) is
t
G
=0.67/ =6.7r /c =0.95T
2
The reshaping delay 7.53 in both cases is negligible.
Figure 7.14 Animation compar-
ing narrowband vs. broadband
Gaussian pulses traversing an
absorbing slab (green stripe) on
resonance. Note the logarithmic
scale. See Example 7.8.
The narrowband pulse (with duration T
1
) in Example 7.8 traverses the ab-
sorbing medium superluminally (i.e. faster than c). The negative transit time
means that the center-of-mass of the exiting pulse emerges even before the
center-of-mass of the entering pulse reaches the medium! On the other hand,
the broadband pulse (with the shorter duration T
2
) has a large positive delay time,
indicating that the exiting pulse emerges subluminally.
Figure 7.14 shows the intensity proles for these two pulses as they traverse
the absorption slab, calculated with the aid of (7.31). By eye, one can see how
the centers of the two pulses are either advanced or delayed as they go through
the absorption medium. In both cases, the pulse that emerges is well within
the envelope of the original pulse propagated forward at c. In the case of the
broadband pulse, the absorption peak eats a hole in the center of the spectrum
as shown in Fig. 7.12, causing the emerging pulse to be distorted in time. The
analysis in this section predicts the center of pulses, whereas to see the shape of
pulses one needs to calculate (7.31).
Figure 7.15 Delay as a function of
pulse duration.
8
In general, one should write
0
to distinguish the carrier frequency of the pulse from the
resonance frequency of the material
0
; in practice, these are often different.
7.A Pulse Chirping in a Grating Pair 187
The results for the two pulse durations in example 7.8 indicate a trend. Su-
perluminal behavior only occurs for long boring pulses. In the case of a single
absorption resonance, this comes with a severe cost of attenuation. Figure 7.15
shows the delay time as a function of pulse duration. As the injected pulse be-
comes more sharply dened in time, the superluminal behavior does not persist.
Sharply dened waveforms (i.e. broadband) cannot propagate superluminally
precisely because much of their bandwidth lies away from the frequencies with
superluminal group delays.
It should be mentioned that superluminal cannot persist for indenite dis-
tances since the medium eventually removes the superluminal spectral com-
ponents through absorption (or else adds subluminal spectral components in
the case of amplication). This limits the amount that a pulse center can be
advancedon the scale of the pulses own duration.
Figure 7.16 Narrowband pulse
traversing an absorbing medium.
As we saw for the absorption situation the exiting pulse is tiny and resides
well within the original envelope of the pulse propagated forward at speed c,
as depicted in Fig. 7.16. Without the absorbing material in place, the signal
would be detectable just as early. This statement is also true for any spectral
behavior of a medium, including amplifying media. you can use the Lorentz
model (2.40) to describe an amplifying mediumwith a negative oscillator strength
f . Figure 7.17 shows narrowband and broadband pulse traversing an amplifying
medium. In this case, superluminal behavior occurs for spectra near by but not
on an amplifying resonance. If the pulse is too broadband, its spectrum will be
amplied, which adds slower components to the overall group delay.
Figure 7.17 Animation compar-
ing narrowband vs. broadband
Gaussian pulses traversing an am-
plifying slab (green stripe) slightly
off resonance.
Appendix 7.A Pulse Chirping in a Grating Pair
Grating pairs can be used to introduce large amounts of dispersion into a light
pulse. Gratings are especially useful for amplication of ultrashort laser pulses,
where laser pulses are rst stretched in time before amplication (to prevent
damage to the amplier) and then compressed back to short duration just before
the experiment (called chirped pulse amplication). Diffraction from a grating
causes each k-vector to travel at a different angle. A second grating parallel to the
rst can realign all of the k-vectors to be parallel to each other. Since laser beams
are not innitely wide, the light is typically sent through the grating pair twice
to undo the tendency of the different frequency components becoming laterally
separated. In the present analysis, we will consider an innitely wide plane wave
pulse incident upon grating. The scenario is depicted in Fig. 7.19: A short plane
wave pulse strikes the grating at an angle, and a spreading pulse emerges.
Consider a plane-wave pulse that ricochets between a pair of parallel grating
surfaces. Although different k-vectors point with different angles, they are all
straightened out upon diffracting from the second grating. For simplicity, we will
consider a pulse just before the rst bounce and just after the second bounce,
even though we are interested in the dispersion that takes place between the
gratings. Therefore, we can consider all k-vectors as being parallel with each
other.
First
Grating
Second
Grating
Figure 7.18 Direction of k-vector
between parallel gratings (top
view). Grating rulings run in and
out of the page.
Consider the a plane wave incident on a grating at an incident angle
i
with
respect to the grating normal (aligned with the x-axis in our coordinate system)
as depicted in Fig. 7.18. The plane wave diffracts from the rst grating at an angle
r
(also referenced fromthe grating normal). This angle is governed by the grating
diffraction formula
9
r
() =sin
1
_
2c
d
sin
i
_
(7.54)
where d is the grating groove spacing. By examining the geometry of the gure,
we see that the reected k-vector is given by k =
_
xcos
r
+ ysin
r
_
/c.
Suppose we know the pulse at a point r
0
on the rst grating. Next we choose a
point r
0
+r on the second grating where we will determine the outgoing pulse.
Since we are considering an innitely wide plane-wave pulse, it doesnt matter
where we choose that point as long as it lies on the surface of the second grating.
The waveform will be the same everywhere along the surface of the second gratin,
only its arrival time will trivially differ. For convenience, we might as well take the
second point to be r
0
+r =r
0
+L x as shown in Fig. 7.18.
The phase delay needed for (7.30) becomes
k() r =
L
c
cos
r
(7.55)
We will express this as a Taylor-series expansion similar to (7.39) so that we can
perform the inverse Fourier transform analytically. We will approximate (7.55) as
k() r k
0
L +v
1
g
(
0
) L +(
0
)
2
L + (7.56)
so that we can take advantage of formula (7.46). To calculate the terms in this
expansion we will need the derivative of
r
:
d
r
d
=
1
_
1
_
2c
d
sin
i
_
2
_
2c
2
d
_
=
1
_
1sin
2
r
_
2c
2
d
_
=
2c
2
d cos
r
=
sin
i
+sin
r
cos
r
(7.57)
The derivatives necessary for the Taylors series expansion are
dk
d
r =
L
c
_
cos
r
sin
r
d
r
d
_
=
L
c
_
cos
r
+sin
r
sin
i
+sin
r
cos
r
_
=
L
c
_
1+sin
r
sin
i
cos
r
_
(7.58)
9
This formula is equivalent to d sin
i
+d sin
r
= with =2c/.
7.B Causality and Exchange of Energy with the Medium 189
and
d
2
k
d
2
r =
L
c
_
sin
i
+
sin
r
(1+sin
r
sin
i
)
cos
2
r
_
d
r
d
=
L
c
_
sin
i
+sin
r
cos
2
r
__
sin
i
+sin
r
cos
r
_
=
L
c
(sin
i
+sin
r
)
2
cos
3
r
(7.59)
The coefcients in (7.56) then are
k
0
k|
r
L
=

0
c
(7.60)
v
1
g

dk
d
r
L
=
1+sin
r
sin
i
c cos
r
0
(7.61)
1
2
d
2
k
d
2
r
L
=
(sin
i
+sin
r
)
2
2ccos
3
0
(7.62)
In the case of a Gaussian pulse, we can employ (7.46), where L takes the place of
z, and k
0
, v
1
g
and are dened by (7.60) (7.62). The duration of the pulse is
controlled by (7.62) and the spacing between the gratings L.
Figure 7.19 Animation showing a
short plane-wave pulse diffracting
from a grating positioned along
the left edge of the frame.
Appendix 7.B Causality and Exchange of Energy with the
Medium
The group delay function indicates the average arrival of eld energy to a point.
Since this is only part of the whole energy story, there is no problem when it
becomes superluminal. The overly rapid appearance of electromagnetic energy at
one point and its simultaneous disappearance at another point merely indicates
an exchange of energy between the electric eld and the medium.
10
We should not be dazzled by the magician who invites the audience to look
only at the eld energy while energy transfers into and out of the unwatched
domain of the medium. Extra eld energy seems to appear prematurely down-
stream only if there is already non-zero eld energy downstream to stimulate a
transfer of energy from the medium. The actual transport of energy is strictly
bounded by c; superluminal propagation of a signal front is impossible.
In accordance with Poyntings theorem (2.51), the total energy density stored
in an electromagnetic eld and in a medium is given by
u(r, t ) =u
eld
(r, t ) +u
med
(r, t ) +u(r, ) (7.63)
where the time-dependent accumulation of energy transferred into the medium
from the eld (ignoring possible free current J
free
) is
u
med
(r, t ) =
t
_
E
_
r, t
P
_
r, t
_
t
dt
(7.64)
10
M. Ware, S. A. Glasgow, and J. Peatross, Energy Transport in Linear Dielectrics, Opt. Express 9,
519-532 (2001).
The expression (7.63) for the energy density includes all (relevant) forms of energy,
including a non-zero integration constant u(r, ) corresponding to energy
stored in the medium before the arrival of any pulse (important in the case of an
amplifying medium). u
eld
(r, t ) and u
med
(r, t ) are both zero before the arrival of
the pulse (i.e. at t =). In addition, u
eld
(r, t ), given by (2.53), returns to zero
after the pulse has passed (i.e. at t =+).
As u
med
increases, the energy in the medium increases. Conversely, as u
med
decreases, the medium surrenders energy to the electromagnetic eld. While it is
possible for u
med
to become negative, the combination u
med
+u() (i.e. the net
energy in the medium) can never go negative since a material cannot surrender
more energy than it has to begin with.
Poyntings theorem (2.51) has the form of a continuity equation which when
integrated spatially over a small volume V yields
_
A
S da =

t
_
V
u dV (7.65)
where the left-hand side has been transformed into an surface integral (via the
divergence theorem (0.11)) representing the power leaving the volume. Let the
volume be small enough to take S to be uniform throughout V .
We can dene an energy transport velocity (directed along S) as the effective
speed at which all of the energy density would need to travel in order to achieve
the Poynting ux:
v
E

S
u
(7.66)
Note that this ratio of the Poynting ux to the energy density has units of velocity.
When the total energy density u is used in computing (7.66), the energy transport
velocity has a ctitious nature; it is not the actual velocity of the total energy
(since part is stationary), but rather the effective velocity necessary to achieve
the same energy transport that the electromagnetic ux alone delivers. If we
reduce the denominator to the subset of the energy that can move, namely u
eld
,
the Cauchy-Schwartz inequality (i.e.
2
+
2
2) ensures an energy transport
velocity v
E
remains strictly bounded by the speed of light in vacuumc. The total
energy density u is at least as great as the eld energy density u
eld
. Hence, this
strict luminality is maintained.
Centroid of Energy
Consider a weighted average of the energy transport velocity:
v
E

_
v
E
u d
3
r
_
u d
3
r
=
_
S d
3
r
_
u d
3
r
(7.67)
where we have substituted from (7.66).
Integration by parts leads to
v
E
=
_
r S d
3
r
_
u d
3
r
=
_
r
u
t
d
3
r
_
u d
3
r
(7.68)
where we have assumed that the volume for the integration encloses all energy in
the system and that the eld near the edges of this volume is zero. Since we have
included all energy, Poyntings theorem (2.51) can be written with no source terms
(i.e. S+u/t =0). This means that the total energy in the system is conserved
and is given by the integral in the denominator of (7.68). This allows the derivative
to be brought out in front of the entire expression giving
v
E
=
r
t
where r
_
ru d
3
r
_
u d
3
r
(7.69)
The latter expression represents the center-of-mass or centroid of the total en-
ergy in the system, which is guaranteed to evolve strictly luminally since v
E
is
everywhere luminal.
11
It is enlightening to consider u
med
within a frequency-domain context. In an
isotropic medium, the polarization for an individual plane wave can be written in
terms of the linear susceptibility dened in (2.16):
P(r, ) =
0
(r, ) E(r, ) (7.70)
We can use this to express u
med
in terms of the electric eld and material suscepti-
bility.
Expressing u
med
in terms of the power spectrum
The eld E(r, t ) can be expressed as an inverse Fourier transform (7.18). Similarly,
the polarization P can be written as
12
P(r, t ) =
1
P(r, ) e
i t
d
P(r, t )
t
=
i
P(r, ) e
i t
d (7.71)
The energy density in the medium (7.64) can then be written as
u
med
(r, ) =
_
_
1
E
_
r,
_
e
i
_
_
_
_
i
0
(r, ) E(r, ) e
i t
d
_
_
dt
(7.72)
11
Although (7.69) guarantees that the centroid of the total energy moves strictly luminally, there is
no such limitation on the centroid of eld energy alone. The steps leading to (7.69) are not possible
if u
eld
is used in place of u. Explicitly, that is
_
S
u
eld
_
=

t
_
ru
eld
d
3
r
_
u
eld
d
3
r
As was pointed out, the left-hand side is strictly luminal. However, the right-hand side can easily
exceed c as the mediumexchanges energy with the eld. In an amplifying medium, for example, the
rapid appearance of a pulse downstream can occur when the leading portion of a pulse stimulates
energy already present in the medium to convert to the form of eld energy. Group velocity is
related to this method of accounting, which is why it also can become superluminal.
12
We assume that the real forms of the elds in the time domain are used for the sake of this
multiplication.
where we have incorporated (7.70) and evaluated u
med
after the pulse is over at
t =. We may change the order of integration and write
u
med
(r, ) =i
0
d(r, ) E(r, )
E
_
r,
_ 1
2
e
i (+
)t
dt
(7.73)
The nal integral is a delta function a delta function similar to (0.54), which allows
the middle integral also to be performed. The expression for u
med
then reduces to
u
med
(r, ) =i
0
(r, ) E(r, ) E(r, ) d (7.74)

In this derivation, we take E(r, t ) and P(r, t ) to be real functions, so we can employ
the symmetry (7.29) along with
P
(r, ) =P(r, ) and
(r, ) =(r, ) .
Then we obtain
u
med
(r, ) =
0
Im(r, ) E(r, ) E
(r, ) d (7.75)
The expression (7.75) describes the net energy density transfered to a point
in the medium after all action has nished (i.e. at t =). It involves the power
spectrum of the pulse. We can modify this formula in an intuitive way so that it
describes the transfer of energy density to the medium for any time during the
pulse.
Since the medium is unable to anticipate the spectrum of the entire pulse
before experiencing it, the material responds to the pulse according to the history
of the eld up to each instant. In particular, the material has to be prepared for
the possibility of an abrupt cessation of the pulse at any moment, in which case
all exchange of energy with the medium immediately ceases. In this extreme sce-
nario, there is no possibility for the medium to recover from previously incorrect
attenuation or amplication, so it must have gotten it right already.
If the pulse were in fact to abruptly terminate at a given instant, it would
not be necessary to integrate the inverse Fourier transform (7.19) beyond the
termination time t after which all contributions are zero. Causality requires that
the mediumbe indifferent to whether a pulse actually terminates if that possibility
lies in the future. Therefore, (7.75) can apply for any time t (not just for t =)
if the spectrum (7.19) is evaluated just for that portion of the eld previously
experienced by the medium (up to time t ).
The following is then an exact representation for the energy density (7.64)
transferred to the medium:
u
med
(r, t ) =
0
Im(r, ) E
t
(r, ) E
t
(r, ) d (7.76)
where
E
t
(r, )
1
2
t
_
E
_
r, t
_
e
i t
dt
(7.77)
This time dependence enters only through E
t
(r, ) E
t
(r, ), known as the instan-
taneous power spectrum.
The expression (7.76) gives physical insight into the manner in which causal
dielectric materials exchange energy with different parts of an electromagnetic
pulse. Since the function E
t
() is the Fourier transform of the pulse truncated
at the current time t and set to zero thereafter, it can include many frequency
components that are not present in the pulse taken in its entirety. This explains
why the medium can respond differently to the front of a pulse compared to the
back. Even though absorption or amplication resonances may lie outside of
the spectral envelope of a pulse taken in its entirety, the instantaneous spectrum
on a portion of the pulse can momentarily lap onto or off of resonances in the
medium.
parts of the refractive index for an
amplifying medium.
In view of (7.76) and (7.77) it is straightforward to predict when the electro-
magnetic energy of a pulse will exhibit superluminal or subluminal behavior. In
section 7.5, we saw that this behavior is controlled by the group velocity function.
However, with (7.76) and (7.77), it is not necessary to examine the group velocity
directly, but only the imaginary part of the susceptibility (r, ).
If the entire pulse passing through point r has a spectrumin the neighborhood
of an amplifying resonance, but not on the resonance, superluminal behavior
can result. The instantaneous spectrum during the front portion of the pulse is
generally wider and can therefore lap onto the nearby gain peak. The medium
accordingly amplies this perceived spectrum, and the front of the pulse grows.
The energy is then returned to the medium from the latter portion of the pulse
as the instantaneous spectrum narrows and withdraws from the gain peak. The
effect is not only consistent with the principle of causality, it is a direct and general
consequence of causality as demonstrated by (7.76) and (7.77).
Figure 7.21 Animation of a nar-
rowband pulse traversing an am-
plifying medium off resonance.
The black dot shows the move-
ment of the center of all energy.
The red line inside the medium
shows the energy held in that
medium, which cannot go nega-
tive. The lower gure shows the
instantaneous spectrum of the
pulse at the front of the medium
relative to the narrow amplifying
resonance.
As an illustration, consider the broadband waveform with T
2
=
1
/
2 de-
scribed in example 7.8. Consider an amplifying medium with index shown in
Fig. 7.20 with the amplifying resonance (negative oscillator strength) set on the
frequency
0
=
0
+2, where
0
is the carrier frequency. Thus, the resonance
structure is centered a modest distance above the carrier frequency, and there is
only minor spectral overlap between the pulse and the resonance structure.
Superluminal behavior can occur in amplifying materials when the forward
edge of a narrow-band pulse receives extra amplication. Fig. 7.21 shows how the
early portion of a pulse has a wide instantaneous spectrum computed by (7.77)
that can lap onto the amplifying resonance. As the wings grow and access the
neighboring resonance, the pulse extracts more energy from the medium. As the
wings diminish, the pulse surrenders much of that energy back to the medium,
which shifts the center of the pulse forward.
In this appendix we have indirectly proven that a sharply dened signal edge
cannot propagate faster than c. If a signal edge begins abruptly at time t
0
, the
instantaneous spectrumE
t
() clearly remains identically zero until that time. In
other words, no energy may be exchanged with the medium until the eld energy
from the pulse arrives. Since, as was pointed out in connection with (7.66), the
Cauchy-Schwartz inequality prevents the eld energy from traveling faster than c,
at no point in the medium can a signal front exceed c.
Appendix 7.C Kramers-Kronig Relations
In the late 1920s, of Ralph Kronig and Hendrik Kramers independently discovered
a remarkable relationship between the real and imaginary parts of a materials
susceptibility (). Recall that the susceptibility as dened in (2.16) relates the
polarization of a material to the eld that stimulates the medium:
P() =
0
() E() (7.78)
They made an argument based on causality (i.e. effect cannot precede cause),
which allows one to obtain the real part of () from the imaginary part of (),
if it is known for all . Similarly, one can obtain the imaginary part of () from
the real part of (). We develop the Kramers-Kronig formulas below.
13
We can replace E() in (7.78) with the Fourier transformof E(t ) in accordance
with (7.19). In addition, we take the inverse Fourier transform (7.19) of both sides
of (7.78) and obtain
P(t ) =

0
()
_
_
1
E
_
t
_
e
i t
dt
_
_
e
i t
d (7.79)
Next we interchange the order of integration to get
P(t ) =

0
2
E
_
t
_
_
_
() e
i (t t
)
d
_
_
dt
(7.80)
Now for the causality argument: The polarization of the medium P(t ) cannot
depend on the eld E
_
t
_
at future times t
>t . Therefore the expression in square

brackets must be identically zero unless t t
>0. This places a restriction on the

functional form of () as we shall see.
The causality argument comes explicitly into play when we employ the fol-
lowing integral formula:
14
e
i (t t
)
=sign{t t
}
1
i
e
i
(tt
(7.81)
13
Also B. Y.-K. Hu, Krammers-Kronig in two lines, Am. J. Phys. 57, 821 (1989).
14
This integral, which is a specic instance of Cauchys theorem, is tricky because it involves two
diverging pieces, to either side of the singularity =
. The divergences have opposite sign so that

they cancel. The integration must approach the singularity in the same manner from either side, in
which case the result is called the principal value. In practical terms, if the integral is performed
numerically, the sampling of points should straddle the singularity symmetrically; other sampling
schemes can change the result dramatically, which is incorrect.
7.C Kramers-Kronig Relations 195
Apparently, we require the positive sign since sign{t t
}
_
+1 (t >t
)
1 (t <t
)
.
Upon substitution of (7.81) into (7.80) and after changing the order of integra-
tion within the square brackets we obtain
P(t ) =

0
2
E
_
t
_
_
_
_
_
1
i
()
d
_
_
e
i
(t t
)
d
_
_
dt
(7.82)
For (7.80) and (7.82) to be the same, we require
() =
1
i
(7.83)
or
Re() +i Im() =
1
i
Re
_
_
+i Im
_
(7.84)
Finally, equating separately the real and imaginary parts of the above equation
yields
Re() =
1
Im
_
and Im() =
1
Re
_
(7.85)
These are known as the Kramers-Kronig relations on real and imaginary parts of
.
15
If the real part of is known at all frequencies, we can use the Kramers-Kronig
relations to generate the imaginary part, and visa versa. We see that the real and
imaginary parts of cannot be chosen independently, if we are to respect the
principle of causality.
Example 7.9
Show that the expression in square brackets of (7.80) is zero when t
> t , if ()
satises the Krammers-Kronig relations (7.85).
Solution: The expression may be written as
() e
i (t t
)
d=
Re() e
i (t t
)
d+i
Im() e
i (t t
)
d
=
Re() e
i (t t
)
d+i
_
_
Re
_
_
_
e
i (t t
)
d
=
Re() e
i (t t
)
d+
Re
_
_
_
_
1
i
e
i (t t
d
_
_
d
(7.86)
15
As with (7.81), the principal value of the integral must be calculated. If the integral is performed
numerically, the sampling of points should straddle the singularity symmetrically. Separately, the
integral on each side of
= diverges, but with opposite sign.

where we have invoked the Krammers-Kronig relation for Im() (7.85)
and interchanged the order of integration in the nal expression. Since we
are specically considering future times t
>t , we have by (7.81)

1
i
e
i (t t
d=e
i
(t t
)
Hence
() e
i (t t
)
d=
Re() e
i (t t
)
d
Re
_
_
e
i
(t t
)
d
=0
(7.87)
Finally, it is worth noting that the Krammers-Kronig relations also apply to
the real and imaginary parts of the index of refraction (subtract one).
16
n() 1 =
1
and () =
1
n
_
_
1
(7.88)
One can use the Kramers-Kronig relations to nd the real part of the index from
a measurement of absorption, if the measurement is done over a broad enough
range of the spectrum. This is the most useful form of the Kramers-Kronig rela-
tions.
It is sometimes convenient to multiply the numerator and denominator inside
the integrands of (7.88) by
+. Then noting that n is an even function and

is an odd function allows us to dismiss either
or in the numerator and

integrate
17
over positive frequencies only:
n() 1 =
2
_
0
2
d
and () =
2
_
0
n
_
_
1
2
d
(7.89)
16
This follows from Cauchys theorem since the index (subtract one) is the square root of ().
The Krammers-Kronig relations for () guarantee that () has no poles inthe upper half complex
plane, when is considered (for mathematical purposes) to be a complex variable. Taking the
square root does not introduce poles into the upper half plane.
17
The integrals (7.88) and (7.89) diverge to either side of
=, but with opposite sign. Again,

the principal value of the integral is required, which means a numeric grid should straddle the
singularity symetrically.
Exercises 197
Exercises
Exercises for 7.1 Intensity of Superimposed Plane Waves
P7.1 (a) Consider two counter-propagating elds described by xE
1
e
i (kzt )
and xE
2
e
i (kzt )
where E
1
and E
2
are both real. Show that their sum
can be written as
xE
tot
(z) e
i ((z)t )
where
E
tot
(z) =E
1
_
_
1
E
2
E
1
_
2
+4
E
2
E
1
cos
2
kz
and
(z) =tan
1
_
(1E
2
/E
1
)
(1+E
2
/E
1
)
tankz
_
Outside the range
2
kz

2
the pattern repeats.
(b) Suppose that two counter-propagating laser elds have separate
intensities, I
1
and I
2
= I
1
/100. The ratio of the elds is then E
2
/E
1
=
1/10. In the standing interference pattern that results, what is the ratio
of the peak intensity to the minimum intensity? Are you surprised how
high this is?
P7.2 Equation (7.7) implies that there is no interference between elds that
are polarized along orthogonal dimensions. That is, the intensity of
E(r, t ) = xE
0
e
i [(k z)rt ]
+ yE
0
e
i [(k x)rt ]
according to (7.7) is uniformthroughout space. Of course (7.7) does not
apply since the k-vectors are not parallel. Show that the time-average
of S(r, t ) according to (7.4) exhibits interference in the distribution of
net energy ow.
Exercises for 7.2 Group vs. Phase Velocity: Sumof Two Plane Waves
P7.3 Show that (7.10) can be written as
E(r, t ) =2E
0
e
i
_
k
2
+k
1
2
r
2
+
1
2
t
_
cos
_
k
2
r
2
t
_
From this show that the speed of the rapid-oscillation intensity peaks
in Fig. 7.2 is v
p
=

k/ where
k
(k
1
+k
2
)
2
and
(
1
+
2
)
2
P7.4 Conrm the right-hand side of (7.17).
Exercises for 7.3 Frequency Spectrumof Light
P7.5 The continuous eld of a very narrowband continuous laser may be
approximated as a pure plane wave: E(r, t ) =E
0
e
i (k
0
z
0
t )
. Suppose the
wave encounters a shutter at the plane z =0.
(a) Compute the power spectrum of the light before the shutter. HINT:
The answer is proportional to the square of a delta function centered
on
0
(see (0.54)).
(b) Compute the power spectrumafter the shutter if it is opened during
the interval T/2 t T/2. Plot the result. Are you surprised that the
shutter appears to create extra frequency components?
HINT: Write your answer in terms of the sinc function dened by
sincsin/.
P7.6 (a) Determine the Full-Width-at-Half-Maximum of the intensity (i.e.
the width of I (r, t ) represented by t
FWHM
) and of the power spectrum
(i.e. the width of I (r, ) represented by
FWHM
) for the Gaussian pulse
dened in (7.25).
HINT: Both answers are in terms of T.
(b) Give an uncertainty principle for the product of t
FWHM
and
FWHM
.
Exercises for 7.5 Quadratic Dispersion
P7.7 The intensity of a Gaussian laser pulse has a FWHM duration T
FWHM
=
25 fs with carrier frequency
0
corresponding to
vac
=800 nm. The
pulse goes through a lens of thickness =1 cm (laser quality glass type
BK7) with index of refraction given approximately by
n()
=1.4948+0.016

0
What is the full-width-at-half-maximum of the intensity for the emerg-
ing pulse?
HINT: For the input pulse we have
T =
T
FWHM
2
ln2
(see P7.6).
P7.8 If the pulse dened in (7.46) travels through the material for a very long
distance z such that

T (z) T(z) and tan
1
(z) /2, show that
the instantaneous frequency of the pulse is
0
+
t 2z/v
g
4z
Exercises 199
COMMENT: As the wave travels, the earlier part of the pulse oscillates
more slowly than the later part. This is called chirp, and it means that
the red frequencies get ahead of the blue ones since they experience a
lower index.
Exercises for 7.6 Generalized Context for Group Delay
P7.9 When the spectrum is narrow compared to features in a resonance
(such as in Fig. 7.10), the reshaping delay (7.53) tends to zero and can
be ignored. Showthat when the spectrumis narrowthe net group delay
(7.52) reduces to
lim
T
t
G
(r) =
Rek

P7.10 When the spectrum is very broad the reshaping delay (7.53) also tends
to zero and can be ignored. Show that when the spectrum is extremely
broad, the net group delay reduces to
lim
T0
t
G
(r) =
r
c
assuming k and r are parallel. This implies that a sharply dened
signal cannot travel faster than c.
HINT: The real index of refraction n goes to unity far from resonance,
and the imaginary part goes to zero.
P7.11 Work through the derivation of (7.51).
HINT: This somewhat lengthy derivation can be found in the reference
in the footnote near (7.51).
Exercises for 7.A Pulse Chirping in a Grating Pair
P7.12 A Gaussian pulse with T =20 fs is incident with
i
=20
on a grating
pair with groove separation d = 1.67 m. What grating separation L
will lead to a pulse duration of T =100 ps? Assume two passes through
the grating pair for a total effective separation of 2L. Take the pulse
carrier frequency to corresponds to
0
=800 nm.
Chapter 8
Coherence Theory
Beam
Splitter
Detector
Figure 8.1 Michelson interferome-
ter.
Most students of physics become familiar witha Michelsoninterferometer (shown
in Fig. 8.1) early in their course work. This preliminary understanding is usually
gained in terms of a single-frequency plane wave that travels through the instru-
ment. A Michelson interferometer divides the initial beam into two identical
beams and then delays one beam with respect to the other before bringing them
back together. Depending on the relative path difference d (roundtrip by our
convention) between the two arms of the system, the light can interfere construc-
tively or destructively in the direction of the detector. We will nd it convenient
to express the relative path difference as a relative time delay d/c. In the
plane-wave case, the net eld at the detector consists of the eld coming from
one arm of the interferometer E
0
e
i (kzt )
added to the eld coming from the
other arm E
0
e
i (kz(t ))
, identical except for the delay .
In the plane-wave case, the intensity seen at the detector as a function of path
difference is computed to be
I
tot
() =
c
0
2
_
E
0
e
i (kzt )
+E
0
e
i (kz(t ))
_
_
E
0
e
i (kzt )
+E
0
e
i (kz(t ))
_
=
c
0
2
_
2E
0
E
0
+2E
0
E
0
cos()
_
=2I
0
[1+cos()]
(8.1)
where I
0
c
0
2
E
0
E
0
is the intensity from one beam alone (when the other arm of
the interferometer is blocked). This formula is probably familiar. It describes how
the intensity at the detector oscillates between zero and four times the intensity
of one beam alone.
1
In this chapter, we will derive an appropriate replacement for (8.1) when light
containing a continuous band of frequencies is sent through the interferometer.
Instead of repeating indenitely, the oscillations in the intensity at the detector
become less pronounced as the mirror inone armof the interferometer is scanned
1
Keep in mind that if a 50:50 beam splitter is used, then the intensity arriving to the detector
from one arm alone (with other arm blocked) is one fourth of the original beam, since the light
meets the beam splitter twice.
201
202 Chapter 8 Coherence Theory
away from the position where the two paths are equal. Remarkably, this decrease
in fringe visibility depends only upon the frequency content of the light without
regard to whether as a frequency components are organized into a short pulse or
a longer time pattern. This brings up the concept of temporal coherence, which is
related to how fast fringe visibility diminishes as delay is introduced in an arm of
the Michelson interferometer.
In section 8.4, we discuss a practical application known as Fourier spec-
troscopy. This powerful technique makes it possible to deduce the spectral con-
tent of light using a Michelson interferometer rather than a grating spectrometer.
Finally, we will study a Youngs two-slit setup, which is similar to a Michelson
interferometer in that light takes two different paths and then interferes. The
concept of spatial coherence arises naturally with the two-slit setup in the same
way that the concept of temporal coherence arises naturally with the Michelson
interferometer.
Albert Abraham Michelson (1852
1931, United States) was born in
Poland, but he immigrated to the
US with his parents and grew up in
the rough mining towns of California
and Nevada where his father was a
merchant. Michelson attended high
school in San Fransisco. He entered
the US Naval Academy in 1869 (with
intervention from US President Grant
after Michelson pleaded his case on
the grounds near the White House).
After two years at sea, Michelson re-
turned to the Naval Academy to teach
physics and mathematics for several
years. Michelson was fascinated by the
problem of determining the speed of
light, and developed successive exper-
iments to measure it more accurately.
He is probably most famous for his ex-
periment conducted at Case School of
Applied Science in Cleveland with Ed-
ward Morley to detect the motion of
the earth through the ether. Michelson
later was a professor at the University of
Chicago and then at Caltech. In 1907,
he became the rst American to win the
Nobel prize, for his contributions to op-
tics. Michelson married late in life and
was the father of four. (Wikipedia)
8.1 Michelson Interferometer
Consider an arbitrary waveformE(t ) that has traveled through the rst arm of a
Michelson interferometer to arrive at the detector in Fig. 8.1. Again, E(t ) is the
value of the eld at the detector when the second arm is blocked. The waveform
E(t ) in general may be composed of many frequency components according to
the inverse Fourier transform (7.18). For convenience we will think of E(t ) as a
pulse containing a nite amount of energy. (We will comment on continuous light
sources in the next section.) The beam that travels through the second arm of
the interferometer is identical, but delayed: E(t ). As a reminder, represents
the round-trip delay of the adjustable path relative to the position where the two
paths have equal lengths.
The total eld at the detector is the sum of the two elds:
E
tot
(t , ) =E(t ) +E(t ) (8.2)
The intensity (7.21) at the detector (setting n =1) is then
I
tot
(t , ) =
c
0
2
E
tot
(t , ) E
tot
(t , )
=
c
0
2
_
E(t ) E
(t ) +E(t ) E
(t ) +E(t ) E
(t ) +E(t ) E
(t )
_
= I (t ) +I (t ) +
c
0
2
_
E(t ) E
(t ) +E(t ) E
(t )
_
= I (t ) +I (t ) +c
0
Re
_
E(t ) E
(t )
_
(8.3)
The function I (t ) corresponds to the intensity of one of the beams arriving at the
detector while the opposite path of the interferometer is blocked. Notice that we
have retained the dependence on t in I
det
(t , ) in addition to the dependence on
the path delay . This allows for pulses with arbitrary duration and shape. The
8.1 Michelson Interferometer 203
rapid oscillations of the light are automatically averaged away in I (t ), but not the
slowly varying form of the pulse.
The total energy (per area), or uence, accumulated at the detector is found
by integrating the intensity over time. In other words, we let the detector integrate
the energy for the entire pulse before taking a reading. For short laser pulses
(sub-nanosecond), a detector automatically integrates the entire energy (per area)
of the pulse since a detector cannot keep up with temporal variations on such a
rapid time scale. The integration of (8.3) over time yields the signal at the detector
(that varies with delay ):
Sig()
I
tot
(t , ) dt
=
I (t )dt +
I (t ) dt +c
0
Re
E(t ) E
(t ) dt
(8.4)
The rst two integrals on the right-hand side are equal:
2
E
I (t )dt =
I (t ) dt (8.5)
E represents the uence (accumulated energy per area) from one arm of the
interferometer when the other arm is blocked.
Figure 8.2 The output or signal
from a Michelson interferometer
for light with a Gaussian spec-
trum.
The nal integral in (8.4) remains unchanged if we take a Fourier transform
followed by an inverse Fourier transform:
E(t ) E
(t ) dt =
1
de
i
_
_
1
de
i
E(t ) E
(t ) dt
_
_
(8.6)
The reason for this procedure is so that we can take advantage of the autocorre-
lation theorem (see P0.27). With it, the expression in square brackets simplies
to
2E() E
() =
22I () /c
0
. Then with the aid of (8.5) and (8.6), the
overall uence (8.4) becomes
I
tot
(t , ) dt =2E
_
_
1+
1
E
Re
I ()e
i
d
_
_
(8.7)
It is convenient to rewrite this result in terms of the degree of coherence func-
tion ():
Sig() 1+Re() (8.8)
2
Note that the second integral is insensitive to since a change of variables t
=t converts it
into the rst integral.
where
()
I () e
i
d
I () d
(8.9)
The denominator of (8.9) was rewritten with the help of Parsevals theorem (8.5)
E
I (t )dt =
I () d.
In summary, (8.8) describes the signal (i.e. accumulated energy per area)
arriving to the detector after the Michelson interferometer. The dependence on
the path delay is entirely contained in the function ().
3
Example 8.1
Compute the output signal when a Gaussian pulse with spectrum (7.25) is sent
into a Michelson interferometer.
Solution: The power spectrum of the pulse is
4
I (r, ) =

0
c
2
E
0
E
0
T
2
e
T
2
(
0
)
2
where T is the pulse duration, not to be confused with , the delay of the interfer-
ometer arm. As shown in Example 7.3, we also have
I (r, ) d=

0
c
2
E
0
E
0
T
The degree of coherence (8.9) is then

() =
T
e
T
2
(
0
)
2
e
i
d
=
T
e
T
2
2
+(2T
2
0
i )T
2
2
0
d=
T
_

T
2
e
(
2T
2
0
i
)
2
4T
2
T
2
2
0
=e

2
4T
2
e
i
0
Formula (0.55) was used to complete the integration.

According to (8.8), the signal at the detector is then
Sig() 1+Re() =1+e

2
4T
2
cos(
0
)
Fig. 8.2 shows this signal for a given T. As delay is added (or subtracted), the output
signal oscillates. Eventually enough delay is introduced such that the very short
pulses no longer interfere (arriving sequentially), and the output signal becomes
steady.
3
M. Born and E. Wolf, Principles of Optics, 7th ed., p. 570 (Cambridge University Press, 1999).
4
Technically, the output intensity is one fourth this, but our calculation of the degree of coher-
ence is insensitive to amplitude.
8.2 Temporal Coherence 205
8.2 Temporal Coherence
We could have derived (8.8) using another strategy, which may seem more intu-
itive than the approach in the previous section. Equation (8.1) gives the intensity
at the detector when a single plane wave of frequency goes through the inter-
ferometer. Now suppose that a waveform composed of many frequencies is sent
through the interferometer. The intensity associated with each frequency acts
independently, obeying (8.1) individually.
The total energy (per area) accumulated at the detector is then a linear super-
position of the spectral intensities of all frequencies present:
I
tot
(, ) d=
2I () [1+cos()] d (8.10)
While this procedure may seem obvious, the fact that we can do it is remarkable!
Remember that it is usually the elds that we must add together before nding
the intensity of the resulting superposition. The formula (8.10) with its super-
position of intensities relies on the fact that the different frequencies inside the
interferometer when time-averaged (over all time) do not interfere. Certainly,
the elds at different frequencies do interfere (or beat in time). However, they
constructively interfere as often as they destructively interfere, and over time it is
as though the individual frequency components transmit independently. Again,
in writing (8.10) we considered the light to be pulsed rather than continuous so
that the integrals converge.
We can manipulate (8.10) as follows:
I
tot
(, ) d=
_
_
2
I () d
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
1+
I () cos() d
I () d
_
_
_
_
_
(8.11)
This is the same as (8.7) since we can replace cos() with Re
_
e
i
_
, and we can
apply Parsevals theorem (8.5) to the other integrals. Thus, the above arguments
lead to (8.8) and (8.9), in complete agreement with the previous section.
Finally, let us consider the case of a continuous light source for which the
integrals in (8.8) diverge. This is the case for starlight or for a continuous wave
(CW) laser source. The integral
_
I (t )dt diverges since a source that is on

forever (or at least for a very long time) emits innite (or very much) energy.
However, note that the integrals on both sides of (8.8) diverge in the same way.
We can renormalize (8.8) in this case by replacing the integrals on each side with
the average value of the intensity:
I
ave
I (t )
t
=
1
T
T/2
_
T/2
I (t )dt (continuous source) (8.12)
The duration T must be large enough to average over any uctuations that are
present in the light source. The average in (8.12) should not be used on a pulsed
light source since the result would depend on the duration T of the temporal
window.
In the continuous wave (CW) case (e.g. starlight or a CW laser), the signal at
the detector (8.8) becomes
I
det
(t , )
t
=2I (t )
t
_
1+Re()
_
(continuous source) (8.13)
Although technically the integrals involved in computing () (8.9) also diverge
in the case of CW light, the numerator and the denominator diverge in the same
way. Therefore, we may renormalize I () in any way we like to deal with this
problem, and this does not affect the nal result. Regardless of how large I ()
is, and regardless of the units on the measurement (volts or whatever), we can
simply plug the instrument reading directly into (8.9). The units in the numerator
and denominator cancel so that () always remains dimensionless.
Remarkably, the signal out of the Michelson interferometer does not depend
on the phase of E(). It depends only on the amount of light associated with each
frequency through I ()

0
c
2
E() E
().
8.3 Coherence Time and Fringe Visibility
The degree of coherence function () is responsible for oscillations in intensity
at the detector as the mirror in one arm of the interferometer is moved. The
real part Re() is analogous to cos() in (8.1). However, for large delays , the
oscillations tend to die off as different frequencies get out of synch, individually
some interfering constructively, while others destructively. Narrowband light is
temporally more coherent than broadband light because there is less opportunity
for frequencies to get out of synch. Still, for large path differences, the oscillations
tend to eventually die off, and the intensity at the detector then remains steady as
the mirror is moved further.
We dene the coherence time to be the amount of delay necessary to cause
() to quit oscillating (i.e. its amplitude approaches zero). A useful (although
arbitrary) denition for the coherence time is
()
2
d =2
_
0
()
2
d (8.14)
The coherence length is the distance that light travels in this time:
c
c
c
(8.15)
Another useful concept is fringe visibility. The fringe visibility is dened in
the following way:
V ()
I
max
I
min
I
max
+I
min
(continuous source) (8.16)
8.4 Fourier Spectroscopy 207
or
V ()
E
max
E
min
E
max
+E
min
(pulsed source) (8.17)
where E
max
max
_
I
tot
(t , ) dt refers to the accumulated energy (per area) at
the detector when the mirror is positioned such that the amount of throughput to
the detector is a local maximum (i.e. the left-hand side of (8.8)). E
min
refers to the
accumulated energy at the detector when the mirror is positioned such that the
amount of throughput to the detector is a local minimum. As the mirror moves a
large distance from the equal-path-length position, the oscillations become less
pronounced because the values of E
min
and E
max
tend to take on the same value,
and the fringe visibility goes to zero. The fringe visibility goes to zero when ()
goes to zero. It is left as an exercise (see P8.4) to show that the fringe visibility can
be written simply as
5
V () =
()
(8.18)
Figure 8.3 Re[()] (solid) and
|()| (dashed) for a light pulse
with a Gaussian spectrum as in
examples 8.1 and 8.2.
Example 8.2
Find the fringe visibility and the coherence time for the Gaussian pulse studied in
Example 8.1.
Solution: By (8.18), the fringe visibility is
V () =
()
=e

2
4T
2
.
This is shown as the dashed line in Fig. 8.3. As expected, the fringe visibility dies
off as delay gets farther from the origin, the point where the interferometer arms
are equidistant. From (8.14) the coherence time is
c
=
()
2
d =

2
2T
2
d =
2T
which is the delay necessary to cause the fringes to substantially diminish.
8.4 Fourier Spectroscopy
As we have seen in the previous discussion, the signal output from a Michelson
interferometer (8.7) for a pulsed input may be written as
Sig() 2E +2Re
I ()e
i
d (8.19)
Typically, the signal comes in the form of a voltage or a current from a sensor.
However, the signal can easily be normalized to the beam uence. In particular,
5
for large the fringe visibility goes to zero (i.e. () = 0), and the normalized
signal must approach
lim
Sig() =2E =2
_
I (t )dt (8.20)
We will assume that this normalization has taken place and write (8.19) as an
equality.
Given our measurement of Sig(), we would like to nd I (), or the spectrum
of the light. Unfortunately, I () is buried within an integral in (8.19). However,
since the integral looks like an inverse Fourier transform of I (), we will be
able to extract the desired spectrum after some manipulation. This procedure
for extracting I () from an interferometric measurement is known as Fourier
spectroscopy.
6
We rst take the Fourier transform of (8.19):
7
F
_
Sig()
_
=F{2E} +F
_
_
_
2Re
I () e
i
d
_
_
_
(8.21)
The left-hand side is known since it is the measured data, and a computer can
be employed to take the Fourier transform of it. The rst term on the right-hand
side is the Fourier transform of a constant:
F{2E} =2E
1
e
i
d =2E
2() (8.22)
Notice that (8.22) is zero everywhere except where =0, where a spike occurs.
This represents the DC component of F
_
Sig()
_
.
The second term of (8.21) can be written as
F
_
_
_
2Re
I () e
i
d
_
_
_
=F
_
_
_
I () e
i
d+
I () e
i
d
_
_
_
=
_
_
1
I (
)e
i
_
_
e
i
d+
_
_
1
I (
)e
i
_
_
e
i
d
=
2
_
_
I (
)
_
_
1
2
e
i (
)
d
_
_
d
I (
)
_
_
1
2
e
i (
+)
d
_
_
d
_
_
=
2
_
_
I (
)
_
_
d
I (
)
_
+
_
d
_
_
=
2[I () +I ()]
(8.23)
6
J. Peatross and S. Bergeson, Fourier Spectroscopy of Ultrashort Laser Pulses, Am. J. Phys. 74,
842-845 (2006).
7
This is weird since normally we take Fourier transforms on elds rather than expressions
involving intensity!
8.5 Youngs Two-Slit Setup and Spatial Coherence 209
With (8.22) and (8.23) we can write (8.21) as
F
_
Sig()
_
2
=2E
0
() +I () +I () (8.24)
The Fourier transform of the measured signal is seen to contain three terms, one
of which is the power spectrum that we are after, namely I (). Fortunately, when
graphed as a function of (shown in Fig. 8.4), the three terms on the right-hand
side typically do not overlap. As a reminder, the measured signal as a function of
looks something like that in Fig. 8.2. The oscillation frequency of the fringes lies
in the neighborhood of
0
. To obtain I () the procedure is clear: Record Sig();
if desired, normalize by its value at large ; take its Fourier transform; extract the
curve at positive frequencies.
Figure 8.4 A graphical depiction of
F{Sig()}
_
2.
8.5 Youngs Two-Slit Setup and Spatial Coherence
In close analogy with the Michelson interferometer, which is able to investigate
temporal coherence, a Youngs two-slit setup can be used to investigate spatial co-
herence of quasi-monochromatic light. Thomas Young, who lived nearly a century
before Michelson, used his two-slit setup for the rst conclusive demonstration
that light propagates as a wave. The Youngs double-slit setup and the Michelson
interferometer have in common that two beams of light travel different paths
and then interfere. In the Michelson interferometer, one path is delayed with
respect to the other so that temporal effects can be studied. In the Youngs two-slit
setup, two laterally separate points of the same wave are compared as they are
sent through two slits.
Depending on the coherence of the light entering each slit, the fringe pattern
observed can exhibit good or poor visibility. Just as the Michelson interferometer
is sensitive to the spectral content of light, the Youngs two-slit setup is sensitive
to the spatial extent of the light source illuminating the two slits. For example, if
light from a distant star (restricted by a lter to a narrow spectral range) is used to
illuminate a double-slit setup, the resulting interference pattern appearing on a
subsequent screen shows good or poor fringe visibility depending on the angular
width of the star. Michelson was the rst to use this type of setup to measure the
angular width of stars.
Light emerging from a single ideal point source has wave fronts that are
spatially uniform in a lateral sense (see Fig. 8.5). Such wave fronts are said to be
spatially coherent, even if the temporal coherence is not perfect (i.e. if a range
of frequencies is present). When spatially coherent light illuminates a Youngs
two-slit setup, fringes of maximum visibility are seen at a distant screen, meaning
the fringes vary between a maximum intensity and zero.
Consider a Youngs two-slit setup illuminated by a single point source. We
represent the elds on a subsequent screen that transmit through each slit, re-
spectively, as E
0
e
i (kd
1
t )
and E
0
e
i (kd
2
t )
. We have assumed that the slits are
F
r
i
n
g
e

P
a
t
t
e
r
n
Point Source
Figure 8.5 A point source produces coherent (locked phases) light. When this light
which traverses two slits and arrives at a screen it produces a fringe pattern.
equidistant from the point source and that the two elds at the screen are identi-
cal other than for their phases. In close analogy with (8.1), the resulting intensity
pattern on a far-away screen is
I
tot
(h) =2I
0
[1+cos(kd
2
kd
1
)] =2I
0
_
1+cos
_
khy/D
__
(8.25)
Notice the close similarity between this expression and the output from a Michel-
son interferometer for a plane wave (8.1). We will consider h (the separation of
the slits) to be the counterpart of (the delay introduced by moving a mirror in
the Michelson interferometer). To obtain the nal expression in (8.25) we made
use of the following Taylor expansions:
d
1
_
y
_
=
_
_
y h/2
_
2
+D
2
=D
_
1+
_
y h/2
_
2
D
2
=D
_
1+
_
y h/2
_
2
2D
2
+
_
(8.26)
and
d
2
_
y
_
=
_
_
y +h/2
_
2
+D
2
=D
_
1+
_
y +h/2
_
2
D
2
=D
_
1+
_
y +h/2
_
2
2D
2
+
_
(8.27)
These approximations are valid as long as D y and D h.
We next consider how to modify (8.25) so that it applies to the case when
the two slits are illuminated by a collection of point sources distributed over a
nite lateral extent. This situation is depicted in Fig. 8.6 and it leads to partial
spatial coherence if the phase of each point emitter uctuates randomly.
8
When
a Youngs two-slit setup is illuminated by an extended random source, the wave
fronts at the two slits are less correlated. This makes the fringes move around on
8
A laser beam does not t the denition of a light source with randomly varying spatial phase.
Instead, in this section we consider a source such as the surface of a star (ltered to a narrow
frequency range). See appendix 8.B for more discussion.
8.5 Youngs Two-Slit Setup and Spatial Coherence 211
E
x
t
e
n
d
e
d

S
o
u
r
c
e
F
r
i
n
g
e

P
a
t
t
e
r
n
Figure 8.6 Light from an extended source is only partially coherent. Fringes are still
possible, but they exhibit less contrast.
the screen rapidly and partially wash out when time averaged, meaning worse
fringe visibility.
To simplify our analysis, we restrict the distribution of point sources to vary
only in the y
dimension.
9
We assume that the light is quasi-monochromatic so
that its frequency is approximately with a phase that uctuates randomly over
time intervals much longer than the period of oscillation 2/.
10
The light emerging from the j
th
point at y
j
travels by means of two very
narrow slits to a point y on a screen. Let E
1
(y
j
) and E
2
(y
j
) be the elds on the
screen at y, both originating from the point y
j
, but traveling respectively through
the two different slits. We assume that these elds have the same polarization,
and we will suppress the vectorial nature of the elds. For simplicity, we assume
the two elds have the same (real) amplitude at the screen E
0
_
y
j
_
. Thus, we write
the two elds as
E
1
(y
j
) =E
0
_
y
j
_
e
i
_
k
_
r
1
(y
j
)+d
1
(y)
_
t +(y
j
)
_
(8.28)
and
E
2
(y
j
) =E
0
_
y
j
_
e
i
_
k
_
r
2
(y
j
)+d
2
(y)
_
t +(y
j
)
_
(8.29)
We have explicitly included an arbitrary phase (y
j
), which we will take to be
different for each point source.
We now set about nding the cumulative eld at y arising from the many
points indexed by the subscript j . The total eld on the screen at point y is
E
tot
(h) =
j
_
E
1
(y
j
) +E
2
(y
j
)
_
(8.30)
9
The results can be generalized to a two-dimensional source.
10
Random phase uctuations necessarily imply some frequency bandwidth, however small.
Hence the need to specify quasi-monochromatic light.
Obviously, in addition to h, the total eld depends on y, R, D, and k as well as on
the phase (y
j
) at each point. Nevertheless, in the end we will mainly emphasize
the dependence on the slit separation h.
The intensity of this eld is
I
tot
(h) =

0
c
2
|E
tot
(h)|
2
=

0
c
2
_
j
E
1
(y
j
) +E
2
(y
j
)
_
_
m
E
1
(y
m
) +E
2
(y
m
)
_
=

0
c
2
j ,m
_
E
1
(y
j
)E
1
(y
m
) +E
2
(y
j
)E
2
(y
m
) +2ReE
1
(y
j
)E
2
(y
m
)
_
=

0
c
2
j ,m
E
2
0
_
y
j
_
_
e
i k
_
r
1
(y
j
)r
1
(y
m
)
_
+e
i k
_
r
2
(y
j
)r
2
(y
m
)
_
+2Ree
i k
_
r
1
(y
j
)r
2
(y
m
)
_
e
i k(d
1
(y)d
2
(y))
_
e
i
_
(y
j
)(y
m
)
_
(8.31)
At this juncture we make a critical assumption that the phase of the emission
(y
j
) varies in time independently at every point on the source. This assumption
is appropriate for the emission from thermal sources such as starlight, a glowing
lament (ltered to a narrow frequency range), or spontaneous emission from an
excited gas or plasma.
Thomas Young (17731829, English)
was born in Milverton, Somerset, and
was the eldest of ten children. By age
fourteen, he had become procient at a
dozen dierent languages. As a young
adult, he studied medicine and then
went to Gttingen, Germany where he
earned a doctoral degree in physics. In
1801, he was appointed professor of
natural philosophy at the Royal Insti-
tute, but he also maintained an active
medical practice on the side. He con-
tributed to a wide variety of elds and
helped to decipher ancient Egyptian hi-
eroglyphs, including the Rosetta Stone.
He published descriptions of the heart
and arteries as well as how the eye ac-
commodates to see at dierent depths
and how the eye perceives color. In en-
gineering elds, Young is well known
his analysis of stresses and strains in
elastic media. Youngs double-slit exper-
iment gave convincing evidence of the
wave nature of light, overturning New-
tons corpusculor theory. Regarding this,
Thomas Young traded ideas with Au-
gustin Fresnel through correspondence.
(Wikipedia)
A wonderful simplication happens to (8.31) when the phase difference
(y
j
) (y
m
) varies randomly, sometimes called the stochastic assumption. If
j =m, then exp{i ((y
j
) (y
m
))} averages to zero. On the other hand, if j =m,
then the factor reduces to e
0
=1. Formally, this is written
_
e
i
_
(y
j
)(y
m
)
__
t
=
j ,m
_
1 if j =m,
0 if j =m.
(random phase assumption) (8.32)
where
j ,m
is known as the Kronecker delta function.
The time-averaged intensity under the stochastic assumption (8.32) reduces
to
I
tot
(h)
t
=
j
I (y
j
) +
j
I (y
j
) +2Re
j
I (y
j
)e
i k
_
r
1
(y
j
)r
2
(y
j
)
_
e
i k(d
1
(y)d
2
(y))
(8.33)
We may use (8.26) to simplify d
1
(y) d
2
(y)
=hy/D. Very similarly, we may also

write r
1
(y
j
) r
2
(y
j
)
=hy
j
/R.
The only thing left to do is to put (8.33) into a slightly more familiar form:
I
tot
(h)
t
=
_
2
j
I
_
y
j
_
_
_
1+Re(h)
_
We have introduced
(h)
e
i
khy
D
j
I
_
y
j
_
e
i
khy
j
R
j
I
_
y
j
_ (8.35)
8.A Spatial Coherence for a Continuous Source 213
which is known as the degree of coherence. It controls the fringe pattern seen at
the screen.
We can generalize (8.34) so that it applies to the case of a continuous distribu-
tion of light as opposed to a collection of discrete point sources. In Appendix 8.A
we show how summations in (8.34) and (8.35) become integrals over the source
intensity distribution, and we write
I
net
(h)
t
=2I
oneslit
t
_
1+Re(h)
_
where
(h)
e
i
khy
D
I (y
)e
i
khy
R
dy
I (y
)dy
(8.37)
Here I (y
) has units of intensity per length.

The factor exp
_
i khy/D
_
denes the positions of the periodic fringes on
the screen. The remainder of (8.37) controls the depth of the fringes as the slit
separation h is varied. When the slit separation h increases, the amplitude of (h)
tends to diminish until the intensity at the screen becomes uniform. When the
two slits have very small separation (such that e
i
khy
R

=1) then we have
(h)
=1
and very good fringe visibility results. (h) dictates the degree of spatial coherence
in much the same way that () dictates the degree of temporal coherence. Notice
the close similarity between (8.37) and (8.9).
As the slit separation h increases, the fringe visibility
V (h) =
(h)
(8.38)
diminishes, eventually approaching zero (see (8.18)). In analogy to the temporal
case (see (8.14)), we can dene a slit separation sufciently large to make the
fringes at the screen wash out:
h
c
2
_
0
(h)
2
dh (8.39)
Appendix 8.A Spatial Coherence for a Continuous Source
In this appendix we examine the spatial coherence of light from a continuous spa-
tial distribution (as opposed to a collection of discrete point sources) and justify
(8.37) and (8.38). We begin by replacing the summations in (8.31) with integrals
over a continuous emission source. We make the following replacements:
j
E
1
(y
j
)
E
1
(y
)dy
and
m
E
1
(y
m
)
E
1
(y
)dy
j
E
2
(y
j
)
E
2
(y
)dy
and
m
E
2
(y
m
)
E
2
(y
)dy
(8.40)
Rather than deal with a time average of randomly varying phases, we will instead
work with a linear superposition of all conceivable phase factors. That is, we will
write the phase (y
) as Ky
, where K is a parameter with units of inverse length,

which we allow to take on all possible real values with uniform likelihood. The
way we modify (8.32) for the continuous case is then
_
e
i
_
(y
j
)(y
m
)
__
t
=
j ,m
1
2
e
i K(y
)
dK =(y
) (8.41)
With the above replacements, (8.31) becomes
I
tot
(h) =

0
c
2
dy
E(y
dy
E(y
_
e
i k(r
1
(y
)r
1
(y
))
+e
i k(r
2
(y
)r
2
(y
))
+2Ree
i k(d
1
(y)d
2
(y))
e
i k(r
1
(y
)r
2
(y
))
_
(y
)
(8.42)
Again, consistent with (8.26), we may write d
1
(y) d
2
(y)
=hy/D and r
1
(y
)
r
2
(y
=hy
/R, and (8.42) reduces to

I
tot
(h) =2
I (y
)dy
+2Ree
i
khy
D
I (y
)e
i
khy
R
dy
(8.43)
where
I (y
)
1
2
0
c
E(y
2
(8.44)
For I
tot
to have normal units of intensity, I (y
) must have units of intensity per

length of source, implying that E(y
) has units of eld per square root of length.

Hence,
_
I (y
)dy
is the intensity at the screen caused by the entire extended

source when only one slit is open. We see that (8.43) is equivalent to (8.36) and
(8.37).
Appendix 8.B Van Cittert-Zernike Theorem
In this appendix we avoid making the assumption of randomly varying phase.
This would be the case when the source of light is, for example, a laser. In place of
(8.42) we have
I
tot
(h)
E(y
e
i (y
)+i
ky
2
2R
_
e
i
khy
2R
dy
2
+
E(y
e
i (y
)+i
ky
2
2R
_
e
i
khy
2R
dy
2
+2Ree
i
khy
D
_
_
_
E
_
y
e
i (y
)+i
ky
2
2R
_
e
i
khy
2R
dy
_
_
_
_
_
_
E
_
y
e
i (y
)+i
ky
2
2R
_
e
i
khy
2R
dy
_
_
_
(8.45)
where we have employed (8.26) and (8.27) and similar expressions involving R
and y
.
8.B Van Cittert-Zernike Theorem 215
The rst term on the right-hand side of (8.45) is the intensity on the screen
when the lower slit is covered. The second term is the intensity on the screen
when the upper slit is covered. The last term is the interference term, which
modies the sum of the individual intensities when both slits are uncovered.
Notice the occurrence of Fourier transforms (over position) on the quantities
inside of the square brackets. Later, when we study diffraction theory, we will
recognize these transforms as determining the strength of elds impinging on
the individual slits. This corresponds to a major difference between a spatially
coherent source and a random-phase source. With the random-phase source, the
slits are always illuminated with the same strength regardless of the separation.
However, with a coherent source, beaming can occur such that the strength as
well as phase of the eld at each slit depends on the slit separation.
A beautiful simplication occurs when the phase of the emitted light has the
following distribution:
(y
) =
ky
2
2R
(converging spherical wave) (8.46)
Equation (8.46) is not as arbitrary as it may rst appear. This particular phase
is an approximation to a concave spherical wave front converging to the center
between the two slits. This type of wave front is created when a plane wave passes
through a lens. With the special phase (8.46), the intensity (8.45) reduces to
I
tot
(h)
E(y
e
i
khy
2R
dy
2
+
E
_
y
e
i
khy
2R
dy
2
+2Ree
i
khy
D
_
_
_
E(y
e
i
khy
2R
dy
_
_
_
2
(converging spherical wave) (8.47)
There is a close resemblance between the expression in the rst term
E(y
e
i
khy
2R
dy
(8.48)
and the magnitude of the degree of coherence V =
(h/2)
from (8.37). Again,

this corresponds to the eld that goes through the upper slit, when it is positioned
at h/2, and which impinges on the screen. Let this eld be denoted by |E
1
(h/2)|.
The eld strength when the single slit is positioned at h compared to that when it
is positioned at zero is
E
1
(h)
E
1
(0)
E(y
e
i
khy
R
dy
E(y
dy
(converging spherical wave

assumption)
(8.49)
This looks very much like
(h)
of (8.37) except that the magnitude of the eld

appears in (8.49), whereas the intensity appears in (8.37).
This may seem rather contrived, but at least it is cute, and it is known as the
van Cittert-Zernike theorem.
11
It says that the spatial coherence of an extended
source with randomly varying phase drops off with lateral slit separation in the
same way that the eld pattern at the focus of a converging spherical wave would
drop off, whose eld amplitude distribution is the same as the original intensity
distribution.
11
Exercises 217
Exercises
Exercises for 8.2 Temporal Coherence
P8.1 Show that Re{()} dened in (8.9) reduces to cos(
0
) in the case of a
plane wave E (t ) =E
0
e
i (k
0
z
0
t )
being sent through a Michelson inter-
ferometer. In other words, the output intensity fromthe interferometer
reduces to
I =2I
0
[1+cos(
0
)]
as you already expect.
HINT: Dont be afraid of delta functions. After integration, the left-over
delta functions cancel.
P8.2 Light emerging from a dense hot gas has a collisionally broadened
power spectrum described by the Lorentzian function
I () =
I (
0
)
1+
_

0
FWHM
/2
_
2
The light is sent into a Michelson interferometer. Make a graph of the
average power arriving to the detector as a function of .
HINT: See (0.56).
P8.3 Consider the light source described in P8.2
(a) Regardless of how the phase of E () is organized, the oscillation
of the energy arriving to the detector as a function of is the same.
The spectral phase of the light in P8.2 is randomly organized. Describe
qualitatively how the light probably looks as a function of time.
(b) Now suppose that the phase of the light is somehow neatly orga-
nized such that
E () =
i E (
0
) e
i

c
z
i +

0
FWHM
/2
Perform the inverse Fourier transform on the eld and nd how the
intensity of the light looks a function of time.
HINT:
e
i ax
x +
dx =
_
2i e
i a
if a>0
0 if a<0
_
Im>0
_
The constants I (
0
), and
FWHM
will appear in the answer.
Exercises for 8.3 Coherence Time and Fringe Visibility
P8.4 (a) Verify that (8.18) gives the fringe visibility.
HINT: Write =
e
i
and assume that the oscillations in that give
rise to fringes are due entirely to changes in and that
is a slowly
varying function in comparison to the oscillations.
(b) What is the coherence time
c
of the light in P8.2?
P8.5 (a) Show that the fringe visibility of a Gaussian spectral distribution
(see Example 8.2) goes from 1 to e
/2
=0.21 as the round-trip path in
one arm of the instrument is extended by a coherence length.
(b) Find the FWHM bandwidth in wavelength
FWHM
in terms of the
coherence length
c
and the center wavelength
0
.
HINT: First determine
FWHM
, dened to be the width of I () at half
of its peak. To convert to a wavelength difference, use =
2c
FWHM

=
2c
0
2
FWHM
. You can ignore the minus sign; it simply
means that wavelength decreases as frequency increases.
Exercises for 8.4 Fourier Spectroscopy
L8.6 (a) Use a scanning Michelson interferometer to measure the wave-
length of the ultrashort laser pulses from a mode-locked Ti:sapphire
oscillator.
Detector
Beam
Splitter
Figure 8.7
(b) Measure the coherence length of the source by observing the dis-
tance over which the visibility diminishes. From your measurement,
what is the bandwidth
FWHM
of the source, assuming the Gaussian
prole in the previous problem? See P8.5.
(c) Use a computer to perform a fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the
signal output. For the positive frequencies, plot the laser spectrum as a
function of and compare with the results of (a) and (b).
(d) How do the results change if the ultrashort pulses are rst stretched
in time by traversing a thick piece of glass?
Exercises for 8.5 Youngs Two-Slit Setup and Spatial Coherence
P8.7 (a) A point source with wavelength =500 nm illuminates two parallel
slits separated by h = 1.0 mm. If the screen is D = 2 m away, what is
the separation between the diffraction peaks on the screen? Make a
sketch.
(b) A thin piece of glass with thickness d =0.01 mmand index n =1.5 is
placed in front of one of the slits. By howmany fringes does the pattern
at the screen move?
Exercises 219
HINT: Add to k (d
2
d
1
) in (8.25) , where
2
1
is the relative
phase between the two paths. Compare the phase of the light when
traversing the glass versus traversing an empty region of the same
thickness.
L8.8 (a) Carefully measure the separation of a double slit in the lab (h
0.1 mm separation) by shining a HeNe laser ( =633 nm) through it
and measuring the diffraction peak separations on a distant wall (say,
2 m from the slits).
HINT: For better accuracy, measure across several fringes and divide.
Diffuser
Laser
Single slit
width a
Double slit
separation h
Filter
CCD
Camera
Rotating diffuser
to create phase
variation
Figure 8.8
(b) Create an extended light source with a HeNe laser using a time-
varying diffuser followed by an adjustable single slit. (The diffuser
must rotate rapidly to create random time variation of the phase at
each point as would occur automatically for a natural source such
as a star.) Place the double slit at a distance of R 100 cm after the
rst slit. (Take note of the exact value of R, as you will need it for the
next problem.) Use a lens to image the diffraction pattern that would
have appeared on a far-away screen into a video camera. Observe
the visibility of the fringes. Adjust the width of the source with the
single slit until the visibility of the fringes disappears. After making the
source wide enough to cause the fringe pattern to degrade, measure
the single slit width a by shining a HeNe laser through it and observing
the diffraction pattern on the distant wall.
HINT: As we will study later, a single slit of width a produces an inten-
sity pattern on a screen a distance L away described by
I (x) = I
peak
sinc
2
_
a
L
x
_
where sinc()
sin
and lim
0
sin
=1.
NOTE: It would have been nicer to vary the separation of the two slits
to determine the width of a xed source. However, because it is hard to
make an adjustable double slit, we varied the size of the source until
the spatial coherence of the light matched the slit separation.
P8.9 (a) Compute h
c
for a uniform intensity distribution of width a using
(8.39).
(b) Use this formula to check that your measurements in L8.8 agree
with spatial coherence theory.
HINT: In your experiment h
c
is the double slit separation. Use your
measured R and h to calculate what the width of the single slit (i.e.
a) should have been when the fringes disappeared and compare this
calculation to your direct measurement of a.
Solution: (This is only a partial solution)
(h) =
a/2
_
a/2
I
0
exp
_
i kh
_
y
R
+
y
D
__
dy
a/2
_
a/2
I
0
dy
=
e
i kh
y
D
a/2
_
a/2
e
i kh
y
R dy
a
=
e
i kh
y
D
_
_
e
i kh
y
R
i
kh
R
_
_
a/2
a/2
a
=e
i kh
y
D
_
_
e
i kh
a/2
R e
i kh
a/2
R
2i kh
a/2
R
_
_
=e
i kh
y
D sinc
kha
2R
Note that
_
0
sin
2
x
(x)
2
dx =

2
Review, Chapters 68
R29 T or F: In our notation (widely used), I (t ) is the Fourier transform of
I ().
R30 T or F: The integral of I (t ) over all t equals the integral of I () over all
.
R31 T or F: The phase velocity of light (the speed of an individual frequency
component of the eld) never exceeds the speed of light c.
R32 T or F: The group velocity of light in a homogeneous material can
exceed c if absorption or amplication takes place.
R33 T or F: The group velocity of light never exceeds the phase velocity.
R34 T or F: A Michelson interferometer can be used to measure the spectral
intensity of light I ().
R35 T or F: AMichelson interferometer can be used to measure the duration
of a short laser pulse and thereby characterize its chirp.
R36 T or F: A Michelson interferometer can be used to measure the wave-
length of light.
R37 T or F: A Michelson interferometer can be used to measure the phase
of E ().
R38 Tor F: The Fourier transform(or inverse Fourier transformif youprefer)
of I () is proportional to the degree of temporal coherence.
R39 T or F: A Michelson interferometer is ideal for measuring the spatial
coherence of light.
R40 T or F: The Youngs two-slit setup is ideal for measuring the temporal
coherence of light.
221
R41 T or F: Vertically polarized light illuminates a Youngs double-slit setup
and fringes are seen on a distant screen with good visibility. A half wave
plate is placed in front of one of the slits so that the polarization for that
slit becomes horizontally polarized. Heres the statement: The fringes
at the screen will shift position but maintain their good visibility.
Problems
Horizontal
Polarizer
Vertical
Polarizer
Figure 8.9
R42 (a) Horizontally polarized light enters a systemand rst travels through
a horizontal and then a vertical polarizer in series. What is the Jones
vector of the transmitted eld?
(b) Now a polarizer at 45
is inserted between the two polarizers in the

system described in (a). What is the Jones vector of the transmitted
eld? How does the nal intensity compare to initial intensity?
(c) Now a quarter wave plate with a fast-axis angle at 45
is inserted
between the two polarizers (instead of the polarizer of part (b)). What
is the Jones vector of the transmitted eld? How does the nal intensity
compare to initial intensity?
R43 (a) Find the Jones matrix for half wave plate with its fast axis making an
arbitrary angle with the x-axis.
HINT: Project an arbitrary polarization with E
x
and E
y
onto the fast
and slowaxes of the wave plate. Shift the slowaxis phase by , and then
project the eld components back onto the horizontal and vertical axes.
The answer is
_
cos
2
sin
2
2sincos
2sincos sin
2
cos
2
_
Fast axis
y-axis
x-axis
Transmission Axis
Figure 8.10 Polarizing Elements
(b) We desire to create a variable attenuator for a polarized laser beam
using a half wave plate and a polarizer aligned to the initial polarization
of the beam (see gure). The fast axis of the half wave plate is initially
aligned in the direction of polarization and then rotated through an
angle . What is the ratio of the intensity exiting the polarizer to the
incoming intensity as a function of ?
R44 (a) What is the spectral content (i.e., I ()) of a square laser pulse
E (t ) =
_
E
0
e
i
0
t
, |t | /2
0 , |t | >/2
Make a sketch of I (), indicating the location of the rst zeros.
(b) What is the temporal shape (i.e., I (t )) of a light pulse with frequency
content
E () =
_
E
0
, |
0
| /2
0 , |
0
| >/2
223
where in this case E
0
has units of E-eld per frequency. Make a sketch
of I (t ), indicating the location of the rst zeros.
(c) If E () is known (any arbitrary function, not the same as above), and
the light goes through a material of thickness and index of refraction
n(), how would you nd the form of the pulse E (t ) after passing
through the material? Please set up the integral.
R45 (a) Prove Parsevals theorem:
|E ()|
2
d=
|E (t )|
2
dt .
HINT:
_
t
t
_
=
1
2
e
i (t
t )
d
(b) Explain the physical relevance of Parsevals theorem to light pulses.
Suppose that you have a detector that measures the total energy in
a pulse of light, say 1 mJ directed onto an area of 1 mm
2
. Next you
measure the spectrum of light and nd it to have a width of =
50 nm, centered at
0
=800 nm. Assume that the light has a Gaussian
frequency prole
I () = I (
0
)e
_
2
Use as an approximate value
=
2c
2
. Find a value and correct
units for I (
0
).
HINT:
e
Ax
2
+Bx+C
dx =
_
A
e
B
2
/4A+C
Re{A} >0
R46 Continuous light entering a Michelson interferometer has a spectrum
described by
I () =
_
I
0
, |
0
| /2
0 , |
0
| >/2
The Michelson interferometer uses a 50:50 beamsplitter. The emerging
light has intensity I
det
(t , )
t
=2I (t )
t
_
1+Re()
_
, where degree of
coherence is
() =
I () e
i
d
_

_
I ()d
Find the fringe visibility V (I
max
I
min
)/(I
max
+I
min
) as a function of
(i.e. the round-trip delay due to moving one of the mirrors).
E
x
t
e
n
d
e
d

S
o
u
r
c
e
F
r
i
n
g
e

P
a
t
t
e
r
n
R47 Light emerging from a point travels by means of two very narrow slits
to a point y on a screen. The intensity at the screen arising froma point
source at position y
is found to be
I
screen
_
y
, h
_
=2I (y
)
_
1+cos
_
kh
_
y
D
+
y
R
___
where an approximation has restricted us to small angles.
(a) Now, suppose that I (y
) characterizes emission from a wider source

with randomly varying phase across its width. Write down an expres-
sion (in integral form) for the resulting intensity at the screen:
I
screen
(h)
I
screen
_
y
, h
_
dy
(b) Assume that the source has an emission distribution with the form
I (y
) =
_
I
0
/y
_
e
y
2
/y
2
. What is the function (h) where the intensity
is written I
screen
(h) =2
I
0
_
1+Re(h)
_
?
HINT:
e
Ax
2
+Bx+C
dx =
_
A
e
B
2
/4A+C
Re{A} >0.
(c) As h varies, the intensity at a point on the screen y oscillates. As h
grows wider, the amplitude of oscillations decreases. How wide must
the slit separation h become (in terms of R, k, and y
) to reduce the
visibility to
V
I
max
I
min
I
max
+I
min
=
1
3
Selected Answers
R42: (b) 1/4, (c) 1/2.
R45: (b) 3.810
16
J/
_
cm
2
s
1
_
.
Chapter 9
Light as Rays
So far in our study of optics, we have described light in terms of waves, which sat-
isfy Maxwells equations. However, as you are probably aware, in many situations
light can be thought of as rays pointing along the direction of wave propagation. A
ray picture is useful when one is interested in the macroscopic owof light energy,
but rays fail to reveal ne details, in particular wave and diffraction phenomena.
For example, simple ray theory suggests that a lens can focus light down to a point.
However, if a beam of light were concentrated onto a true point, the intensity
would be innite! Nevertheless, ray theory is useful for predicting where a focus
occurs. It is also useful for describing imaging properties of optical systems (e.g.
lenses and mirrors).
Beginning in section 9.3 we study the details of ray theory and the imaging
properties of optical systems. First, however, we examine the justication for ray
theory starting fromMaxwells equations. Inthe short-wavelength limit, Maxwells
equations give rise to the eikonal equation, which governs the direction of rays
in a medium with an index of refraction that varies with position. The German
word eikonal comes from the Greek from which the modern word icon
derives. The eikonal equation therefore has a descriptive title since it controls the
formation of images. Although we will not use the eikonal equation extensively,
we will showhowit embodies the underlying justication for ray theory. As will be
apparent in its derivation, the eikonal equation relies on an approximation that
the features of interest in the light distribution are large relative to the wavelength
of the light.
The eikonal equation describes the direction of ray propagation, even in
complicated situations such as desert mirages where air is heated near the ground
and has a different index than the air farther from the ground. Rays of light from
the sky that initially are directed toward the ground can be bent such that they
travel parallel to or even up from the ground, owing to the inhomogeneous
refractive index. This eikonal equation can be used to determine the propagation
of such rays. The eikonal equation can also be used to deduce Fermats principle,
which in short says that light travels from point A to point B following a path
that takes the minimum time. This principle can be used, for example, toderive
225
226 Chapter 9 Light as Rays
Snells law. Of course Fermat asserted his principle more than a century before
Maxwells equations were known, but it is nice to give justication retroactively to
Fermats principle using the modern perspective.
We will analyze the propagation of rays through optical systems composed of
lenses and/or curved mirrors in the context of paraxial ray theory,. The paraxial
approximation restricts rays to travel nearly parallel to the axis of such systems.
We consider the effects of three basic optical elements acting on paraxial rays: 1)
Unobstructed propagation through a distance d in a uniform medium; a ray may
move farther away from (or closer to) the optical axis, as it travels. 2) Reection
from a curved spherical mirror, which changes a rays angle with respect to the
optical axis. 3) Transmission through a spherical interface between two materials
with differing refractive indices. The effects of each of these elements on a ray
of light can be represented as a 22 matrix. These three basic elements can be
combined to construct more complex imaging systems (such as a lens or a series
of lenses and curved mirrors). The overall effect of a complex system on a ray can
be computed by multiplying together the matrices associated with each of the
basic elements.
We will study image formation in the context of the paraxial approximation,
which gives rise to the familiar formula
1
f
=
1
d
o
+
1
d
i
(9.1)
This formula describes the location of images produced by a curved mirror or a
thin lens. Even a complicated multi-element optical system obeys (9.1) if d
o
and
d
i
are referenced to principal planes rather than the single plane of a thin lens. In
this case, the overall system has an effective focal length f
eff
.
Paraxial ray theory can also be used to study the stability of laser cavities. The
ray formalismpredicts whether a ray, after many round trips in the cavity, remains
near the optical axis (trapped and therefore stable) or if it drifts endlessly away
from the axis of the cavity on successive round trips.
In appendix 9.A we address deviations from the paraxial ray theory known
as aberrations. We also comment on ray-tracing techniques, used for designing
optical systems that minimize such aberrations.
9.1 The Eikonal Equation
In this chapter, we consider light to consist of only a single frequency . The wave
equation (2.13) for a medium with a real index of refraction in this case may be
written as
2
E(r, t ) +
n
2
(r)
2
c
2
E(r, t ) =0 (9.2)
where we have already performed the time differentiation on the assumed time
dependence e
i t
. Although in chapter 2 we considered solutions to the wave
equation in a homogeneous material, the wave equation remains perfectly valid
9.1 The Eikonal Equation 227
when the index of refraction varies throughout space (i.e. if n(r) is an arbitrary
function of r). In this case, the usual plane-wave solutions no longer satisfy the
wave equation.
Figure 9.1 Wave fronts (i.e. sur-
faces of constant phase given by
R(r)) distributed throughout space
in the presence of a spatially inho-
mogeneous refractive index. The
gradient of R gives the direction of
travel for a wavefront.
As a trial solution for (9.2), we take
E(r, t ) =E
0
(r) e
i [k
vac
R(r)t ]
(9.3)
where
k
vac
=

c
=
2
vac
(9.4)
Here R(r) is a real scalar function (which depends on position) having the dimen-
sion of length. By taking R(r) to be real, we do not account of possible absorption
or amplication in the medium. Even though the trial solution (9.3) looks some-
what like a plane wave,
1
the function R(r) accommodates wave fronts that can
be curved or distorted as depicted in Fig. 9.1. At any given instant t , the phase
of the curved surfaces described by R(r) =const ant can be interpreted as wave
fronts of the solution. The wave fronts travel in the direction for which R(r) varies
the fastest. This direction is is aligned with R(r), which lies in the direction
perpendicular to surfaces of constant phase.
The substitution of the trial solution (9.3) into the wave equation (9.2) gives
1
k
2
vac
2
_
E
0
(r) e
i k
vac
R(r)
_
+n
2
(r) E
0
(r) e
i k
vac
R(r)
=0 (9.5)
where we have divided each term by e
i t
.
Computing the Laplacian in (9.5)
The gradient of the x component of the eld is
_
E
0x
(r) e
i k
vac
R(r)
_
=[E
0x
(r)] e
i k
vac
R(r)
+i k
vac
E
0x
(r) [R(r)] e
i k
vac
R(r)
The Laplacian of the x component is

_
E
0x
(r) e
i k
vac
R(r)
_
=
_
2
E
0x
(r) k
2
vac
E
0x
(r) [R(r)] [R(r)]
+i k
vac
E
0x
(r)
_
2
R(r)
_
+2i k
vac
[E
0x
(r)] [R(r)]
_
e
i k
vac
R(r)
Upon combining the result for each vector component of E
0
(r), the required spatial
derivative can be written as
2
_
E
0
(r) e
i k
vac
R(r)
_
=
_
2
E
0
(r) k
2
vac
E
0
(r) [R(r)] [R(r)] +i k
vac
E
0
(r)
_
2
R(r)
_
+2i k
vac
_
x[E
0x
(r)] [R(r)] + y
_
E
0y
(r)
_
[R(r)]
+ z[E
0z
(r)] [R(r)]}) e
i k
vac
R(r)
1
If the index is spatially independent (i.e. n(r) n), then (9.3) reduces to the usual plane-wave
solution of the wave equation. In this case, we have R(r) = k r/k
vac
and the eld amplitude
becomes constant (i.e. E
0
(r) E
0
).
After performing the Laplacian and after some rearranging, (9.5) becomes
_
R(r) R(r) n
2
(r)
_
E
0
(r) =

2
E
0
(r)
k
2
vac
+
i
k
vac
2
R(r) +
2i
k
vac
xE
0x
(r) R(r)
+
2i
k
vac
_
y
_
E
0y
(r)
_
R(r) + zE
0z
(r) R(r)
_
(9.6)
Dont be afraid; at this point we are ready to make an important approxima-
tion. We take the limit of a very short wavelength (i.e. 1/k
vac
=
vac
/20), and
the entire right-hand side of (9.6) vanishes. (Thank goodness!) With it we lose
the effects of diffraction. We also lose surface reections at abrupt index changes
unless specically considered. This approximation works best in situations where
only macroscopic features are of concern.
Our wave equation has been simplied to
[R(r)] [R(r)] =n
2
(r) (9.7)
Written another way, this equation is
R(r) =n(r) s(r) (9.8)
where s is a unit vector pointing in the direction R(r), the direction normal to
wave front surfaces. Equation (9.8) is called the eikonal equation. y
h
h/2
h/4
x
Figure 9.2 Depiction of possible
light ray paths in a region with
varying index.
Example 9.1
Suppose that a region of air above the desert on a hot day has an index of refraction
that varies with height y according to n
_
y
_
=n
0
_
1+y
2
/h
2
. Verify that R
_
x, y
_
=
n
0
_
x y
2
/2h
_
is a solution to the eikonal equation. (See problem P9.1 for a more
general solution.)
Solution: The gradient of our trial solution gives
R
_
x, y
_
=n
0
_
x y y/h
_
Substituting this into (9.7) gives
R R =n
0
_
x y y/h
_
n
0
_
x y y/h
_
=n
2
0
_
1+y
2
/h
2
_
=n
2
_
y
_
which conrms that it is a solution. The direction of light propagation is
s
_
y
_
R
|R|
=
n
0
_
x y y/h
_
n
0
_
1+y
2
/h
2
=
x y y/h
_
1+y
2
Computed at various heights, the direction for rays turns out to be
s(h) =
x y
2
s(h/2) =
x y/2
5/4
s(h/4) =
x y/4
17/16
These are represented in Fig. 9.2. In a desert mirage, light from the sky can appear
to come from a lower position. We can determine a path for the rays by setting
dy/dx equal to the slope of s:
dy
dx
=
y
h
y = y
0
e
(xx
0
)/h
9.2 Fermats Principle 229
Under the assumption of an innitely short wavelength, the Poynting vector
is directed along s as demonstrated in P9.2. In other words, the direction of
s species the direction of energy ow. The unit vector s at each location in
space points perpendicular to the wave fronts and indicates the direction that the
waves travel as seen in Fig. 9.1. We refer to a collection of vectors s distributed
throughout space as rays.
In retrospect, we might have jumped straight to (9.8) without going through
the above derivation. After all, we know that each part of a wave front advances
in the direction of its gradient R(r) (i.e. in the direction that R(r) varies most
rapidly). We also know that each part of a wave front dened by R(r) =constant
travels at speed c/n(r). The slower a given part of the wave front advances, the
more rapidly R(r) changes with position r and the closer the contours of constant
phase. It follows that R(r) must be proportional to n(r) since R(r) denotes the
rate of change in R(r).
Pierre de Fermat (16011665, French)
was born in Beaumont-de-Lomagne,
France to a wealthy merchant family.
He attended the University of Toulouse
before moving to Bordeaux in the late
1620s where Fermat distinguished him-
self as a mathematician. Fermat was
procient in many languages and went
on to obtain a law degree in 1631 from
the University of Orleans. He continued
his study of mathematics as a hobby
throughout his life. He corresponded
with a number of notable mathemati-
cians, and through his letters made
notable contributions to analytic ge-
ometry, probability theory, and number
theory. He was often quite secretive
about the methods used to obtain his
results. Mathematicians suspect that
Fermat didnt actually prove his famous
last theorem, which was not able to be
veried until the 1990s. Fermat was
the rst to assert that the path taken
by a beam of light is the one that can
be traveled in the least amount of time.
(Wikipedia)
9.2 Fermats Principle
As we have seen, the eikonal equation (9.8) governs the path that rays follow as
they traverse a region of space, where the index varies with position. Another way
of deducing the correct path rays is via Fermats principle. Fermats principle says
that if a ray happens to travel through point A and through point B, it will follow a
path between the points that takes the least time.
Derivation of Fermats Principle fromthe Eikonal Equation
We begin by taking the curl of (9.8) to obtain
2
[n(r) s(r)] =[R(r)] =0 (9.9)
This can be integrated over an open surface of area A to give
_
A
[n(r) s(r)] da =
_
C
n(r) s(r) d =0 (9.10)
where we have applied Stokes theorem (0.12) to convert the area integral into a
path integral around the perimeter contour C.
Equation (9.10) states that the integration of n s d around a closed loop is always
zero. If we consider a closed loop comprised of a path from point A to point B and
then a different path from point back to point A again, the integrals for the two
legs always cancel, even while holding one path xed while varying the other. This
means
B
_
A
n s d is independent of path from A to B. (9.11)
Now consider a path from A to B that is parallel to s, as depicted in Fig. 9.3. In
this case, the cosine in the dot product is always one. If we choose some other
2
The curl of a gradient is identically zero for any function.
path that connects A and B, the cosine associated with the dot product is less than
one at most points along that path, whereas the result of the integral is the same.
Therefore, if we articially remove the dot product from the integral (i.e. exclude
the cosine factor), the result of the integral will exceed the true value unless the
path chosen follows the direction of s (i.e. the path that corresponds to the one
that light rays actually follow).
In mathematical form, this argument can be expressed as
B
_
A
n s d =min
_
_
_
B
_
A
nd
_
_
_
(9.12)
The integral on the right is called the optical path length (OPL) between points A
and B:
OPL|
B
A
B
_
A
nd (9.13)
The conclusion is that the true path that light follows between two points (i.e.
the one that stays parallel to s) is the one with the shortest optical path length.
The index n may vary with position and therefore can be different for each of the
incremental distances d.
A
B
Figure 9.3 A ray of light leaving
point A arriving at B.
Fermats principle is usually stated in terms of the time it takes light to travel
between points. The travel time t depends not only on the path taken by the
light but also on the velocity of the light v (r), which varies spatially with the
refractive index:
t |
B
A
=
B
_
A
d
v(r)
=
B
_
A
d
c/n(r)
=
OPL|
B
A
c
(9.14)
To nd the correct path for the light ray that leaves point A and crosses point
B, we need only minimize the optical path length between the two points. Mini-
mizing the optical path length is equivalent to minimizing the time of travel since
it differs from the time of travel only by the constant c. The optical path length
is not the actual distance that the light travels; it is proportional to the number
of wavelengths that t into that distance (see (2.24)). Thus, as the wavelength
shortens due to a higher index of refraction, the optical path length increases.
The correct ray traveling from A to B does not necessarily follow a straight line
but can follow a complicated curve according to how the index varies.
An imaging situation occurs when many paths from point A to point B have
the same optical path length. An example of this occurs when a lens causes an
image to form. In this case all rays leaving point A (on an object) and traveling
through the system to point B (on the image) experience equal optical path
lengths. This situation is depicted in Fig. 9.4. Note that while the rays traveling
through the center of the lens have a shorter geometric path length, they travel
through more material so that the optical path length is the same for all rays.
A B
Figure 9.4 Rays of light leaving
point A with the same optical path
length to B.
To summarize Fermats principle, of the many rays that might emanate from
a point A, the ray that crosses a second point B is the one that follows the shortest
9.2 Fermats Principle 231
optical path length. If many rays tie for having the shortest optical path, we
say that an image of point A forms at point B. It should be noted that Fermats
principle, as we have written it, does not work for anisotropic media such as
crystals where n depends on the direction of a ray as well as on its location (see
P9.4).
A
B
Figure 9.5 Rays of light leaving
point A; not all of them will tra-
verse point B.
Example 9.2
Use Fermats principle to derive Snells law.
Solution: Consider the many rays of light that leave point A seen in Fig. 9.5. Only
one of the rays passes through point B. Within each medium we expect the light to
travel in a straight line since the index is uniform. However, at the boundary we
must allow for bending since the index changes.
The optical path length between points A and B may be written
OPL =n
i
_
x
2
i
+y
2
i
+n
t
_
x
2
t
+y
2
t
(9.15)
We need to minimize this optical path length to nd the correct one according to
Fermats principle.
Since points A and B are xed, we may regard x
i
and x
t
as constants. The distances
y
i
and y
t
are not constants although the combination
y
tot
= y
i
+y
t
(9.16)
is constant. Thus, we may rewrite (9.15) as
OPL
_
y
i
_
=n
i
_
x
2
i
+y
2
i
+n
t
_
x
2
t
+
_
y
tot
y
i
_
2
(9.17)
where everything on the right-hand side is constant except for y
i
.
We now minimize the optical path length by taking the derivative and setting it
equal to zero:
d (OPL)
dy
i
=n
i
y
i
_
x
2
i
+y
2
i
+n
t
_
y
tot
y
i
_
_
x
2
t
+
_
y
tot
y
i
_
2
=0 (9.18)
Notice that
sin
i
=
y
i
_
x
2
i
+y
2
i
and sin
t
=
y
t
_
x
2
t
+y
2
t
(9.19)
When these are substituted into (9.18) we obtain
n
i
sin
i
=n
t
sin
t
(9.20)
which is the familiar Snells law.
Example 9.3
Use Fermats principle to derive the equation of curvature for a reective surface
that causes all rays leaving one point to image to another. Do the calculation in
two dimensions rather than in three.
3
Solution: We adopt the convention that the origin is half way between the points,
which are separated by a distance 2a, as shown in Fig. 9.6. If the points are to
image to each other, Fermats principle requires that the total path length be a
constant; call it b. By inspection of the gure, we set the reected path equal to the
constant b:
_
(x +a)
2
+y
2
+
_
(x a)
2
+y
2
=b (9.21)
Figure 9.6
To get (9.21) into a more recognizable form, we isolate the rst square root and
square both sides of the equation, which gives
(x +a)
2
+y
2
=b
2
+(x a)
2
+y
2
2b
_
(x a)
2
+y
2
After squaring the two binomial terms, some nice cancelations occur, and we get
4ax b
2
=2b
_
(x a)
2
+y
2
which we square again to obtain
16a
2
x
2
4ab
2
x +b
4
=4b
2
_
x
2
2ax +a
2
+y
2
_
After some cancellations and regrouping this becomes
_
16a
2
4b
2
_
x
2
4b
2
y =4a
2
b
2
b
4
Finally, we divide both sides by the term on the right to obtain the (hopefully)
familiar form of an ellipse
x
2
_
b
2
4
_ +
y
2
_
b
2
4
a
2
_ =1 (9.22)
9.3 Paraxial Rays and ABCDMatrices
We now turn our attention to the effects of curved mirrors and lenses on rays of
light. Keep in mind that when describing light as a collection of rays rather than
as waves, the results can only describe features that are macroscopic compared to
a wavelength. The rays of light at each location in space describe approximately
the direction of travel of the wave fronts at that location. Since the wavelength of
visible light is extraordinarily small compared to the macroscopic features that we
perceive in our day-to-day world, the ray approximation is often a very good one.
3
This conguration is used to direct ash lamp energy into a laser amplier rod. One point in
Fig. 9.6 represents the end of an amplier rod while the other represents the end of a thin ash-lamp
tube.
9.3 Paraxial Rays and ABCDMatrices 233
This is the reason that ray optics was developed long before light was understood
as a wave.
We consider ray theory within the paraxial approximation, meaning that
we restrict our attention to rays that are near and almost parallel to an optical
axis of a system, say the z-axis. It is within this approximation that the familiar
imaging properties of lenses occur. An image occurs when all rays from a point
on an object converge to a corresponding point on what is referred to as the
image. To the extent that the paraxial approximation is violated, the clarity of
an image can suffer, and we say that there are aberrations present. The eld of
optical engineering is often concerned with the minimization aberrations in cases
where the paraxial approximation is not strictly followed. This is done so that, for
example, a camera can take pictures of objects that occupy a fairly wide angular
eld of view, where rays violate the paraxial approximation. Optical systems are
typically engineered using the science of ray tracing, which is described briey in
section 9.A.
As we develop paraxial ray theory, we should remember that rays impinging
on devices such as lenses or curved mirrors should strike the optical component
at near normal incidence. To quantify this statement, the paraxial approximation
is valid to the extent that
sin
= (9.23)
is a good approximation, and similarly
tan
= (9.24)
Here, the angle (in radians) represents the angle that a particular ray makes
with respect to the optical axis. There is an important mathematical reason for
this approximation. The sine is a nonlinear function, but at small angles it is
approximately linear and can be represented by its argument. It is this linearity
that is crucial to the process of forming images. The linearity also greatly simplies
the formulation since it reduces the problem to linear algebra. Conveniently, we
will be able to keep track of imaging effects with a 22 matrix formalism.
Figure 9.7 The behavior of a ray as
light traverses a distance d.
Consider a ray propagating in the yz plane where the optical axis is in the z-
direction. Let us specify a ray at position z
1
by two coordinates: the displacement
from the axis y
1
and the orientation angle
1
(see Fig. 9.7). If the index is uniform
everywhere, the ray travels along a straight path. It is straightforward to predict the
coordinates of the same ray down stream, say at z
2
. First, since the ray continues
in the same direction, we have
2
=
1
(9.25)
By referring to Fig. 9.7 we can write y
2
in terms of y
1
and
1
:
y
2
= y
1
+d tan
1
(9.26)
where d z
2
z
1
. Equation (9.26) is nonlinear in
1
. However, in the paraxial
approximation (9.24) becomes linear, which after all is the point of the approxi-
mation. In this approximation the expression for y
2
simplies to
y
2
= y
1
+
1
d (9.27)
Equations (9.25) and (9.27) describe a linear transformation which in matrix
notation can be consolidated into the form
_
y
2
2
_
=
_
1 d
0 1
__
y
1
1
_
ABCD matrix for propagation
through a distance d
(9.28)
Here, the vectors in this equation specify the essential information about the ray
before and after traversing the distance d, and the matrix describes the effect of
traversing the distance. This type of matrix is called an ABCDmatrix; sometimes
physicists are not very inventive with names.
Example 9.4
Let the distance d be subdivided into two distances, a and b, such that d = a +
b. Show that an application of the ABCD matrix for distance a followed by an
application of the ABCD matrix for b renders same result as an application of the
ABCD matrix for distance d.
Solution: Individually, the effects of propagation through a and through b are
_
y
mid
mid
_
=
_
1 a
0 1
__
y
1
1
_
and
_
y
2
2
_
=
_
1 b
0 1
__
y
mid
mid
_
(9.29)
where the subscript mid refers to the ray in the middle position after traversing
the distance a. If we combine the equations, we get
_
y
2
2
_
=
_
1 b
0 1
__
1 a
0 1
__
y
1
1
_
(9.30)
which is in agreement with (9.28) since the ABCD matrix for the entire displace-
ment is
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
1 b
0 1
__
1 a
0 1
_
=
_
1 a +b
0 1
_
(9.31)
9.4 Reection and Refraction at Curved Surfaces
We next consider the effect of reection from a spherical surface as depicted in
Fig. 9.8. We consider only the act of reection without considering propagation
before or after the reection takes place. Thus, the incident and reected rays
in the gure are symbolic only of the direction of propagation before and after
reection; they do not indicate any amount of travel. We immediately write
y
2
= y
1
(9.32)
since the ray has no chance to go anywhere.
We adopt the widely used convention that, upon reection, the positive z-
direction is reoriented so that we consider the rays still to travel in the positive
9.4 Reection and Refraction at Curved Surfaces 235
z sense. An easy way to remember this is that the positive z direction is always
taken to be down stream of where the light is headed. Notice that in Fig. 9.8, the
reected ray approaches the z-axis. In this case
2
is a negative angle (as opposed
to
1
which is drawn as a positive angle) and is equal to
2
=(
1
+2
i
) (9.33)
where
i
is the angle of incidence with respect to the normal to the spherical
mirror surface. By the law of reection, the incident and reected ray both occur
at anangle
i
referencedto the surface normal. The surface normal points towards
the center of curvature of the mirror surface, which we assume is on the z-axis a
distance R away. By convention, the radius of curvature R is a positive number
if the mirror surface is concave and a negative number if the mirror surface is
convex.
Figure 9.8 A ray depicted in the
act of reection from a spherical
surface.
Elimination of
i
from(9.33) in favor of
1
and y
1
By inspection of Fig. 9.8 we can write
y
1
R
=sin
= (9.34)
where we have applied the paraxial approximation (9.23). (The angles in Fig. 9.8
are exaggerated.) By inspection of the geometry, we also have
=
1
+
i
(9.35)
and when this is combined with (9.34), we get
i
=
y
1
R

1
(9.36)
With this we are able to put (9.33) into a useful linear form:
2
=
2
R
y
1
+
1
(9.37)
Equations (9.32) and (9.37) describe a linear transformation that can be con-
cisely formulated as
_
y
2
2
_
=
_
1 0
2/R 1
__
y
1
1
_
ABCD matrix for a curved mirror (9.38)
The ABCD matrix in this transformation describes the act of reection from a
concave mirror with radius of curvature R. The radius R is negative when the
mirror is convex.
The nal basic element that we shall consider is a spherical interface between
two materials with indices n
i
and n
t
(see Fig. 9.9). This has an effect similar to
that of the curved mirror, which changes the direction of a ray without altering
its distance y
1
from the optical axis. Please note that here the radius of curvature
is considered to be positive for a convex surface (opposite convention from that
of the mirror). In this way, if the lower index is on the left, a positive radius R for
either the interface or the mirror tends to deect rays towards the axis. Again, we
are interested only in the act of transmission without any travel before or after
the interface. As before, (9.32) applies (i.e. y
2
= y
1
).
Figure 9.9 A ray depicted in the
act of transmission at a curved
material interface.
At the interface, the rays obey Snells obeys, which in the paraxial approxima-
tions is written
n
i
i
=n
t
t
(9.39)
The angles
i
and
t
are referenced from the surface normal, as seen in Fig. 9.9.
Substituting
1
,
2
and y
1
into Snells Law
By inspection of Fig. 9.9, we have
i
=
1
+ (9.40)
and
t
=
2
+ (9.41)
where is the angle that the surface normal makes with the z-axis. As before (see
(9.34)), within the paraxial approximation we may write
= y
1
/R
When this is used in (9.40) and (9.41), which are substituted into (9.39), Snells law
becomes
2
=
_
n
i
n
t
1
_
y
1
R
+
n
i
n
t
1
(9.42)
The compact matrix form of (9.32) and (9.42) is written
_
y
2
2
_
=
_
1 0
(n
i
/n
t
1) /R n
i
/n
t
__
y
1
1
_
ABCD matrix for a curved
interface
(9.43)
9.5 ABCDMatrices for Combined Optical Elements
To summarize the previous two sections, we have developed ABCD matrices for
three basic elements: 1) propagation through a region of uniform index (9.28),
2) reection from a curved mirror (9.38), and 3) transmission through a curved
interface between regions with different indices (9.43). All other ABCD matrices
that we will use are composites of these three. For example, one can construct the
ABCD matrix for a lens by using two matrices like those in (9.43) to represent the
entering and exiting surfaces of the lens. A distance matrix (9.28) can be inserted
to account for the thickness of the lens. It is left as an exercise to derive the ABCD
matrix for a thick lens (seeP9.6).
9.5 ABCDMatrices for Combined Optical Elements 237
Example 9.5
Derive the ABCD matrix for a thin lens, where the thickness between the two lens
surfaces is ignored.
Solution: A thin lens is depicted in Fig. 9.10. R
1
is the radius of curvature for the
rst surface (which is positive if convex as drawn), and R
2
is the radius of curvature
for the second surface (which is negative as drawn). For either surface, the radius
of curvature is considered to be positive if the surface is convex fromthe perspective
of rays that encounter it.
Figure 9.10 Thin lens.
We take the index outside of the lens to be unity while that of the lens material to
be n. We apply the ABCD matrix (9.43) in sequence, once for entering the lens and
once for exiting:
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
1 0
1
R
2
(n 1) n
__
1 0
1
R
1
_
1
n
1
_
1
n
_
=
_
1 0
(n 1)
_
1
R
1

1
R
2
_
1
_
ABCD matrix for a thin lens (9.44)
The matrix for the rst interface is written on the right, where it operates rst on
an incoming ray vector. In this case, n
i
=1 and n
t
=n. The matrix for the second
surface is written on the left so that it operates afterwards. For the second surface,
n
i
=n and n
t
=1.
Distance within a material,
excluding interfaces
_
1 d
0 1
_
Window, starting and stopping
in air
_
1 d /n
0 1
_
Thin lens or Mirror
_
1 0
1
_
f 1
_
Thin Lens:
1
f
=(n 1)
_
1
R
1

1
R
2
_
Mirror:
1
f
=
2
R
Thick lens
_
_
_
1+
d
R
1
_
1
n
1
_
d
n
(1n)
_
1
R
1
1
R
2
_
+
d
R
1
R
2
_
2
1
n
n
_
1
d
R
2
_
1
n
1
_
_
_
_
Table 9.1 Summary of ABCD
matrices for common optical
elements.
Notice the close similarity between the ABCD matrix for a thin lens (9.44) and
the ABCD matrix for a curved mirror (9.38). The ABCD matrix for either the thin
lens or the mirror can be written as
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
1 0
1/f 1
_
(9.45)
where in the case of the thin lens the focal length is given by the lens makers
formula
1
f
=(n 1)
_
1
R
1
1
R
2
_
(focal length of thin lens) (9.46)
and in the case of a curved mirror, the focal length is
f =R/2 (focal length for a curved mirror) (9.47)
Table 9.1 is a summary of ABCD matrices of common optical elements.
Example 9.6
Derive the ABCD matrix for a window with thickness d and index n.
Solution: We can again take advantage of the ABCD matrix for a curved interface
(9.43), only in this problem we will let R
1
=and R
2
=to provide at surfaces.
We take the index outside of the window to be unity and the index inside the
window to be n. We use the ABCD matrix (9.43) twice, once for each interface,
sandwiching matrix (9.31), which endows the window with thickness:
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
1 0
0 n
__
1 d
0 1
__
1 0
0
1
n
_
=
_
1 d/n
0 1
_
(window)
(9.48)
As far as rays are concerned, a window is effectively shorter to traverse than free
Figure 9.11 Window.
space.
4
Fig. 9.11 illustrates why this is the case. The displacement of the exiting ray
is not as great as it would have been without the window. The window impedes
the rate at which the ray can move away from or toward the optical axis.
Example 9.7
Find ray
_
y
2
2
_
that results when
_
y
1
1
_
propagates through a distance a, reects from
a mirror of radius R, and then propagates through a distance b. See Fig. 9.12.
Solution: The nal ray in terms of the initial one is computed as follows:
_
y
2
2
_
=
_
1 b
0 1
__
1 0
2/R 1
__
1 a
0 1
__
y
1
1
_
=
_
12b/R a +b 2ab/R
2/R 12a/R
__
y
1
1
_
=
_
(12b/R) y
1
+(a +b 2ab/R)
1
(2/R) y
1
+(12a/R)
1
_
(9.49)
As always, the ordering of the matrices is important. The rst effect that the ray
experiences is represented by the matrix on the right, which is in the position that
rst operates on
_
y
1
1
_
.
Figure 9.12 A ray that travels
through a distance a, reects from
a mirror, and then travels through
a distance b.
We have derived our basic ABCD matrices for rays traveling in the yz plane,
as suggested in Figs. 9.79.12. This may have given the impression that it is
necessary to work within a plane that contains the optical axis (i.e. the z-axis
in our case). However, within the paraxial approximation, the ABCD matrices
are valid for rays that become displaced simultaneously in both the x and y
dimensions during propagating along z.
As we demonstrate below, the behavior of rays functions independently in
the x and y dimensions. If desired, one can write a ray vector for each dimen-
sion, namely
_
x
x
_
and
_
y
y
_
. Moreover, the identical matrices, for example any
in table 9.1, are used for either dimension. Figs. 9.79.12 therefore represent
projections of rays onto the yz plane. To complete the story, one can imagine
corresponding gures representing the projection of the rays onto the xz plane.
4
In contrast, the optical path length OPL is effectively longer than free space by the factor n.
9.6 Image Formation 239
Independence of Rays in the x and y Dimensions
Imagine a ray contained within a plane that is parallel to the yz plane but for
which x > 0. One might be concerned that when the ray meets, for example, a
spherically concave mirror, the radius of curvature in the perspective of the yz
dimension might be different for x >0 than for x =0 (at the center of the mirror).
This concern is actually quite legitimate and is the source of what is known as
spherical aberration. Nevertheless, in the paraxial approximation the intersection
with the curved mirror of all planes that are parallel to the optical axis gives the
same curve.
To see why this is so, consider the curvature of the mirror in Fig. 9.8. As we
move away from the mirror center (in the x or y-dimension or some combination
thereof ), the mirror surface deviates to the left by the amount
=R Rcos (9.50)
In the paraxial approximation, we have cos
=1
2
/2. And since in this approxi-
mation we may also write
=
_
x
2
+y
2
_
R, (9.50) becomes
=
x
2
2R
+
y
2
2R
(9.51)
In the paraxial approximation, we see that the curve of the mirror is parabolic, and
therefore separable between the x and y dimensions. That is, the curvature in
the x-dimension (i.e. /x =x/R) is independent of y, and the curvature in the
y-dimension (i.e. /y = y/R) is independent of x. A similar argument can be
made for a spherical interface between two media.
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de
Galilei (15641642, Italian) was born
in Pisa, Italy, the son of a musician.
Galileo enrolled in the University of Pisa
with the intent to study medicine but
soon became diverted into mathematics.
He served three years as chair of math-
ematics in Pisa beginning in 1589 and
then moved to the University of Padua
where he taught geometry, mechanics,
and astronomy for two decades. While
Galileo did not invent the telescope, he
considerably improved the design. With
it he discovered four moons of Jupiter
and was the rst to observe sunspots
and mountains and valleys on the Moon.
Galileo also was the rst to document
the phases of Venus, similar to the
phases of the moon. He used these
observations to argue in favor of the
Copernican model of the solar system,
but this conicted with the prevailing
views of the Catholic Church at the
time, and he was placed under house
arrest and forbidden to publish of any
of his works. While under house arrest,
he wrote much on kinematics and other
principles of physics and is considered to
be the father of modern physics. Galileo
attempted to measure the speed of
light by observing an assistant uncover
a lantern on a distant hill in response
to a light signal. He concluded that
light is really fast if not instantaneous.
(Wikipedia)
9.6 Image Formation
Consider Example 9.7 where a ray travels a distance a, reects from a curved
mirror, and then travels a distance b. From (9.49), the ABCD matrix for the overall
process is
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
1b/f a +b ab/f
1/f 1a/f
_
(9.52)
where by (9.47) we have replaced 2/R with 1/f . Because of the similarity between
the behavior of a curved mirror and a thin lens, the above expression can also
represent a ray traveling a distance a, traversing a thin lens with focal length f ,
and then traveling a distance b. The only difference is that, in the case the thin
lens, f is given by lens makers formula (9.46).
As is well known, it is possible to form an image with either a curved mirror
or a lens. Suppose that the initial ray is one of many rays that leaves a particular
point on an object positioned a =d
o
before the mirror (or lens). In order for an
image to occur at d
i
=b, it is essential that all rays leaving the particular point on
the object converge to a corresponding point on the image. That is, we want rays
leaving the point y
1
on the object (which may take on a range of angles
1
) all to
converge to a single point y
2
at the image. In the following equation we need y
2
to be independent of
1
:
_
y
2
2
_
=
_
A B
C D
__
y
1
1
_
=
_
Ay
1
+B
1
Cy
1
+D
1
_
(9.53)
The condition for image formation is therefore
B =0 (condition for image formation) (9.54)
When this condition is applied to (9.52), we obtain
d
o
+d
i
d
o
d
i
f
=0
1
f
=
1
d
o
+
1
d
i
(9.55)
which is the familiar imaging formula (9.1). When the object is innitely far away
(i.e. d
o
), the image appears at d
i
f . This gives a physical interpretation
to the focal length f , as we have been calling it. Please note that d
o
and d
i
can
each be either positive (real as depicted in Fig. 9.13) or negative (virtual meaning
a screen cannot be inserted to display the image).
Object
Image
Figure 9.13 Image formation by a
thin lens.
The magnication of the image is found by comparing the size of y
2
to y
1
.
From (9.52)(9.55), the magnication is found to be
M
y
2
y
1
= A =1
2d
i
R
=
d
i
d
o
(9.56)
The negative sign indicates that for positive distances d
o
and d
i
the image is
inverted.
In the above discussion, we have examined image formation by a thin lens
or a curved mirror. Of course, images can also be formed by thick lenses or by
more complex composite optical systems (e.g. a system of lenses and spaces).
The ABCD matrices for the elements in a composite system are simply multiplied
together (the rst element that rays encounter appearing onthe right) to obtainan
overall ABCD matrix. The principles for image with an arbitrary ABCD matrix are
the same as those for a thin lens or curved mirror. As before, consider propagation
a distance d
o
from an object to the optical element followed by propagation a
distance d
i
to an image. The ABCD matrix for the overall operation is
_
1 d
i
0 1
__
A B
C D
__
1 d
o
0 1
_
=
_
A+d
i
C d
o
A+B +d
o
d
i
C +d
i
D
C d
o
C +D
_
=
_
A
_
(9.57)
An image occurs according to (9.54) when B
=0, or
d
o
A+B +d
o
d
i
C +d
i
D =0, general condition for image
formation
(9.58)
with magnication
M = A+d
i
C (9.59)
For a complex lens system, the matrix elements A, B, C and D can be complicated
expressions. There is a convenient way to simplify the analysis, which is discussed
in the next section.
9.7 Principal Planes for Complex Optical Systems 241
9.7 Principal Planes for Complex Optical Systems
For every ABCD matrix representing an optical system, there exist two principal
planes located (in our convention) a distance p
1
before entering the system and a
distance p
2
after exiting the system. When the matrices corresponding to these
(appropriately chosen) distances are appended to the original ABCD matrix of
the system, the overall matrix simplies to one that looks identical to the matrix
for a simple thin lens (9.45).
First
Principal
Plane
Second
Principal
Plane
Figure 9.14 A multi-element sys-
tem represented as an ABCD ma-
trix for which principal planes
always exist.
With knowledge of the positions of the principal planes, one can treat the
complicated imaging system in the same way that one treats a simple thin lens.
That is, we can simply use the common formulas (9.55) and (9.56). The only
difference is that d
o
is the distance from the object to the rst principal plane and
d
i
is the distance from the second principal plane to the image. In the case of an
actual thin lens, both principal planes are at p
1
=p
2
=0. For a composite system,
p
1
and p
2
can be either positive or negative.
We assert that for any optical system,
5
p
1
and p
2
can always be selected such
that we can write
_
1 p
2
0 1
__
A B
C D
__
1 p
1
0 1
_
=
_
A+p
2
C p
1
A+B +p
1
p
2
C +p
2
D
C p
1
C +D
_
=
_
1 0
1/f
eff
1
_
(9.60)
The nal matrix is that of a simple thin lens, and it takes the place of the composite
system including the distances to the principal planes.
Determination of p
1
and p
2
and Justication of (9.60)
Our task is to nd the values of p
1
and p
2
that make (9.60) true. We can straight-
away make the denition
f
eff
1/C (9.61)
We can also solve for p
1
and p
2
by setting the diagonal elements of the matrix to 1.
Explicitly, we get
p
1
C +D =1 p
1
=
1D
C
(9.62)
and
A+p
2
C =1 p
2
=
1A
C
(9.63)
It remains to be shown that the upper right element in (9.60) (i.e. p
1
A +B +
p
1
p
2
C +p
2
D) automatically goes to zero for our choices of p
1
and p
2
. This may
seem unlikely at rst, but watch what happens!
5
The starting and ending refractive index must be the same.
When (9.62) and (9.63) are substituted into the upper right matrix element of (9.60)
we get
p
1
A+B +p
1
p
2
C +p
2
D =
1D
C
A+B +
1D
C
1A
C
C +
1A
C
D
=
1
C
[1AD+BC]
=
1
C
_
1
A B
C D
_
(9.64)
This vanishes (as desired) if the determinant of the original ABCD matrix equals
one. Fortunately, this is always the case as long as we begin and end in the same
index of refraction:
A B
C D
=1 (9.65)
Notice that the determinants of all of the matrices in table 9.1 are one. Moreover,
ABCD matrices constructed of these will also have determinants equal to one.
6
9.8 Stability of Laser Cavities
The ABCD matrix formulation provides a powerful tool to analyze the stability of
a laser cavity. The basic elements of a laser cavity include an amplifying medium
and mirrors to provide feedback. Presumably, at least one of the end mirrors is
partially transmitting so that energy is continuously extracted from the cavity.
Here, we dispense with the amplifying medium and concentrate our attention on
the optics providing the feedback.

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Figure 9.15 (a) A ray bouncing
between two parallel at mirrors.
(b) A ray bouncing between two
curved mirrors in an unstable
conguration. (c) A ray bouncing
between two curved mirrors in a
stable conguration. (d) Stable
cavity utilizing a lens and two at
end mirrors.
As might be expected, the mirrors must be carefully aligned or successive
reections might cause rays to walk continuously away from the optical axis,
so that they eventually leave the cavity out the side. If a simple cavity is formed
with two at mirrors that are perfectly aligned parallel to each other, one might
suppose that the mirrors would provide ideal feedback. However, all rays except
for those that are perfectly aligned to the mirror surface normals would eventually
wander out of the side of the cavity as illustrated in Fig. 9.15a. Such a cavity is said
to be unstable. We would like to do a better job of trapping the light in the cavity.
To improve the situation, a cavity can be constructed with concave end mir-
rors to help conne the beams within the cavity. Even so, one must choose
carefully the curvature of the mirrors and their separation L. If this is not done
correctly, the curved mirrors can overcompensate for the tendency of the rays
to wander out of the cavity and thus aggravate the problem. Such an unstable
scenario is depicted in Fig. 9.15b.
Figure 9.15c depicts a cavity made with curved mirrors where the separation
L is chosen appropriately to make the cavity stable. Although a ray, as it makes
6
The determinant of (9.43) is not one since it starts and ends with different indices of refraction.
However, when this matrix is used in succession to forma lens, the resulting matrix has determinant
equal to one.
9.8 Stability of Laser Cavities 243
successive bounces, can strike the end mirrors at a variety of points, the curvature
of the mirrors keeps the trajectories contained within a narrow region so that
they cannot escape out the sides of the cavity.
There are many ways to make a stable laser cavity. For example, a stable cavity
can be made using a lens between two at end mirrors as shown in Fig. 9.15d. Any
combination of lenses (perhaps more than one) and curved mirrors can be used
to create stable cavity congurations. Ring cavities can also be made to be stable
where in no place do the rays retro-reect from a mirror but circulate through
a series of elements like cars going around a racetrack. The ABCD matrix for a
round trip in the cavity will be useful for this analysis.
Example 9.8
Find the round-trip ABCD matrix for the cavities shown in Figs. 9.15c and 9.15d.
Solution: The round-trip ABCD matrix for the cavity shown in Fig. 9.15c is
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
1 L
0 1
__
1 0
2/R
2
1
__
1 L
0 1
__
1 0
2/R
1
1
_
(9.66)
where we have begun the round trip just after a reection from the rst mirror.
The round-trip ABCD matrix for the cavity shown in Fig. 9.15d is
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
1 2L
1
0 1
__
1 0
1/f 1
__
1 2L
2
0 1
__
1 0
1/f 1
_
(9.67)
where we have begun the round trip just after a transmission through the lens
moving to the right. It is somewhat arbitrary where a round trip begins. The
multiplication on the above matrices will need to be carried out to do problems
P9.13 and P9.14.
To determine whether a given conguration of a cavity is stable, we need to
know what a ray does after making many round trips in the cavity. To nd the
effect of propagation through many round trips, we multiply the round-trip ABCD
matrix together N times, where N is the number of round trips that we wish to
consider. We can then examine what happens to an arbitrary ray after making N
round trips in the cavity as follows:
_
y
N+1
N+1
_
=
_
A B
C D
_
N
_
y
1
1
_
(9.68)
At this point you might be concerned that taking an ABCD matrix to the N
th
power can be a lot of work. (It is already a signicant work just to compute the
ABCD matrix for a single round trip.) In addition, we are interested in letting N
be very large, perhaps even innity. You can relax because we have a neat trick to
accomplish this daunting task.
By Sylvesters theorem in appendix 0.3, we have
_
A B
C D
_
N
=
1
sin
_
_
(9.69)
where
cos =
1
2
(A+D) . (9.70)
This is valid as long as the determinant of the ABCDmatrix is one. As noted earlier
(see (9.65)), we are in luck! The determinant is one any time a ray begins and stops
in the same refractive index, which by denition is guaranteed for any round trip.
We therefore can employ Sylvesters theorem for any N that we might choose,
including very large integers.
We would like the elements of (9.69) to remain nite as N becomes very large.
If this is the case, then we know that a ray remains trapped within the cavity
and stays reasonably close to the optical axis. Since N only appears within the
argument of a sine function, which is always bounded between 1 and 1 for
real arguments, it might seem that the elements of (9.69) always remain nite
as N approaches innity. However, it turns out that can become imaginary
depending on the outcome of (9.70), in which case the sine becomes a hyperbolic
sine, which can blow up as N becomes large. In the end, the condition for cavity
stability is that a real must exist for (9.70), or in other words we need
1 <
1
2
(A+D) <1 (condition for a stable cavity) (9.71)
It is left as an exercise to apply this condition to (9.66) and (9.67) to nd the
necessary relationships between the various element curvatures and spacing in
order to achieve cavity stability.
Appendix 9.A Aberrations and Ray Tracing
(a)
(b)
Figure 9.16 (a) Paraxial theory pre-
dicts that the light imaged from
a point source will converge to
a point (i.e. have spherical wave
fronts coming to the image point).
(b) The image of a point source
made by a real lens with aberra-
tions is an extended and blurred
patch of light and the converg-
ing wavefronts are only quasi-
spherical.
The paraxial approximation places serious limitations on the performance of
optical systems (see (9.23) and (9.24)). To stay within the approximation, all rays
traveling in the system should travel very close to the optic axis with very shallow
angles with respect to the optical axis. To the extent that this is not the case, the
collection of rays associated with a single point on an object may not converge to
a single point on the associated image. The resulting distortion or blurring of
the image is known as aberration.
Common experience with photographic and video equipment suggests that
it is possible to image scenes that have a relatively wide angular extent (many
tens of degrees), in apparent serious violation of the paraxial approximation.
The paraxial approximation is indeed violated in these devices, so they must be
designed using more complicated analysis techniques than those we have learned
in this chapter. The most common approach is to use a computationally intensive
procedure called ray tracing in which sin and tan are rendered exactly. The
9.A Aberrations and Ray Tracing 245
nonlinearity of these functions precludes the possibility of obtaining analytic
solutions describing the imaging performance of such optical systems.
Figure 9.17 Ray tracing through a
simple lens.
The typical procedure is to start with a collection of rays froma test point such
as shown in Fig. 9.17. Each ray is individually traced through the system using
the exact representation of geometric surfaces as well as the exact representation
of Snells law. On close analysis, the rays typically do not converge to a distinct
imaging point. Rather, the rays can be blurred out over a range of points where
the image is supposed to occur. Depending on the angular distribution of the
rays as well as on the elements in the setup, the spread of rays around the image
point can be large or small. The engineer who designs the systemmust determine
whether the amount of aberration is acceptable, given the various constraints of
the device.
To minimize aberrations below typical tolerance levels, several lenses can
be used together. If properly chosen, the lenses (some positive, some negative)
separated by specic distances, can result in remarkably low aberration levels
over certain ranges of operation for the device. Ray tracing is best done with
commercial software designed for this purpose (e.g. Zemax or other professional
products). Such software packages are able to develop and optimize designs for
specic applications. A nice feature is that the user can specify that the design
should employ only standard optical components available from known optics
companies. In any case, it is typical to specify that all lenses in the system should
have spherical surfaces since these are much less expensive to manufacture. We
mention briey a few types of aberrations that you may encounter. Multiple
aberrations can often be observed in a single lens.
low dispersion
glass
high dispersion
glass
Figure 9.18 Chromatic aberration
causes lenses to have different
focal lengths for different wave-
lengths. It can be corrected using
an achromatic doublet lens.
Chromatic aberration arises from the fact that the index of refraction for glass
varies with the wavelength of light. Since the focal length of a lens depends on
the index of refraction (see, for example, Eq. (9.46)), the focal length of a lens
varies with the wavelength of light. Chromatic aberration can be compensated
for by using a pair of lenses made from two types of glass as shown in Fig. 9.18
(the pair is usually cemented together to form a doublet lens). The lens with the
shortest focal length is made of the glass whose index has the lesser dependence
on wavelength. By properly choosing the prescription of the two lenses, you
can exactly compensate for chromatic aberration at two wavelengths and do a
good job for a wide range of others. Achromatic doublets can also be designed to
minimize spherical aberration (see below), so they are often a good choice when
you need a high quality lens.
Monochromatic aberrations arise from the shape of the lens rather than the
variation of n with wavelength. Before the advent computers facilitated the
widespread use of ray tracing, these aberrations had to be analyzed primarily
with analytic techniques. The analytic results derived previously in this chapter
were based on rst order approximations (e.g. sin ). This analysis predicts
that a lens can image a point source to an exact image point, which predicts
spherically converging wavefronts at the image point as shown in Fig. 9.16(a). You
can increase the accuracy of the theory for non-paraxial rays by retaining second-
order correction terms in the analysis. With these second-order terms included,
the wave fronts converging towards an image point are mostly spherical, but have
second-order aberration terms added in (shown conceptually in Fig. 9.16(b)).
There are ve aberration terms in this second-order analysis, and these represent
a convenient basis for discussing aberration.
Figure 9.19 Spherical aberration
in a plano-convex lens.
The rst aberration term is known as spherical aberration. This type of aber-
ration results from the fact that rays traveling through a spherical lens at large
radii experience a different focal length than those traveling near the axis. For a
converging lens, this causes wide-radius rays to focus before the near-axis rays
as shown in Fig. 9.19. This problem can be helped by orienting lenses so that
the face with the least curvature is pointed towards the side where the light rays
have the largest angle. This procedure splits the bending of rays more evenly
between the front and back surface of the lens. As mentioned above, you can also
cement two lenses made from different types of glass together so that spherical
aberrations from one lens are corrected by the other.
The aberration term referred to as astigmatismoccurs when an off-axis object
point is imaged to an off-axis image point. In this case a spherical lens has a
different focal length in the horizontal and vertical dimensions. For a focusing
lens this causes the two dimensions to focus at different distances, producing a
vertical line at one image plane and a horizontal line at another. A lens can also be
inherently astigmatic even when viewed on axis if it is football shaped rather than
spherical. In this case, the astigmatic aberration can be corrected by inserting a
cylindrical lens at the correct orientation (this is a common correction needed in
eyeglasses).
A third aberration term is referred to as coma. This is observed when off-axis
points are imaged and produces a comet shaped tail with its head at the point
predicted by paraxial theory. (The term coma refers to the atmosphere of a
comet, which is how the aberration got its name.) This aberration is distinct from
astigmatism, which is also observed for off-axis points, since coma is observed
even when all of the rays are in one plane (see Fig. 9.20). You have probably seen
coma if youve ever played with a magnifying glass in the sunjust tilt the lens
slightly and you see a comet-like image rather than a point.
The curvature of the eld aberration term arises from the fact that spherical
lenses image spherical surfaces to another spherical surface, rather than imaging
a plane to a plane. This is not so bad for your eyeball, which has a curved screen,
but for things like cameras and movie projectors we would like to image to a at
screen. When a at screen is used and the curvature of the eld aberration is
present, the image will be focus well near the center, but become progressively
out of focus as you move to the edge of the screen (i.e. the at screen is farther
from the curved image surface as you move from the center).
Undistorted
Barrel Distortion
Pincushion Distortion
Figure 9.21 Distortion occurs
when magnication is not con-
stant across an extended image.
The nal aberration term is referred to as distortion. This aberration occurs
when the magnication of a lens depends on the distance from the center of
the screen. If magnication decreases as the distance from the center increases,
then barrel distortion is observed. When magnication increases with distance,
9.A Aberrations and Ray Tracing 247
Image on screen
a
b
c
a
b
c
Figure 9.20 Illustration of coma. Rays traveling through the center of the lens are im-
aged to point a as predicted by paraxial theory. Rays that travel through the lens at
radius
b
in the plane of the gure are imaged to point b. Rays that travel through the
lens at radius
b
, but outside the plane of the gure are imaged to other points on the
circle (in the image plane) containing point b. Rays at that travel through the lens at
other radii on the lens (e.g.
c
) also form circles in the image plane with radius propor-
tional to
2
with the center offset from point a a distance proportional to
2
. When
light from each of these circles combines on the screen it produces an imaged point
with a comet tail.
pincushion distortion is observed (see Fig. 9.21).
All lenses will exhibit some combination of the aberrations listed above (i.e.
chromatic aberration plus the ve second-order aberration terms). In addition to
the ve named monochromatic aberrations, there are many other higher order
aberrations that also have to be considered. Aberrations can be corrected to a high
degree with multiple-element systems (designed using ray-tracing techniques)
composed of lenses and irises to eliminate off-axis light. For example, a camera
lens with a focal length of 50 mm, one of the simplest lenses in photography, is
typically composed of about six individual elements. However, optical systems
never completely eliminate all aberration, so designing a system always involves
some degree of compromise in choosing which aberrations to minimize and
which ones you can live with.
Exercises
Exercises for 9.1 The Eikonal Equation
P9.1 Consider the index described in Example 9.1. The solution given in
the example corresponds to rays that asymptotically approach y =0. A
more general solution is given by
R =n
0
_
x
1+ y
_
y
2
/h
2
_
_
1+>0 and y
2
/h
2
>0
_
This corresponds to rays that either hit the ground or return toward the
sky without reaching the ground, depending on the sign of .
(a) Verify that R satises the eikonal equation and determine the
function R
_
x, y
_
.
HINT:
_
d
_
2
=

2
_
2
ln
_
+
_
_
(>0).
(b) Verify that the light path is given by y = h
cosh
_
xx
0
h
1+
_
when
>0 and is given by y =h
|| sinh
xx
0
h
1+
when <0. Consider only

the region y >0 (i.e. above ground). Notice that these solutions can
make rays that travel either to the right or to the left.
HINT: cosh
2
sinh
2
=1
d
d
cosh =sinh
d
d
sinh =cosh.
(c) Make a sketch of these two solution classes in the case of =4.
P9.2 Prove that under the approximation of very short wavelength, the
Poynting vector is directed along R(r) or s.
Solution: (partial)
First, from Faradays law (1.36) we have
B(r, t ) =
i
_
E
0
(r)e
i (k
vac
R(r)t )
_
Applying the identity
_
a
_
=(a) +a to this equation, we obtain:
B(r, t ) =
i
_
e
i (k
vac
R(r)t )
[E
0
(r)] +i k
vac
e
i (k
vac
R(r)t )
[R(r) E
0
(r)]
_
=
i
vac
2c
e
i [k
vac
R(r)t ]
[E
0
(r)]
1
c
e
i [k
vac
R(r)t ]
[R(r) E
0
(r)]
The rst term vanishes in the limit of very short wavelength, and we have:
B(r, t )
1
c
[R(r)] E
0
(r) e
i [k
vac
R(r)t ]
. (9.72)
Next, from Gausss law (1.34) and the constitutive relation (2.16) we have
_
_
1+(r)
_
E
0
(r)e
i (k
vac
R(r)t )
_
=0
Exercises 249
Applying the identity (a) =a + a to this expression yields:
e
i (k
vac
R(r)t )
__
1+(r)
_
E
0
(r)
_
+i k
vac
e
i (k
vac
R(r)t )
_
1+(r)
_
[R(r) E
0
(r)] =0
Canceling the common exponential term, using k
vac
=2/
vac
, and some algebra then gives
i
vac
__
1+(r)
_
E
0
(r)
_
2
_
1+(r)
_ +R(r) E
0
(r) =0
In the limit of very short wavelength, this becomes
R(r) E
0
(r) 0 (9.73)
Finally, compute the time average of the Poynting vector
S =
1
0
Re{E(r, t )} Re{B(r, t )}
=
1
4
0
_
E(r, t ) +E
(r, t )
_
_
B(r, t ) +B
(r, t )
_
You will need to employ expressions (9.72) and (9.73), as well as the BAC-CAB rule (see P0.3).
Exercises for 9.2 Fermats Principle
P9.3 Use Fermats Principle to derive the lawof reection (3.6) for a reective
surface.

A
B
Figure 9.22
HINT: Do not consider light that goes directly from A to B; require a
single bounce.
P9.4 Showthat Fermats Principle fails to give the correct path for an extraor-
dinary ray entering a uniaxial crystal whose optic axis is perpendicular
to the surface.
HINT: With the index given by (5.29), showthat Fermats principle leads
to an answer that neither agrees with the direction of the k-vector (5.32)
nor with the direction of the Poynting vector (5.40).
Exercises for 9.4 Reection and Refraction at Curved Surfaces
P9.5 Derive the ABCD matrix that takes a ray on a round trip through a
simple laser cavity consisting of a at mirror and a concave mirror of
radius R separated by a distance L. HINT: Start at the at mirror. Use
the matrix in (9.28) to travel a distance L. Use the matrix in (9.38) to
represent reection from the curved mirror. Then use the matrix in
(9.28) to return to the at mirror. The matrix for reection from the at
mirror is the identity matrix (i.e. R
at
).
P9.6 Derive the ABCD matrix for a thick lens made of material n
2
sur-
rounded by a liquid of index n
1
. Let the lens have curvatures R
1
and R
2
and thickness d.
Answer:
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
_
1+
d
R
1
_
n
1
n
2
1
_
d
n
1
n
2
_
n
2
n
1
1
__
1
R
1

1
R
2
_
+
d
R
1
R
2
_
2
n
1
n
2

n
2
n
1
_
1
d
R
2
_
n
1
n
2
1
_
_
_
Exercises for 9.6 Image Formation
P9.7 (a) Showthat the ABCDmatrix for a thick lens (see P9.6) reduces to that
of a thin lens (9.45) when the thickness goes to zero. Take the index
outside of the lens to be n
1
=1.
(b) Find the ABCD matrix for a thick window (thickness d). Take the
index outside of the window to be n
1
=1. HINT: A window is a thick
lens with innite radii of curvature.
P9.8 An object is placed in front of a concave mirror. Find the location of
the image d
i
and magnication M when d
o
= R, d
o
= R/2, d
o
= R/4,
and d
o
= R/2 (virtual object). Make a diagram for each situation,
depicting rays traveling from a single off-axis point on the object to
a corresponding point on the image. You may want to emphasize
especially the ray that initially travels parallel to the axis and the ray
that initially travels in a direction intersecting the axis at the focal point
R/2.
Exercises for 9.7 Principal Planes for Complex Optical Systems
P9.9 A complicated lens element is represented by an ABCD matrix. An
object placed a distance d
1
before the unknown element causes an
image to appear a distance d
2
after the unknown element.
unknown
element
Figure 9.23
Suppose that when d
1
= , we nd that d
2
= 2. Also, suppose that
when d
1
=2, we nd that d
2
=3/2 with magnication 1/2. What is
the ABCD matrix for the unknown element?
HINT: Use the conditions for an image (9.58) and (9.59). If the index
of refraction is the same before and after, then (9.65) applies. HINT:
First nd linear expressions for A, B, and C in terms of D. Then put the
results into (9.65).
P9.10 (a) Consider a lens with thickness d =5 cm, R
1
=5 cm, R
2
=10 cm,
n =1.5. Compute the ABCD matrix of the lens. HINT: See P9.6.
(b) Where are the principal planes located and what is the effective
focal length f
eff
for this system?
Principal
Plane
Principal
Plane
Figure 9.24
Exercises 251
L9.11 Deduce the positions of the principal planes and the effective focal
length of a compound lens system. Reference the positions of the
principal planes to the outside ends of the metal hardware that encloses
the lens assembly. (video)
Figure 9.25
HINT: Obtain three sets of distances to the object and image planes
and place the data into (9.58) to create three distinct equations for the
unknowns A, B, C, and D. Find A, B, and C in terms of D and place the
results into (9.65) to obtain the values for A, B, C, and D. The effective
focal length and principal planes can then be found through (9.61)
(9.63).
P9.12 Use a computer program to calculate the ABCD matrix for the com-
pound system shown in Fig. 9.26, known as the Tessar lens. The
details of this lens are as follows (all distances are in the same units,
and only the magnitude of curvatures are givenyou decide the sign):
Convex-convex lens 1 (thickness 0.357, R
1
= 1.628, R
2
= 27.57, n =
1.6116) is separated by 0.189 from concave-concave lens 2 (thickness
0.081, R
1
=3.457, R
2
=1.582, n =1.6053), which is separated by 0.325
from plano-concave lens 3 (thickness 0.217, R
1
= , R
2
= 1.920, n =
1.5123), which is directly followed by convex-convex lens 4 (thickness
0.396, R
1
=1.920, R
2
=2.400, n =1.6116).
1 2 3 4
Figure 9.26
HINT: You can reduce the number of matrices you need to multiply by
using the thick lens matrix.
Exercises for 9.8 Stability of Laser Cavities
P9.13 (a) Show that the cavity depicted in Fig. 9.15c is stable if
0 <
_
1
L
R
1
__
1
L
R
2
_
<1
(b) The two concave mirrors have radii R
1
= 60 cm and R
2
= 100 cm.
Over what range of mirror separation L is it possible to form a stable
laser cavity?
HINT: There are two different stable ranges with an unstable range
between them.
P9.14 Find the stable ranges for L
1
=L
2
=L for the laser cavity depicted in
Fig. 9.15d with focal length f =50 cm.
Figure 9.27
L9.15 Experimentally determine the stability range of a HeNe laser with ad-
justable end mirrors. Check that this agrees reasonably well with theory.
Can you think of reasons for any discrepancy? (video)
Chapter 10
Diffraction
Christiaan Huygens (16291695,
Dutch) was born in The Hague, Nether-
lands. His father was friends with the
mathematician Ren Descartes, which
probably inuenced his upbringing. Huy-
gens studied law and mathematics at
the University of Leiden, which preceded
a very productive career as a scientist
and mathematician. During mid career,
Huygens held a position in the French
Academy of Sciences in Paris for 15
years, but spent the majority of his life
in The Hague. Huygens was the rst
to advocate the wave theory of light.
He was able to explain birefringence in
terms of his wave theory together with
a refractive index that varied with direc-
tion. Huygens constructed a telescope
with which he discovered Saturns moon
Titan. He also made the rst detailed
observations of the Orion nebula. Huy-
gens made signicant advancements in
clock-making technology and wrote a
book on probability theory. Huygens
was one of the earliest science-ction
writers and speculated that life exists on
other planets in his book Cosmotheoros.
(Wikipedia)
In the 1600s, Christian Huygens developed a wave description for light. Unfor-
tunately, his ideas were largely overlooked at the time because Sir Isaac Newton
promoted a competing theory. Newton proposed that light should be though of
as many tiny bullets, or corpuscles, as he called them. Newtons ideas prevailed
for more than a century, perhaps because he was right on so many other things,
until 1807 Thomas Young performed his famous two-slit experiment, conclusively
demonstrating the wave nature of light. Even then, Youngs conclusions were
accepted only gradually by others, a notable exception being a young Frenchman
named Augustin Fresnel. The two formed a close friendship through correspon-
dence, and it was Fresnel that followed up on Youngs conclusions and dedicated
his life to a study of light.
Fresnels skill as a mathematician allowed him to transform physical intuition
into powerful and concise ideas. Perhaps Fresnels greatest accomplishment was
the adaptation of Huygens principle of wavelet superposition into a mathematical
formula. Ironically, he used Newtons calculus to achieve this. Huygens principle
asserts that a wave front can be thought of as many wavelets, which propagate and
interfere to formnewwave fronts. This is illustrated in Fig. 10.1. The phenomenon
of diffraction is then understood as the spilling of wavelets around obstructions
in the path of light.
After formulating Huygens principle as a diffraction integral, Fresnel made
an approximation to his own formula, called the Fresnel approximation, for the
sake of making the integration easier to perform. As far as approximations go,
the Fresnel approximation is surprisingly accurate in describing the light eld
in the region down stream from an aperture. The diffraction pattern can evolve
in complicated ways as the distance from an aperture increases. At distances far
down stream from an aperture, the diffraction pattern acquires a nal form that
no longer evolves, other than to grow in proportion to distance. This far-eld
limit is often of interest, and it turns out that the Fresnel diffraction formula can
be simplied further in this case. The far-eld limit of the Fresnel diffraction
formula is called the Fraunhofer approximation.
From the modern perspective, Fresnels diffraction formula needs justica-
253
254 Chapter 10 Diffraction
tion starting from Maxwells equation. The diffraction formula is based on scalar
diffraction theory, which ignores polarization effects. In some situations, ignor-
ing polarization is benign, but in other situations ignoring polarization effects
produces signicant errors. These issues as well as the approximations leading to
scalar diffraction theory are discussed in section 10.2.
10.1 Huygens Principle as Formulated by Fresnel
Figure 10.1 Wave fronts depicted
as a series of Huygens wavelets.
In this section we discuss the calculus of summing up the contributions from the
many wavelets originating in an aperture illuminated by a light eld. Each point
in the aperture is thought of as a source of a spherical wavelet.
1
In our modern
notation, such a spherical wave can be written as proportional to e
i kR
/R, where R
is the distance from the source. As a spherical wave propagates, its strength falls
off in proportion to the distance traveled and the phase is related to the distance
propagated, similar to the phase of a plane wave.
You should be aware that a spherical wave of the forme
i kR
/R (even if some
sort of polarization is attached) is a poor solution to Maxwells equations (see
P10.2). It utterly fails near R =0. However, if R is much larger than a wavelength,
this spherical wave starts to approximate actual solutions to Maxwells equations.
It is within this regime that the diffraction formula derived here is successful. It
should be noted that by choosing k, we consider only a single wavelength of light
(i.e. one frequency).
Consider an aperture or opening in an opaque screen in the plane z =0. Let
the aperture be illuminated with a light eld distribution E(x
, y
, z =0) within
the aperture. Then for a point (x, y, z) lying somewhere after the aperture (z >0)
the net eld is given by adding together wavelets emitted from each point in the
aperture.
Figure 10.2
Each spherical wavelet takes on the strength and phase of the eld at the
point where it originates. Mathematically, this summation takes the form
E(x, y, z) =
i
aperture
E(x
, y
, 0)
e
i kR
R
dx
dy
(10.1)
where
R =
_
(x x
)
2
+(y y
)
2
+z
2
(10.2)
is the radius of each wavelet as it individually intersects the point (x, y, z). The
factor i / in front of the integral in (10.1) ensures the right phase and eld
strength (not to mention units). Justication for this factor is given in section
10.3 and in appendix 10.A. To summarize, (10.1) tells us how to compute the eld
1
For simplicity, we use the term spherical wave in this book to refer to waves of the type
imagined by Huygens (i.e. of the form e
i kR
/R). There is a different family of waves based on
spherical harmonics that are also sometimes referred to as spherical waves. These waves have
angular as well as radial dependence, and they are solutions to Maxwells equations. See J. D.
Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics, 3rd ed., pp. 429432 (New York: John Wiley, 1999).
10.1 Huygens Principle as Formulated by Fresnel 255
down stream given knowledge of the eld in an aperture. The eld at each point
(x
, y
) in the aperture, which may vary with strength and phase, is treated as the
source for a spherical wave. The integral in (10.1) sums the contributions for all
of these wavelets.
Figure 10.3 Circular aperture illu-
minated by a plane wave.
Example 10.1
Find the on-axis
2
(i.e. x, y =0) intensity following a circular aperture of diameter
illuminated by a uniform plane wave.
Solution: The diffraction integral (10.1) takes the form
E (0, 0, z) =
i
aperture
E
_
x
, y
, 0
_ e
i k
x
2
+y
2
+z
2
_
x
2
+y
2
+z
2
dx
dy
The circular hole encourages a change to cylindrical coordinates: x
cos
and
y
sin
; dx
dy
. In this case, the limits of integration dene of

the geometry of the aperture, and the integration is accomplished as follows:
E (0, 0, z) =
i E
0
2
_
0
d
/2
_
0
e
i k
2
+z
2
_
2
+z
2

=
i E
0
2
e
i k
2
+z
2
i k
/2
0
=E
0
_
e
i k
(/2)
2
+z
2
e
i kz
_
The on axis intensity becomes
I (0, 0, z) E (0, 0, z) E
(0, 0, z)=|E
0
|
2
_
e
i k
(/2)
2
+z
2
e
i kz
__
e
i k
(/2)
2
+z
2
e
i kz
_
=2|E
0
|
2
_
1cos
_
k
_
(/2)
2
+z
2
kz
__
(10.3)
See problem P10.6 for a graph of this function.
When an aperture has a complicated shape, it may be convenient to break up
the diffraction integral (10.1) into several pieces. You are probably already used to
doing this sort of piecewise approach to integration in other settings. It seems
hardly worth giving a name to this technique, but it is called Babinets principle;
perhaps in Babinets day people were not as comfortable with calculus.
Figure 10.4 Aperture comprised of
the region between a circle and a
square.
As an example of how to use Babinets principle, suppose that we have an
aperture that consists of a circular obstruction within a square opening as de-
picted in Fig. 10.4. Thus, the light transmits through the region between the circle
and the square. One can evaluate the overall diffraction pattern by rst evaluating
the diffraction integral for the entire square (ignoring the circular block) and then
subtracting the diffraction integral for a circular opening having the shape of the
2
An analytical solution is not possible off axis.
block. This removes the unwanted part of the previous integration and yields the
overall result. It is important to add and subtract the integrals (i.e. elds), not
their squares (i.e. intensity).
As trivial as Babinets principle may seem to you, it may not be obvious at
rst that Babinets principle also applies to an innitely wide plane wave that
is interrupted by nite obstructions. In this case, one simply computes the
diffraction of the blocked portions of the eld as though these portions were
openings in a mask. This result is then subtracted from the plane wave (no
integration needed for the plane), as depicted in Fig. 10.5.
Block
Mask
Figure 10.5 A block in a plane
wave giving rise to diffraction in
the geometric shadow.
When Fresnel rst presented his diffraction formula to the French Academy
of Sciences, a certain judge of scientic papers named Simeon Poisson noticed
that Fresnels formula predicted that there should be light in the center of the
geometric shadow behind a circular obstruction. This seemed so absurd to
Poissonthat he initially disbelievedthe theory, until the spot was shortly thereafter
experimentally conrmed, much to Poissons chagrin. Needless to say, Fresnels
paper was then awarded rst prize, and this spot appearing behind circular blocks
has since been known as Poissons spot.
Example 10.2
Find the on-axis (i.e. x, y =0) intensity behind a circular block of diameter placed
in a uniform plane wave.
Solution: From Example 10.1, the on-axis eld behind a circular aperture is
E
0
_
e
i kz
e
i k
(/2)
2
+z
2
_
. Babinets principle says to subtract this result froma plane
wave to obtain the eld behind the circular block. The situation is depicted in
Fig. 10.5 (side view). The on-axis eld is then
E (0, 0, z) =E
0
e
i kz
E
0
_
e
i kz
e
i k
(/2)
2
+z
2
_
=E
0
e
i k
(/2)
2
+z
2
The on axis intensity becomes simply
I (0, 0, z) E (0, 0, z) E
(0, 0, z) =|E
0
|
2
e
i k
(/2)
2
+z
2
e
i k
(/2)
2
+z
2
=|E
0
|
2
This result says that, inthe exact center of the shadowbehinda circular obstruction,
the intensity is the same as the illuminating plane wave for all distance z. A spot of
light in the center forms right away; no wonder Poisson was astonished!
10.2 Scalar Diffraction Theory
In this section we provide the background motivation for Huygens principle and
Fresnels formulation of it. Consider a light eld with a single frequency . The
light eld can be represented by E(r) e
i t
, and the time derivative in the wave
equation (2.13) can be easily performed. It reduces to
2
E(r) +k
2
E(r) =0 (10.4)
10.2 Scalar Diffraction Theory 257
where k n/c is the magnitude of the usual wave vector (see also (9.2)). Equa-
tion (10.4) is called the Helmholtz equation. Again, it is merely the wave equation
written for the case of a single frequency, where the trivial time dependence has
been removed. To obtain the full wave solution, just append the factor e
i t
to
the solution of the Helmholtz equation E(r).
Francois Jean Dominique Arago
(1786-1853, French) was born in Cata-
lan France, where his father was the
Treasurer of the Mint. As a teenager,
Arago was sent to a municipal college
in Perpignan where he developed a
deep interest in mathematics. In 1803,
he entered the Ecole Polytechnique in
Paris, where he purportedly was dis-
appointed that he was not presented
with new knowledge at a higher rate.
He associated with famous French
mathematicians Simon Poisson and
Pierre-Simmon Laplace. He later worked
with Jean-Baptiste Biot to measure
the meridian arch to determine the
exact length of the meter. This work
took him to the Balearic Islands, Spain,
where he was imprisoned as a spy, being
suspected because of lighting res atop
a mountain as part of his surveying ef-
forts. After a heroic prison escape and
a subsequent string of misfortunes, he
eventually made it back to France where
he took a strong interest in optics and
the wave theory of light. Arago and
Fresnel established a fruitful collabora-
tion that extended for many years. It
was Arago who demonstrated Poissons
spot (sometimes called Aragos spot).
Arago also invented the rst polarizing
lter. In later life, he served a brief stint
as the French Priminister. (Wikipedia)
At this point we take anegregious step: We simply ignore the vectorial nature of
E(r) and write (10.4) using only the magnitude E(r). When using scalar diffraction
theory, we must keep in mind that it is based on this serious step. Under the
scalar approximation, the vector Helmholtz equation (10.4) becomes the scalar
Helmholtz equation:
2
E (r) +k
2
E (r) =0 (10.5)
This equation of course is consistent with (10.4) in the case of a plane wave.
However, we are interested in spherical waves of the form E (r ) =E
0
r
0
e
i kr
/r . It
turns out that such spherical waves are exact solutions to the scalar Helmholtz
equation (10.5). The proof is left as an exercise (see P10.3). Nevertheless, spherical
waves of this formonly approximately satisfy the vector Helmholtz equation(10.4).
We can get away with this slight of hand if the radius r is large compared to a
wavelength (i.e., kr 1) and if we restrict r to a narrow range perpendicular to
the polarization.
Signicance of the Scalar Wave Approximation
The solution of the scalar Helmholtz equation is not completely unassociated with
the solution to the vector Helmholtz equation. In fact, if E
scalar
(r) obeys the scalar
Helmholtz equation (10.5), then
E(r) =r E
scalar
(r) (10.6)
obeys the vector Helmholtz equation (10.4).
Consider a spherical wave, which is a solution to the scalar Helmholtz equation:
E
scalar
(r) =E
0
r
0
e
i kr
/r (10.7)
Remarkably, when this expression is placed into (10.6) the result is zero. Although
zero is in fact a solution to the vector Helmholtz equation, it is not very interesting.
A more interesting solution to the scalar Helmholtz equation is
E
scalar
(r) =r
0
E
0
_
1
i
kr
_
e
i kr
r
cos (10.8)
which is one of an innite number of unique spherical solutions that exist. Notice
that in the limit of large r , this expression looks similar to (10.7), aside from the
factor cos. The vector form of this eld according to (10.6) is
E(r) =
r
0
E
0
_
1
i
kr
_
e
i kr
r
sin (10.9)
This eld looks approximately like the scalar spherical wave solution (10.7) in the
limit of large r if the angle is chosen to lie near
= /2 (spherical coordinates).
Since our use of the scalar Helmholtz equation is in connection with this spherical
wave under these conditions, the results are close to those obtained from the
vector Helmholtz equation.
Figure 10.6
Fresnel developed his diffraction formula (10.1) a half century before Maxwell
assembled the equations of electromagnetic theory. In 1887, Gustav Kirchhoff
demonstrated that Fresnels diffraction formula satises the scalar Helmholtz
equation. In doing this he clearly showed the approximations implicit in the
theory, and made a slight revision to the formula:
E
_
x, y, z
_
=
i
aperture
E
_
x
, y
, z =0
_
e
i kR
R
_
1+cos(R, z)
2
_
dx
dy
(10.10)
The factor in square brackets, Kirchhoffs revision, is known as the obliquity factor.
Here, cos(R, z) indicates the cosine of the angle between R and z. Notice that this
factor is approximately equal to one when the point (x, y, z) is chosen to be in
the forward direction; we usually study diffraction under this circumstance. On
the other hand, the obliquity factor equals zero for elds traveling in the reverse
direction (i.e. in the z direction). This xes a problem with Fresnels version of
the formula (10.1) based on Huygens wavelets, which suggested that light could
as easily diffract in the reverse direction as in the forward direction
In honor of Kirchhoffs work, (10.10) is referred to as the Fresnel-Kirchhoff
diffraction formula. The details of Kirchhoffs more rigorous derivation, including
howthe factor i / naturally arises, are given in Appendix 10.A. Since the Fresnel-
Kirchhoff formula can be understood as a superposition of spherical waves, it is
not surprising that it satises the scalar Helmholtz equation (10.5).
10.3 Fresnel Approximation
Although the Fresnel-Kirchhoff integral looks innocent enough, it is actually quite
difcult to evaluate analytically. It is problematic even if the eld E
_
x
, y
, z =0
_
is
constant across the aperture and if the obliquity factor (1+cos(r, z))/2 is approxi-
mated as one (i.e. forward direction).
Fresnel introduced an approximation
3
to his diffraction formula that makes
the integration somewhat easier to perform. The approximation is analogous
to the paraxial approximation made for rays in chapter 9. Thus, the Fresnel
approximation requires the avoidance of large angles with respect to the z-axis
Besides letting the obliquity factor be one, Fresnel approximated R by the
distance z in the denominator of (10.10) . Then the denominator can be brought
out in front of the integral since it no longer depends on x
and y
. This is valid to
the extent that we restrict ourselves to small angles:
R
=z (denominator only; Fresnel approximation) (10.11)

3
J. W. Goodman, Introduction to Fourier Optics, Sect. 4-1 (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968).
10.3 Fresnel Approximation 259
The above approximation is wholly inappropriate in the exponent of (10.10) since
small changes in R can result in dramatic variations in the periodic function e
i kR
.
To approximate R in the exponent, we must proceed with caution. To this end
we expand (10.2) under the assumption z
2
(x x
)
2
+(y y
)
2
. Again, this is
consistent with the idea of restricting ourselves to relatively small angles. The
expansion of (10.2) is written as
R =z
_
1+
(x x
)
2
+
_
y y
_
2
z
2
=z
_
1+
_
x x
_
2
+
_
y y
_
2
2z
2
+
_
(exponent; Fresnel approximation) (10.12)
Substitution of (10.11) and (10.12) into the Fresnel diffraction formula (10.1) yields
E
_
x, y, z
_
=
i e
i kz
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
z
aperture
E
_
x
, y
, 0
_
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
e
i
k
z
(xx
+y y
)
dx
dy
(Fresnel approximation) (10.13)

This is Fresnels approximation to his diffraction integral formula. It may look a bit
messier than before, but in terms of being able to make progress on integration
we are better off than previously. Notice that the integral can be interpreted as a
two-dimensional Fourier transform on E
_
x
, y
, 0
_
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
.
Figure 10.7 Field amplitude fol-
lowing a rectangular aperture
computed in the Fresnel approxi-
mation.
Example 10.3
Compute the Fresnel diffraction eld following a rectangular aperture (dimensions
x by y) illuminated by a uniform plane wave.
Solution: According to (10.13), the eld down stream is
E
_
x, y, z
_
=i E
0
e
i kz
z
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
x/2
_
x/2
dx
e
i
k
2z
x
2
e
i
kx
z
x
y/2
_
y/2
dy
e
i
k
2z
y
2
e
i
ky
z
y
Unfortunately, the integration in the preceding example must be performed

numerically. This is often the case for diffraction integrals in the Fresnel approx-
imation. Figure 10.7 shows the result of such an integration for a rectangular
aperture with a height twice its width.
Paraxial Wave Equation
If we assume that the light coming through the aperture is highly directional, such
that it propagates mainly in the z-direction, we are motivated to write the eld
as E(x, y, z) =

E(x, y, z)e
i kz
. Upon substitution of this into the scalar Helmholtz
equation (10.5), we arrive at
2

E
x
2
+
2

E
y
2
+2i k
E
z
+
2

E
z
2
=0 (10.14)
At this point we make the paraxial wave approximation,
4
which is |2k
E
z
| |
2

E
z
2
|.
That is, we assume that the amplitude of the eld varies slowly in the z-direction
such that the wave looks much like a plane wave. We permit the amplitude to
change as the wave propagates in the z-direction as long as it does so on a scale
much longer than a wavelength. This leads to the paraxial wave equation:
_

2
x
2
+

2
y
2
+2i k

z
_

E(x, y, z)
=0 (paraxial wave equation) (10.15)

It turns out that the Fresnel approximation (10.13) is an exact solution to the
paraxial wave equation. As demonstrated in problem P10.5, (10.15) is satised by
E(x, y, z)
=
i
z
E(x
, y
, 0)e
i
k
2z
_
(xx
)
2
+(yy
)
2
_
dx
dy
(10.16)
When the factor e
i kz
is appended, this eld is identical to (10.13).
Joseph von Fraunhofer (17871826,
German) was born in Straubing, Bavaria.
He was orphaned at age 11 and where-
upon he was apprenticed to a glass-
maker. The workshop collapsed, trap-
ping him in the rubble. The Prince
of Bavaria directed the rescue eorts
and thereafter took an interest in
Fraunhofers education. The prince
required the glassmaker to allow young
Joseph time to study, and he naturally
took an interest in optics. Fraunhofer
later worked at the Optical Institute
at Benediktbeuern, where he learned
techniques for making the nest optical
glass in his day. Fraunhofer developed
numerous glass recipes and was expert
at creating optical devices. Fraunhofer
was the inventor of the spectroscope,
making it possible to do quantitative
spectroscopy. Using his spectroscope,
Fraunhofer was the rst to observe and
document hundreds of absorption lines
in the suns spectrum. He also noticed
that these varied for dierent stars, thus
establishing the eld of stellar spec-
troscopy. He was also the inventor of
the diraction grating. In 1822, he was
granted an honorary doctorate from
the University of Erlangen. Fraunhofer
passed away at age 39, perhaps due
to heavy-metal poisoning from glass
blowing. (Wikipedia)
10.4 Fraunhofer Approximation
An additional approximation to the diffraction integral was made famous by
Joseph von Fraunhofer. The Fraunhofer approximation is simply the limiting
case of the Fresnel approximation when the eld is observed at a distance far
after the aperture (called the far eld). A diffraction pattern continuously evolves
along the z-direction, as described by the Fresnel approximation. Eventually
it evolves into a nal diffraction pattern that maintains itself as it continues to
propogate (although it increases its size in proportion to distance). It is this far-
away diffraction pattern that is obtained from the Fraunhofer approximation.
Since the Fresnel approximation requires the angles to be small (i.e. the paraxial
approximation), so does the Fraunhofer approximation.
In many textbooks, the Fraunhofer approximation is presented rst because
the formula is easier to use. However, since it is a special case of the Fresnel
approximation, it logically should be discussed afterwards as we are doing here.
To obtain the diffraction pattern very far after the aperture, we make the following
approximation:
5
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
=1 (far eld) (10.17)
The validity of this approximation depends on a comparison of the size of the
aperture to the distance z where the diffraction pattern is observed. We need
z
k
2
_
aperture radius
_
2
(condition for far eld) (10.18)
4
P. W. Milonni and J. H. Eberly, Laser, Sect. 14.4 (New York: Wiley, 1988).
5
J. W. Goodman, Introduction to Fourier Optics, p. 61 (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968).
10.5 Diffraction with Cylindrical Symmetry 261
By removing the factor (10.17) from (10.13), we obtain the Fraunhofer diffrac-
tion formula:
E
_
x, y, z
_
=
i e
i kz
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
z
aperture
E
_
x
, y
, 0
_
e
i
k
z
(xx
+y y
)
dx
dy
(Fraunhofer approximation) (10.19)

Obviously, the removal of e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
from the integrand improves our chances of
being able to perform the integration. Notice that the integral can now be inter-
preted as a two-dimensional Fourier transform on the aperture eld E
_
x
, y
, 0
_
.
Once we are in the Fraunhofer regime, a change in z is not very interesting
since it appears in the combination x/z or y/z inside the integral. At a larger
distance z, the same diffraction pattern is obtained with a proportionately larger
value of x or y. The Fraunhofer diffractionpatternthus preserves itself indenitely
as the eld propagates. It grows in size as the distance z increases, but the angular
size dened by x/z or y/z remains the same.
Figure 10.8 Fraunhofer diffraction
pattern (eld amplitude) gener-
ated by a uniformly illuminated
rectangular aperture with a height
twice the width.
Example 10.4
Compute the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern following a rectangular aperture (di-
mensions x by y) illuminated by a uniform plane wave.
E
_
x, y, z
_
=i E
0
e
i kz
z
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
x/2
_
x/2
dx
e
i
kx
z
x
y/2
_
y/2
dy
e
i
ky
z
y
It is left as an exercise (see P10.8) to perform the integration and compute the
intensity. The result turns out to be
I
_
x, y, z
_
= I
0
x
2
y
2
2
z
2
sinc
2
_
x
z
x
_
sinc
2
_
y
z
y
_
(10.20)
where sinc sin/. Note that lim
0
sinc =1.
10.5 Diffraction with Cylindrical Symmetry
Sometimes the eld transmitted by an aperture is cylindrically symmetric. In this
case, the eld at the aperture can be written as
E(x
, y
, z =0) =E(
, z =0) (10.21)
where
_
x
2
+y
2
. Under cylindrical symmetry, the two-dimensional integra-
tion over x
and y
in (10.13) or (10.19) can be reduced to a single-dimensional

integral over a cylindrical coordinate
. With the coordinate transformation

x cos y sin x
cos
sin
(10.22)
the Fresnel diffraction integral (10.13) becomes
E
_
, z
_
=
i e
i kz
e
i
k
2
2z
z
2
_
0
d
_
aperture
E
_
, 0
_
e
i
k
2
2z
e
i
k
z
(
coscos
sinsin
)
(10.23)
Notice that in the exponent of (10.23) we can write
_
cos
cos+sin
sin
_
=
cos
_
_
(10.24)
With this simplication, the diffraction formula (10.23) can be written as
E
_
, z
_
=
i e
i kz
e
i
k
2
2z
z
_
aperture
E
_
, 0
_
e
i
k
2
2z
2
_
0
d
e
i
k
z
cos(
)
(10.25)
We are able to perform the integration over
with the help of the formula (0.57):

2
_
0
e
i
k
z
cos(
)
d
=2J
0
_
k
z
_
(10.26)
J
0
is called the zero-order Bessel function. Equation (10.25) then reduces to
E
_
, z
_
=
2i e
i kz
e
i
k
2
2z
z
_
aperture
E
_
, 0
_
e
i
k
2
2z
J
0
_
k
z
_
(Fresnel approximation with cylindrical symmetry) (10.27)
The integral in (10.27) is called a Hankel transformon E
_
, 0
_
e
i
k
2
2z
.
z = 25/k
z = 75/k
z = 200/k
z = 1000/k
500/k
500/k
500/k
500/k
100/k
Figure 10.9 Field amplitude fol-
lowing a circular aperture com-
puted in the Fresnel approxima-
tion.
In the case of the Fraunhofer approximation, the diffraction integral becomes
a Hankel transform on just the eld E
_
, z =0
_
since exp
_
i
k
2
2z
_
goes to one.
Under cylindrical symmetry, the Fraunhofer approximation is
E
_
, z
_
=
2i e
i kz
e
i
k
2
2z
z
_
aperture
E
_
, 0
_
J
0
_
k
z
_
(Fraunhofer approximation with cylindrical symmetry) (10.28)
Just as fast Fourier transformalgorithms aid in the numerical evaluation of diffrac-
tion integrals in Cartesian coordinates, fast Hankel transforms also exist and can
be used with cylindrically symmetric diffraction integrals.
Example 10.5
Compute the Fresnel and Fraunhofer diffraction patterns following a circular
aperture (diameter ) illuminated by a uniform plane wave.
E
_
, z
_
=i E
0
2e
i kz
e
i
k
2
2z
z
/2
_
0
e
i
k
2
2z
J
0
_
k
z
_
10.A Fresnel-Kirchhoff Diffraction Formula 263
Unfortunately, this Fresnel integral must be performed numerically. The result
of the calculation for a uniform eld illuminating a circular aperture is shown in
Fig. 10.9.
On the other hand, the eld in the Fraunhofer limit (10.28) is
E
_
, z
_
=i E
0
2e
i kz
e
i
k
2
2z
z
/2
_
0
J
0
_
k
z
_
which can be integrated analytically. It is left as an exercise to perform the integra-
tion and to show that the intensity of the Fraunhofer pattern is
I
_
, z
_
= I
0
_
2
4z
_
2
_
2
J
1
_
k/2z
_
_
k/2z
_
_2
(10.29)
The function
2J
1
()
(sometimes called the jinc function) looks similar to the sinc

function (see Example 10.4) except that its rst zero is at =1.22 rather than at .
Note that lim
0
2J
1
()
=1.

!
Figure 10.10 Fraunhofer diffrac-
tion pattern (eld amplitude) gen-
erated for a uniformly illuminated
circular aperture.
Appendix 10.A Fresnel-Kirchhoff Diffraction Formula
To begin the derivation of the Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction formula,
6
we employ
Greens theorem (proven in appendix 10.B):
_
S
_
U
V
n
V
U
n
_
da =
_
V
_
U
2
V V
2
U
_
dv (10.30)
The notation /n implies a derivative in the direction normal to the surface. We
choose the following functions:
V e
i kr
/r
U E (r)
(10.31)
where E (r) is assumed to satisfy the scalar Helmholtz equation, (10.5). When
these functions are used in Greens theorem (10.30), we obtain
_
S
_
E

n
e
i kr
r

e
i kr
r
E
n
_
da =
_
V
_
E
2
e
i kr
r

e
i kr
r

2
E
_
dv (10.32)
The right-hand side of this equation vanishes
7
since we have
E
2
e
i kr
r

e
i kr
r

2
E =k
2
E
e
i kr
r
+
e
i kr
r
k
2
E =0 (10.33)
6
See J. W. Goodman, Introduction to Fourier Optics, Sect. 3-3 (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968).
7
We exclude the point r =0; see P0.4 and P0.5.
where we have taken advantage of the fact that E (r) and e
i kr
/r both satisfy (10.5).
This is exactly the reason for our judicious choices of the functions V andU since
with them we were able to make half of (10.30) disappear. We are left with
_
S
_
E

n
e
i kr
r

e
i kr
r
E
n
_
da =0 (10.34)
Now consider a volume between a small sphere of radius at the origin and an
outer surface of whatever shape. The total surface that encloses the volume is
comprised of two parts (i.e. S =S
1
+S
2
as depicted in Fig. 10.11).
Figure 10.11 A two-part surface
enclosing volume V .
When we apply (10.34) to the surface in Fig. 10.11, we have
_
S
2
_
E

n
e
i kr
r

e
i kr
r
E
n
_
da =
_
S
1
_
E

n
e
i kr
r

e
i kr
r
E
n
_
da (10.35)
Our motivation for choosing this geometry with multiple surfaces is that eventu-
ally we want to nd the eld at the origin (inside the little sphere) fromknowledge
of the eld on the outside surface. To this end, we assume that is so small that
E (r) is approximately the same everywhere on the surface S
1
. Then the integral
over S
1
becomes
_
S
1
_
E

n
e
i kr
r

e
i kr
r
E
n
_
da = lim
r =0
2
_
0
d
_
0
_
E
_

r
e
i kr
r
_
r
n

e
i kr
r
_
E
r
_
r
n
_
r
2
sind
(10.36)
where we have used spherical coordinates. Notice that we have employed the
chain rule to execute the normal derivative /n. Since r always points opposite
to the direction of the surface normal n, the normal derivative r /n is always
equal to 1.
8
We can now perform the integration in (10.36) as well as take the
limit as 0 to obtain
lim
0
_
S
1
_
E

n
e
i kr
r

e
i kr
r
E
n
_
da =4lim
0
_
r
2
_
e
i kr
r
2
+i k
e
i kr
r
_
E r
2
e
i kr
r
_
E
r
_
_
r =
=4lim
0
_
_
e
i k
+i ke
i k
_
E e
i k
_
E
r
_
r =
_
=4E (0)
(10.37)
With the aid of (10.37), Greens theorem applied to our specic geometry
reduces to
E (0) =
1
4
_
S
2
_
e
i kr
r
E
n
E

n
e
i kr
r
_
da (10.38)
If we knowE everywhere on the outer surface S
2
, this equation allows us to predict
the eld E (0) at the origin. Of course we are free to choose any coordinate system
in order to nd the eld anywhere inside the surface S
2
, by simply moving the
origin.
8
From the denition of the normal derivative we have r /n r n= n n=1.
10.A Fresnel-Kirchhoff Diffraction Formula 265
Nowlet us choose a specic surface S
2
. Consider an innite mask with a nite
aperture connected to a hemisphere of innite radius R . In the end, we
will suppose that light that enters through the mask and propagates to our origin
(among other points). In our present coordinate system, the vectors r and n point
opposite to the incoming light.
origin
mask
aperture
Figure 10.12 Surface S
2
depicted
as a mask and a large hemisphere.
We must evaluate (10.38) on the surface depicted in the gure. For the portion
of S
2
which is on the hemisphere, the integrand tends to zero as R becomes large.
To argue this, it is necessary to recognize the fact that at large distances the eld
takes on a form proportional to e
i kR
/R so that the two terms in the integrand
cancel. On the mask, we assume, as did Kirchhoff, that both E/n and E are
zero.
9
Thus, we are left with only the integration over the open aperture:
E (0) =
1
4
aperture
_
e
i kr
r
E
n
E

n
e
i kr
r
_
da (10.39)
We have essentially arrived at the result that we are seeking. The eld coming
through the aperture is integrated to nd the eld at the origin, which is located
beyond the aperture. Let us manipulate the formula a little further. The second
term in the integral of (10.39) can be rewritten as follows:
n
e
i kr
r
=
_

r
e
i kr
r
_
r
n
=
_
i k
r

1
r
2
_
e
i kr
cos(r, n)
r
i ke
i kr
r
cos(r, n) (10.40)
where r /n = cos(r, n) indicates the cosine of the angle between r and n. We
have also assumed that the distance r is much larger than a wavelength in order
to drop a term. Next, we assume that the eld illuminating the aperture can be
written as E

=

E
_
x, y
_
e
i kz
. This represents a plane-wave eld traveling through
the aperture from left to right. Then, we have
E
n
=
E
z
z
n
=i k

E
_
x, y
_
e
i kz
(1) =i kE (10.41)
Substituting (10.40) and (10.41) into (10.39) yields
E (0) =
i
aperture
E
e
i kr
r
_
1+cos(r, n)
2
_
da (10.42)
Finally, we wish to rearrange our coordinate system to that depicted in Fig. 10.2.
In our derivation, it was less cumbersome to place the origin at a point after the
aperture. Now that we have completed our mathematics, it is convenient to make
a change of coordinate system and move the origin to the plane of the aperture as
9
Later Sommerfeld noticed that these two assumptions actually contradict each other, and he
revised Kirchhoffs work to be more accurate. In practice this revision makes only a tiny difference
as light spills onto the back of the aperture, over a length scale of a wavelength. We will ignore
this effect and go with Kirchhoffs (slightly awed) assumption. For further discussion see J. W.
Goodman, Introduction to Fourier Optics, Sect. 3-4 (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968).
in Fig. 10.2. Then, we can obtain the eld at a point lying somewhere after the
aperture by computing
E
_
x, y, z =d
_
=
i
aperture
E
_
x
, y
, z =0
_
e
i kR
R
_
1+cos(r, z)
2
_
dx
dy
(10.43)
where
R =
_
(x x
)
2
+
_
y y
_
2
+d
2
(10.44)
Equation (10.10) is the same as (10.42) after applying a coordinate transformation.
It is called the Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction formula and it agrees with (10.1)
except for the obliquity factor [1+cos(r, z)]/2.
Appendix 10.B Greens Theorem
To derive Greens theorem, we begin with the divergence theorem (see (0.11)):
_
S
f n da =
_
V
f dv (10.45)
The unit vector n always points normal to the surface of volume V over which
the integral is taken. Let the vector function f be UV , where U and V are both
analytical functions of the position coordinate r. Then (10.45) becomes
_
S
(UV ) n da =
_
V
(UV ) dv (10.46)
We recognize V n as the directional derivative of V , directed along the surface
normal n. This is often represented in shorthand notation as
V n
V
n
(10.47)
The argument of the integral on the right-hand side of (10.46) can be expanded
with the chain rule:
(UV ) =U V +U
2
V (10.48)
With these substitutions, (10.46) becomes
_
S
U
V
n
da =
_
V
_
U V +U
2
V
_
dv (10.49)
Actually, so far we havent done much. Equation (10.49) is nothing more than the
divergence theorem applied to the vector functionUV . Similarly, we can apply
the divergence theorem to an alternative vector function given by the reverse
10.B Greens Theorem 267
combination V U. Thus, we can write an equation similar to (10.49) where U
and V are interchanged:
_
S
V
U
n
da =
_
V
_
V U +V
2
U
_
dv (10.50)
We simply subtract (10.50) from (10.49), and this leads to (10.30) known as Greens
theorem.
Exercises
Exercises for 10.1 Huygens Principle as Formulated by Fresnel
Figure 10.13
P10.1 Huygens principle is often used to describe diffraction through a slits,
but it can be also used to describe refraction. Use a drawing program
or a ruler and compass to produce a picture similar to Fig. 10.13, which
shows that the graphical prediction of refracted angle from the Huy-
gens principle. Verify that the Huygens picture matches the numerical
prediction from Snells Law for an incident angle of your choice. Use
n
i
=1 and n
t
=2.
HINT: Draw the wavefronts hitting the interface at an angle and treat
each point where the wavefronts strike the interface as the source of
circular waves propagating into the n =2 material. The wavelength of
the circular waves must be exactly half the wavelength of the incident
light since =
vac
/n. Use at least four point sources and connect the
matching wavefronts by drawing tangent lines as in the gure.
P10.2 (a) Show that the function
f (r ) =
A
r
cos(kr t )
is a solution to the wave equation in spherical coordinates with only
radial dependence,
1
r
2
r
_
r
2
f
r
_
=
1
v
2
2
f
t
2
Determine what v is, in terms of k and .
(b) If the electric eld were a scalar eld, we might be done there.
However, its a vector eld, and moreover it must satisfy Maxwells
equations. We know from experience that its generally transverse, and
since its traveling radially lets make a guess that its oscillating in the

direction:
E(r ) =
A
r
cos(kr t )

Show that this choice for E is not consistent with Maxwells equations.
In particular: (i) showthat it does satisfy Gausss Law(1.1); (ii) compute
the curl of E use Faradays Law (1.3) to deduce B; (iii) Show that this B
does satisfy Gausss Law for magnetism (1.2); (iv) but this B it does not
satisfy Amperes law (1.4).
(c) A somewhat more complicated spherical wave
E(r, ) =
Asin
r
_
cos(kr t )
1
kr
sin(kr t )
_


Exercises 269
does satisfy Maxwells equations. Describe how this wave behaves as
a function of r and . What conditions need to be satised for this
equationto reduce to the spherical wave formula used inthe diffraction
formulas?
Figure 10.14 The Fraunhofer Ap-
proximation by Sterling Cornaby
Exercises for 10.2 Scalar Diffraction Theory
P10.3 Show that E (r ) =E
0
r
0
e
i kr
/r is a solution to the scalar Helmholtz equa-
tion (10.5).
HINT:
2
=
1
r
2
r
2
_
r
_
+
1
r
2
sin
_
sin
_
+
1
r
2
sin
2
2
P10.4 Learn by heart the derivation of the Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction for-
mula (outlined in Appendix 10.A). Indicate the percentage of how well
you understand the derivation. If you write 100% percent, it means
that you can reproduce the derivation after closing your notes.
P10.5 Check that (10.16) is the solution to the paraxial wave equation (10.15).
Exercises for 10.4 Fraunhofer Approximation
P10.6 (a) Repeat Example 10.1 to nd the on-axis intensity after a circular
aperture in both the Fresnel and Fraunhofer approximations. (HINT:
Use (10.27) and (10.28) to obtain the elds =0.) Also make suitable
approximations directly to (10.3) to obtain the same answers.
(b) Check how well the Fresnel and Fraunhofer approximations work
by graphing the three curves (i.e. (10.3) and the curves obtained in part
(a)) on a single plot as a function of z. Take =10 m and =500 nm.
To see the result better, use a log scale on the z-axis.
Fresnel
Fresnel-Kirchoff
Fraunhofer
z (mm)
Figure 10.15
L10.7 (a) Why does the on-axis intensity behind a circular opening uctuate
(see Example 10.1) whereas the on-axis intensity behind a circular
obstruction remains constant (see example 10.2)?
(b) Create a collimated laser beam several centimeters wide. Observe
the on-axis intensity on a movable screen (e.g. a hand-held card) be-
hind a small circular aperture and behind a small circular obstruction
placed in the beam. (video)
(c) In the case of the circular aperture, measure the distance to several
on-axis minima and check that it agrees with prediction. (See problem
P10.6.)
Laser
Figure 10.16
P10.8 Calculate the Fraunhofer diffraction eld and intensity patterns for a
rectangular aperture (dimensions x by y) illuminated by a plane
wave E
0
. In other words, derive (10.20).
P10.9 A single narrow slit has a mask placed over it so the aperture function
is not a square pulse but rather a cosine: E(x
, y
, 0) =E
0
cos(x
/L) for
L/2 < x
< L/2 and E(x
, y
, 0) = 0 otherwise. Calculate the far-eld

(Fraunhofer) diffraction pattern. Make a plot of intensity as a function
of xkL/2z; qualitatively compare the pattern to that of a regular single
slit.
Exercises for 10.5 Diffraction with Cylindrical Symmetry
P10.10 Calculate the Fraunhofer diffraction intensity pattern (10.29) for a cir-
cular aperture (diameter ) illuminated by a plane wave E
0
.
Chapter 11
Diffraction Applications
In this chapter, we consider a number of practical examples of diffraction. We rst
discuss diffraction theory in systems involving lenses. The Fraunhofer diffraction
pattern discussed in section 10.4, applicable in the far-eld limit, is imaged to the
focus of a lens when the lens is placed in the stream of light. This has important
implications for the resolution of instruments such as telescopes or the human
eye.
The array theorem, which applies to Fraunhofer limit, is introduced in sec-
tion 11.3. This theorem is a powerful mathematical tool that enables one to deal
conveniently with diffraction from an array of identical apertures. One of the
important uses of the array theorem is in determining Fraunhofer diffraction
from a grating, since a diffraction grating can be thought of as an array of narrow
slit apertures. In section 11.5, we study the workings of a diffraction spectrometer.
To nd the resolution limitations, one combines the diffraction properties of
gratings with the Fourier properties of lenses.
Finally, we consider a Gaussian laser beam to understand its focusing and
diffraction properties. The information presented here comes up remarkably
often in research activity. We often think of lasers as collimated beams of light
that propagate indenitely without expanding. However, the laws of diffraction
require that every nite beam eventually grow in width. The rate at which a laser
beam diffracts depends on its beamwaist size. Because laser beams usually have
narrow divergence angles and therefore obey the paraxial approximation, we can
calculate their behavior via the Fresnel approximation discussed in section 10.3.
Appendix 11.A discusses the ABCD law for Gaussian beams, which is a method
of computing the effects of optical elements represented by ABCD matrices on
Gaussian laser beams.
11.1 Fraunhofer Diffraction Through a Lens
The Fraunhofer limit corresponds to the ultimate amount of diffraction that
light in an optical system experiences. As has been previously discussed, the
Fraunhofer approximation applies to diffraction when the propagation distance
271
272 Chapter 11 Diffraction Applications
from an aperture is sufciently large (see (10.18) and (10.19)). Mathematically, it
is obtained via a two-dimensional Fourier transform. The intensity of the far-eld
diffraction pattern is
I
_
x, y, z
_
=
1
2
c
0
1
z
aperture
E
_
x
, y
, 0
_
e
i k
_
x
z
x
+
y
z
y
_
dx
dy
2
(11.1)
Notice that the dependence of the diffraction on x, y, and z comes only
through the combinations
x

= x/z and
y

= y/z. Therefore, the diffraction
pattern in the Fraunhofer limit is governed by the two angles
x
and
y
, and
the pattern preserves itself indenitely. As the light continues to propagate, the
pattern increases in size at a rate proportional to distance traveled so that the
angular width is preserved. The situation is depicted in Fig. 11.1.
Figure 11.1 Diffraction in the far
eld.
Recall that in order to use the Fraunhofer diffraction formula we need to
satisfy z
_
aperture radius
_
2
/ (see (10.18)). As an example, if an aperture
with a 1 cm radius (not necessarily circular) is used with visible light, the light
must travel more than a kilometer in order to reach the Fraunhofer limit. It
may therefore seem unlikely to reach the Fraunhofer limit in a typical optical
system, especially if the aperture or beam size is relatively large. Nevertheless,
spectrometers, which typically utilize diffraction gratings many centimeters wide,
depend on achieving the Fraunhofer limit within the connes of a manageable
instrument box. This is accomplished using imaging techniques. The Fraunhofer
limit is also important to the performance of other optical instruments that use
lenses (e.g. a telescope).
Consider a lens with focal length f placed in the path of light following an
aperture (see Fig. 11.2). Let the lens be placed an arbitrary distance L after the
aperture. The lens produces an image of the Fraunhofer pattern at a new location
d
i
following the lens according to the imaging formula (see (9.55))
1
f
=
1
(z L)
+
1
d
i
. (11.2)
Keep in mind that the lens interrupts the light before the Fraunhofer pattern
has a chance to form. This means that the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern may

Image of the pattern that
would have appeared at
infinity
Figure 11.2 Imaging of the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern to the focus of a lens.
11.1 Fraunhofer Diffraction Through a Lens 273
be thought of as a virtual object a distance z L to the right of the lens. Since
the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern occurs at very large distances (i.e. z ) the
image of the Fraunhofer pattern appears at the focus of the lens:
d
i
= f . (11.3)
Thus, a lens makes it very convenient to observe the Fraunhofer diffraction pat-
tern even from relatively large apertures. It is not necessary to let the light propa-
gate for kilometers. We need only observe the pattern at the focus of the lens as
shown in Fig. 11.2. Notice that the spacing L between the aperture and the lens is
unimportant to this conclusion.
Even though we know that the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern occurs at the
focus of a lens, the question remains as to the size of the image. To nd the answer,
let us examine the magnication (9.56), which is given by
M =
d
i
(z L)
(11.4)
Taking the limit of very large z and employing (11.3), the magnication becomes
M
f
z
(11.5)
This is a remarkable result. When the lens is inserted, the size of the diffraction
pattern decreases by the ratio of the lens focal length f to the original distance
z to a far-away screen. Since in the Fraunhofer regime the diffraction pattern is
proportional to distance (i.e. si ze z), the image at the focus of the lens scales
in proportion to the focal length (i.e. si ze f ). This means that the angular
width of the pattern is preserved! With the lens in place, we can rewrite (11.1)
straightaway as
I
_
x, y, L + f
_
=
1
2
c
0
1
f
aperture
E
_
x
, y
, 0
_
e
i
k
f
(xx
+y y
)
dx
dy
2
(11.6)
which describes the intensity distribution pattern at the focus of the lens.
Although (11.6) correctly describes the intensity, we cannot easily write the
electric eld since the imaging techniques that we have used do not render the
phase information. To obtain an expression for the eld, it will be necessary to
employ the Fresnel diffraction formula. In addition, we need to know how a lens
adjust the phase fronts of the light passing through it.
Phase Front Alteration by a Lens
Consider a monochromatic light eld that goes through a thin lens with focal
length f . In traversing the lens, the wavefront undergoes a phase shift that varies
across the lens. We will reference the phase shift to that experienced by the light
that goes through the center of the lens. In the Fig. 11.3, R
1
is a positive radius
of curvature, and R
2
is a negative radius of curvature, according to our previous
convention. We take the distances
1
and
2
, as drawn, to be positive.
Figure 11.3 A thin lens, which
modies the phase of a eld pass-
ing through.
The light passing through the off-axis portion of the lens experiences less material
than the light passing through the center. The difference in optical path length is
(n 1) (
1
+
2
) (see discussion connected with (9.14)). This means that the phase
of the eld passing through the off-axis portion of the lens relative to the phase of
eld passing through the center is
=k (n 1) (
1
+
2
) . (11.7)
The negative sign indicates a phase advance (i.e. same sign as t ). Since off axis
the light travels through less material, the phase of the wave front gets ahead of
the light traveling through the center of the lens. In (11.7), k represents the wave
number in vacuum (i.e. 2/
vac
); since
1
and
2
correspond to distances outside
of the lens material.
We can nd expressions for
1
and
2
from the equations describing the spherical
surfaces of the lens:
(R
1
1
)
2
+x
2
+y
2
=R
2
1
(R
2
+
2
)
2
+x
2
+y
2
=R
2
2
(11.8)
In the Fresnel approximation, which takes place in the paraxial limit, it is appro-
priate to neglect the terms
2
1
and
2
2
in comparison with the other terms present.
Within this approximation, equations (11.8) become
=
x
2
+y
2
2R
1
and
2
=
x
2
+y
2
2R
2
(11.9)
Substitution into (11.7) yields
=k (n 1)
_
1
R
1
1
R
2
_
_
x
2
+y
2
_
2
=
k
2f
_
x
2
+y
2
_
(11.10)
where the focal length of a thin lens f has been introduced according to lens-
makers formula (9.46).
In summary, the light traversing a lens experiences a relative phase shift given by
E
_
x, y, z
after lens
_
=E
_
x, y, z
before lens
_
e
i
k
2f
(x
2
+y
2
)
(11.11)
Equation (11.11) introduces a wave-front curvature to the eld. For example, if a
plane wave (i.e. a uniform eld E
0
) passes through the lens, the eld emerges with
a spherical-like wave front converging towards the focus of the lens.
Figure 11.4 The phase fronts of a
plane wave are bent as they pass
through a lens.
We compute the diffraction pattern after the lens in three steps, as illustrated
in Fig. 11.5). First, we use the Fresnel diffraction formula to compute the eld
arriving at the lens. Second, we adjust the phase front of the light passing through
the lens according to (11.11). Third, we use the eld exiting the lens as the input
for a second Fresnel diffraction integral to nd the eld at the lens focus. The
result gives an intensity pattern in agreement with (11.6). It also provides the full
expression for the eld, including its phase.
11.2 Resolution of a Telescope 275
Starting from the known eld E
_
x
, y
, 0
_
at the aperture, we compute the eld
incident on the lens using the Fresnel approximation:
E(x
, y
, L) =i
e
i kL
e
i
k
2L
(x
2
+y
2
)
L
E(x
, y
, 0)e
i
k
2L
(x
2
+y
2
)
e
i
k
L
(x
+y
)
dx
dy
(11.12)
(The double primes keep track of distinct variables in sequential diffraction
integrals.) As mentioned, the eld gains a phase factor according to (11.11) upon
transmitting through the lens. Finally, we use the Fresnel diffraction formula a
second time to propagate the distance f from the back of the thin lens:
E
_
x, y, L + f
_
=i
e
i k f
e
i
k
2f
(x
2
+y
2
)
f
_
E(x
, y
, L)e
i
k
2f
(x
2
+y
2
)
_
e
i
k
2f
(x
2
+y
2
)
e
i
k
f
(xx
+y y
)
dx
dy
(11.13)
Figure 11.5 Diffraction from an
aperture viewed at the focus of a
lens.
As you can probably appreciate, the injection of (11.12) into (11.13) makes a
rather long formula involving four dimensions of integration. Nevertheless, two
of the integrals can be performed in advance of choosing the aperture (i.e. those
over x
and y
). This is accomplished with the help of the integral formula (0.55)

(even though in this instance the real part of A is zero). After this cumbersome
work, (11.13) reduces to
E
_
x, y, L + f
_
=i
e
i k(L+f )
e
i
k
2f
(x
2
+y
2
)
e
i
kL
2f
2
(x
2
+y
2
)
f
E(x
, y
, 0)e
i
k
f
(xx
+y y
)
dx
dy
(11.14)
Notice that at least the integration portion of this formula looks exactly like
the Fraunhofer diffraction formula! This happened even though in the preceding
discussionwe did not at any time specically make the Fraunhofer approximation.
The result (11.14) implies the intensity distribution (11.6) as anticipated. However,
the phase of the eld is also revealed in (11.14).
In general, the eld caries a wave front curvature as it passes through the
focal plane of the lens. In the special case L = f , the diffraction formula takes a
particularly simple form:
E(x
, y
, L + f )
L=f
=i
e
2i k f
f
E(x
, y
, 0)e
i
k
f
(xx
+y y
)
dx
dy
(11.15)
When the lens is placed at this special distance following the aperture, the Fraun-
hofer diffraction pattern viewed at the focus of the lens carries a at wave front.
11.2 Resolution of a Telescope
In the previous section we learned that the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern appears
at the focus of a lens. This has important implications for telescopes and other
optical instruments. In essence, any optical instrument incorporates an aperture,
limiting the light that enters. If nothing else, the diameter of a lens itself acts
effectively an aperture. The pupil of the human eye is an aperture that induces a
Fraunhofer diffraction pattern to occur at the retina. Cameras have irises which
aperture the light, again causing a Fraunhofer diffraction pattern to occur at the
image plane.
Of course, the focus of the lens is just where one needs to look in order to
see images of distant objects. The Fraunhofer pattern, which occurs at the focus,
represents the ultimate amount of diffraction caused by an aperture. This has the
effect of blurring out features in the image and limiting resolution. This illustrates
why it is impossible to focus light to a true point.
Figure 11.6 To resolve distinct im-
ages at the focus of a lens, the an-
gular separation must exceed the
width of the Fraunhofer diffraction
patterns.
Suppose you point a telescope at two distant stars. An image of each star is
formed in the focal plane of the lens. The angular separation between the two
images (referenced from the lens) is the same as the angular separation between
the stars.
1
This is depicted in Fig. 11.6.
A resolution problem occurs when the Fraunhofer diffraction causes the
image of each star to blur by more than the angular separation between them.
In this case the two images cannot be resolved because they bleed into one
another.
Figure 11.7 (a) First-order Bessel
function. (b) Square of the Jinc
function.
The Fraunhofer diffraction pattern from a circular aperture was computed
previously (see (10.29)). At the focus of a lens, this pattern becomes
I
_
, f
_
= I
0
_
2
4f
_
2
_
2
J
1
_
k/2f
_
_
k/2f
_
_2
(11.16)
where f , the focal length of the lens, takes the place of z in the diffraction formula.
The parameter is its diameter of the lens. This intensity pattern contains the
rst order Bessel function J
1
, which behaves somewhat like a sine wave as seen in
Fig. 11.7. The main differences are that the zero crossings are not exactly periodic
and the function slowly diminishes with larger arguments. The rst zero crossing
(after x =0) occurs at 1.22.
The intensity pattern described by (11.16) contains the factor 2J
1
()/, where
represents the combination k/2f . As noticed in Fig. 11.7, J
1
() goes to zero
at =0. Thus, we have a zero-divided-by-zero situation when evaluating 2J
1
()/
at the origin. This is similar to the sinc function (i.e. sin()/), which approaches
one at the origin. In fact, 2J
1
()/ is sometimes called the jinc function because it
also approaches one at the origin. The square of the jinc is shown in Fig. 11.7b.
This curve is proportional to the intensity described in (11.16). This pattern is
sometimes called an Airy pattern after Sir George Biddell Airy (English, 18011892)
who rst described the pattern. As can be seen in Fig. 11.7b, the intensity quickly
drops at larger radii.
1
In the thin-lens approximation, the ray from either star that traverses the center of the lens (i.e.
y =0) maintains its angle:
_
0
2
_
=
_
1 0
1/f 1
__
0
1
_
=
_
0
1
_
11.2 Resolution of a Telescope 277
We now return to the question of whether the images of two nearby stars
as depicted in Fig. 11.6 can be distinguished. Since the peak in Fig. 11.7b is the
dominant feature in the diffraction pattern, we will say that the two stars are
resolved if the angle between them is enough to keep their respective diffraction
peaks from seriously overlapping. We will adopt the criterion suggested by Lord
Rayleigh that the peaks are distinguishable if the peak of one pattern is no closer
than the rst zero to the other peak. This situation is shown in Fig. 11.8.
The angle that corresponds to this separation of diffraction patterns is found
simply by setting the argument of (11.16) equal to 1.22, the location of the rst
zero:
k
2f
=1.22 (11.17)
With a little rearranging we have
min
=

f
=
1.22
(11.18)
Here we have associated the ratio /f (i.e. the radius of the diffraction pattern
compared to the distance from the lens) with an angle
min
. The Rayleigh criterion
requires that the diffraction patterns be separated by at least this angle before we
say that they are resolved.
min
depends on the diameter of the lens as well as on the wavelength of the
light. Since the angle between the images and the angle between the objects is
the same,
min
tells the minimum angle between objects that can be resolved with
a given instrument. This analysis assumes that the light from the two objects is
incoherent, meaning the intensities in the image plane add; interferences between
the two elds uctuate rapidly in time and average away.
Figure 11.8 The Rayleigh criterion
for a circular aperture.
Example 11.1
What minimum telescope diameter is required to distinguish a Jupiter-like planet
(orbital radius 810
8
km) from its star if they are 10 light-years away?
Solution: From (11.18) and assuming 500 nm light, we need
>
1.22
min
=
1.22(50010
9
m)
(810
11
m)/(10ly)

9.510
15
m
ly
=0.07m
This seems like a piece of cake; a telescope with a diameter bigger than 7cm will do
the trick. However, the vastly unequal brightness of the star and the planet is the
real technical challenge. The faint diffraction rings in the stars diffraction pattern
completely swamp the faint signal from the planet.
11.3 The Array Theorem
In this section we develop the array theorem, which is used for calculating the
Fraunhofer diffraction from an array of N identical apertures. We will be using
the theorem to compute diffraction from a grating, which may be thought of as a
mask with many closely spaced identical slits. However, the array theorem can be
applied to apertures with any shape, as suggested by Fig. 11.9.
Figure 11.9 Array of identical aper-
tures.
Consider N apertures in a mask, each with the identical eld distribution
described by E
aperture
(x
, y
, 0). Outside of the aperture, we suppose E

aperture
(x
, y
, 0)
is zero, so in a diffraction integral we wont need to worry about the limits of
integration; we canjust integrate over the whole mask. Eachidentical aperture has
a unique location on the mask. Let the location of the n
th
aperture be designated
by the coordinates
_
x
n
, y
n
_
. The eld associated with the n
th
aperture is then
E
aperture
(x
n
, y
n
, 0), where the offset in the arguments simply shifts the
location of the aperture. The eld comprising all of the identical apertures is
E
_
x
, y
, 0
_
=
N
n=1
E
aperture
(x
n
, y
n
, 0) (11.19)
We next compute the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern for the above eld. Upon
inserting (11.19) into the Fraunhofer diffraction formula (10.19) we obtain
E
_
x, y, z
_
=i
e
i kz
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
z
N
n=1
dx
dy
E
aperture
_
x
n
, y
n
, 0
_
e
i
k
z
(xx
+y y
)
(11.20)
where we have taken the summation out in front of the integral. We have also
integrated over the entire (innitely wide) mask since E
aperture
is nonzero only
inside each aperture.
Even without yet choosing the shape of the identical apertures, we can make
some progress on (11.20) with the change of variables x
n
and y
n
:
E
_
x, y, z
_
=i
e
i kz
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
z
N
n=1
dx
dy
E
aperture
_
x
, y
, 0
_
e
i
k
z
[x(x
+x
n
)+y(y
+y
n
)]
(11.21)
Next we simply pull the factor exp{i
k
z
(xx
n
+y y
n
)} out in front of the integral to
arrive at our nal result:
E
_
x, y, z
_
=
_
N
n=1
e
i
k
z
(xx
n
+y y
n
)
_
_
_
i
e
i kz
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
z
dx
dy
E
aperture
_
x
, y
, 0
_
e
i
k
z
(xx
+y y
)
_
_
(11.22)
11.3 The Array Theorem 279
For the sake of elegance, we have traded back x
for x
and y
for y
as the
variables of integration. Equation (11.22) is known as the array theorem.
2
Note
that the second factor in brackets is exactly the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern
from a single aperture centered on x
= 0 and y
= 0. When more than one

identical aperture is present, we only need to evaluate the Fraunhofer diffraction
formula for a single aperture. Then, the single-aperture result is multiplied by the
summation in front, which entirely contains the information about the placement
of the (many) identical apertures.
Figure 11.10 Fraunhofer diffrac-
tion pattern from two identical
circular holes separated by twice
their diameters.
Example 11.2
Calculate the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern for two identical circular apertures
with diameter whose centers are separated by a spacing h.
Solution: As computed previously, the single-slit Fraunhofer diffraction pattern
from a circular aperture (see (10.29)) is
I
_
, z
_
= I
0
_
2
4z
_
2
_
2
J
1
_
k/2f
_
_
k/2z
_
_2
From the array theorem (11.22), the intensity of the overall diffraction pattern is
I
_
x, y, z
_
=
n=1
e
i
k
z
(xx
n
+y y
n
)
2
I
0
_
2
4z
_
2
_
2
J
1
_
k/2f
_
_
k/2z
_
_2
Let y
1
= y
2
=0. To create the separation h, let x
1
=h/2 and x
2
=h/2. Then
2
n=1
e
i
k
z
(xx
n
+y y
n
)
=e
i
k
z
_
hx
2
_
+e
i
k
z
_
hx
2
_
=2cos
_
khx
2z
_
The overall pattern then becomes
I
_
x, y, z
_
= I
0
_
2
2z
_
2
_
2
J
1
_
k/2f
_
_
k/2z
_
_2
cos
2
_
khx
2z
_
This pattern can be seen in Fig. 11.10.
2
A somewhat abstract alternative route to the array theorem recognizes that the eld for
each aperture can be written as a 2-D convolution (see P0.26) between the aperture function
E
aperture
_
x
, y
, 0
_
and delta functions specifying the aperture location:
E
aperture
_
x
n
, y
n
, 0
_
=
dx
dy
_
x
n
_
_
y
n
_
E
aperture
_
x
, y
, 0
_
The integral in (11.20) therefore may be viewed as 2-D Fourier transform of a convolution, where
kx/z and ky/z play the role of spatial frequencies. The convolution theorem (see P0.26) indicates
that this is the same as the product of Fourier transforms. The 2-D Fourier transform for the delta
function (times 2) is
dx
dy
_
x
n
_
_
y
n
_
e
i
k
z
(xx
+y y
)
=e
i
k
z
(xx
n
+y y
n
)
The array theorem (11.22) exhibits this factor. It multiplies the single-slit Fraunhofer diffraction
integral, which is the Fourier transform of the other function.
11.4 Diffraction Grating
In this section we will use the array theorem to calculate the diffraction from
a grating comprised of an array of equally spaced identical slits. An array of
uniformly spaced slits is called a transmission grating (see Fig. 11.11). Reection
gratings are similar, being composed of an array of narrow rectangular mirrors
that behave similarly to the slits.
Figure 11.11 Transmission grating.
The Fraunhofer diffraction pattern from a single rectangular aperture was
previously calculated (see Example 10.4 and problem P10.8):
E
aperture
_
x, y, z
_
=i E
0
xye
i kz
z
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
sinc
_
x
z
x
_
sinc
_
y
z
y
_
(11.23)
The only part of (11.22) that remains to be evaluated is the summation out in
front. Let the apertures be positioned at
x
n
=
_
n
N +1
2
_
h, y
n
=0 (11.24)
where N is the total number of slits. Then the summation in the array theorem,
(11.22), becomes
N
n=1
e
i
k
z
(xx
n
+y y
n
)
=e
i
khx
z
_
N+1
2
_ N
n=1
e
i
khx
z
n
(11.25)
This summation is recognized as a geometric sum, which can be performed using
formula (0.64).
Equation (11.25) then simplies to
N
n=1
e
i
k
z
(xx
n
+y y
n
)
=e
i
k
z
_
N+1
2
_
xh
e
i
khx
z
e
i
khx
z
N
1
e
i
khx
z
1
=
e
i
khx
2z
N
e
i
khx
2z
N
e
i
khx
2z
e
i
khx
2z
=
sin
_
N
khx
2z
_
sin
_
khx
2z
_
(11.26)
By combining (11.23) and (11.26) we obtain the full Fraunhofer diffraction pattern
for a diffraction grating. The expression for the eld is
E
_
x, y, z
_
=
sin
_
N
khx
2z
_
sin
_
khx
2z
_
_
i E
0
xye
i kz
z
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
sinc
_
x
z
x
_
sinc
_
y
z
y
_
_
(11.27)
Now let us suppose that the slits are really tall (parallel to the y-dimension)
suchthat y . If they slits are innitely tall, the nal sinc functioninEq. (11.27)
can be approximated as one.
3
The intensity pattern in the horizontal direction
3
This is mostly the right idea, but is still a bit of a fake. In fact, the eld often does not have a
uniformphase along the entire slit in the y-dimension, so our use of the function sinc
__
y/z
_
y
_
was inappropriate to begin with. The energy in a real spectrometer is usually spread out in a diffuse
pattern in the y-dimension. However, its form in y is of little relevance; the spectral information is
carried in the x-dimension only.
11.5 Spectrometers 281
can then be written in terms of the peak intensity of the diffraction pattern on the
screen:
I (x) = I
peak
sinc
2
_
x
z
x
_
sin
2
_
N
hx
z
_
N
2
sin
2
_
hx
z
_ (11.28)
Note that lim
0
sinN
sin
= N so we have placed N
2
in the denominator when intro-
ducing our denition of I
peak
, which represents the intensity on the screen at
x =0. In principle, the intensity I
peak
is a function of y and depends on the exact
details of how the slits are illuminated as a function of y, but this is usually not of
interest as long as we stay with a given value of y as we scan along x.
It is left as an exercise to study the functional form of (11.28), especially
how the number of slits N inuences the behavior. The case of N =2 describes
the diffraction pattern for a Youngs double slit experiment. We now have a
description of the Youngs two-slit pattern in the case that the slits have nite
openings of width x rather than innitely narrow ones.
A nal note: You may wonder why we are interested in Fraunhofer diffraction
froma grating. The reason is that we are actually interested in separating different
wavelengths by observing their distinct diffraction patterns separated in space. In
order to achieve good spatial separation between light of different wavelengths,
it is necessary to allow the light to propagate a far distance. Optimal separation
(the maximum possible) occurs therefore in the Fraunhofer regime.
11.5 Spectrometers
(a) N = 2
(d) N = 100
(c) N = 10
(b) N = 5
Figure 11.12 Diffraction through
various numbers of slits, each
with x = h/2 (slit widths half
the separation). The dotted line
shows the single slit diffraction
pattern. (a) Diffraction from a
double slit. (b) Diffraction from 5
slits. (c) Diffraction from 10 slits.
(d) Diffraction from 100 slits.
The formula (11.28) can be exploited to make wavelength measurements. This
forms the basis of a diffraction grating spectrometer. A spectrometer has relatively
poor resolving power compared to a Fabry-Perot interferometer. Nevertheless, a
spectrometer is not hampered by the serious limitation imposed by free spectral
range. A spectrometer is able to measure a wide range of wavelengths simulta-
neously. The Fabry-Perot interferometer and the grating spectrometer in this
sense are complementary, the one being able to make very precise measurements
within a narrow wavelength range and the other being able to characterize wide
ranges of wavelengths simultaneously.
To appreciate how a spectrometer works, consider Fraunhofer diffraction
from a grating, as described by (11.28). The structure of the diffraction pattern
has various peaks. For example, Fig. 11.12a shows the diffraction peaks from a
Youngs double slit (i.e. N =2). The diffraction pattern is comprised of the typical
Youngs double-slit pattern multiplied by the diffraction pattern of a single slit.
(Note that sin
2
_
2
hx
z
_
/4sin
2
_
hx
z
_
=cos
2
_
hx
z
_
.)
As the number of slits N is increased, the peaks seen in the Youngs double-slit
pattern tend to sharpen with additional smaller peaks appearing in between.
Figure 11.12b shows the case for N =5. The more signicant peaks occur when
sin(hx/z) in the denominator of (11.28) goes to zero. Keep in mind that the
numerator goes to zero at the same places, creating a zero-over-zero situation, so
the peaks are not innitely tall.
With larger values of N, the peaks can become extremely sharp, and the small
secondary peaks in between are smaller in comparison. Fig. 11.12c shows the
case of N =10 and Fig. 11.12d, shows the case of N =100.
diffraction through a number of
slits.
When very many slits are used, the diffraction pattern becomes very useful for
measuring spectra of light, since the position of the diffraction peaks depends on
wavelength (except for the center peak at x =0). If light of different wavelengths
is simultaneously present, then the diffraction peaks associated with different
wavelengths appear in different locations. It helps to have very many slits involved
(i.e. large N) so that the diffraction peaks are sharply dened. Then closely spaced
wavelengths can be more easily distinguished.
Consider the inset in Fig. 11.12d, which gives a close-up view of the rst-order
diffraction peak for N =100. The location of this peak on a distant screen varies
with the wavelength of the light. How much must the wavelength change to cause
the peak to move by half of its width as marked in the inset of Fig. 11.12d? We
will say that this is the minimum separation of wavelengths that still allows the
two peaks to be distinguished.
Finding the MinimumDistinguishable Wavelength Separation
As mentioned, the main diffraction peaks occur when the denominator of (11.28)
goes to zero, i.e.
hx
z
=m (11.29)
The numerator of (11.28) goes to zero at these same locations (i.e. Nhx/z =
Nm), so the peaks remain nite. If two nearby wavelengths
1
and
2
are sent
through the grating simultaneously, their m
th
peaks are located at
x
1
=
mz
1
h
and x
2
=
mz
2
h
(11.30)
These are spatially separated by
x
x
2
x
1
=
mz
h
(11.31)
where
2
1
.
Meanwhile, we can nd the spatial width of, say, the rst peak by considering the
change in x
1
that causes the sine in the numerator of (11.28) to reach the nearby
zero (see inset in Fig. 11.12d). This condition implies
N
h
_
x
1
+x
peak
_
1
z
=Nm+ (11.32)
We will say that two peaks, associated with
1
and
2
, are barely distinguishable
when x
=x
peak
. We also substitute from (11.30) to rewrite (11.32) as
N
h(mz
1
/h +mz/h)
1
z
=Nm+ =

Nm
(11.33)
Here we have dropped the subscript on the wavelength in the spirit of
1
2
.
11.6 Diffraction of a Gaussian Field Prole 283
As we did for the Fabry-Perot interferometer, we can dene the resolving
power of the diffraction grating as
RP

=mN (11.34)
The resolving power is proportional to the number of slits illuminated on the
diffraction grating. The resolving power also improves for higher diffraction
orders m.
Example 11.3
What is the resolving power of a 2-cm-wide grating with 500 slits per millimeter,
and how wide is the 1st-order diffraction peak for 500-nm light after 1-m focusing?
Solution: From (11.34) the resolving power is
RP =mN =2 cm
500
cm
=10
4
and the minimum distinguishable wavelength separation is
=/RP =500 nm/10
4
=0.05 nm
From (11.31), with z f , we have
x =
mf
h
=
1 m
210
6
m
0.05nm=25 m
11.6 Diffraction of a Gaussian Field Prole
Consider a Gaussian eld prole described, at the plane z =0, with the functional
form
E(x
, y
, 0) =E
0
e
x
2
+y
2
w
2
0
(11.35)
where w
0
, called the beam waist, species the radius of Gaussian prole. It is
depicted in Fig. 11.14. To better appreciate the meaning of w
0
, consider the
intensity of the above eld distribution:
I
_
x
, y
, 0
_
= I
0
e
2
2
/w
2
0
(11.36)
where
2
x
2
+y
2
. In (11.36) we see that w
0
indicates the radius at which the
intensity reduces by the factor e
2
=0.135.
z-axis
Figure 11.14 Diffraction of a Gaus-
sian eld prole.
We would like to know how this eld evolves when it propagates forward from
the plane z =0. We compute the eld downstream using the Fresnel approxima-
tion (10.13):
E
_
x, y, z
_
=i
e
i kz
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
z
dx
dy
_
E
0
e
(x
2
+y
2
)/w
2
0
_
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
e
i
k
z
(xx
+y y
)
(11.37)
The Gaussian prole itself limits the dimension of the emission region, so there is
no problem in integrating to innity. Equation (11.37) can be rewritten as
E
_
x, y, z
_
=i
E
0
e
i kz
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
z
dx
_
1
w
2
0
i
k
2z
_
x
2
i
kx
z
x
dy
_
1
w
2
0
+i
k
2z
_
y
2
i
ky
z
y
(11.38)
The integrals over x
and y
have the identical form and can be done individually

with the help of the integral formula (0.55). The algebra is cumbersome, but the
integral in the x
dimension becomes
dx
_
1
w
2
0
i
k
2z
_
x
2
i
kx
z
x
=
_
_

1
w
2
0
i
k
2z
_
_
1
2
exp
_
_
_
_
i
kx
z
_
2
4
_
1
w
2
0
i
k
2z
_
_
_
_
=
_
_
_
i
k
2z
_
1+i
2z
kw
2
0
_
_
_
_
1
2
exp
_
_
_
kx
2
2z
_
2z
kw
2
0
i
_
_
_
_
=
_
_
_
_
_
z
_
1+
_
2z
kw
2
0
_
2
e
i tan
1 2z
kw
2
0
_
_
_
_
_
1
2
exp
_
_
_
_
kx
2
_
2z
kw
2
0
+i
_
2z
_
1+
_
2z
kw
2
0
_
2
_
_
_
_
_
(11.39)
A similar expression results from the integration on y
.
When (11.39) and the equivalent expression for the y-dimension are used in
(11.38), the result is
E
_
x, y, z
_
=E
0
e
i kz
e
i
k
2z
(x
2
+y
2
)
_
1+
_
2z
kw
2
0
_
2
e
(
x
2
+y
2
)
1+
_
2z
kw
2
0
_
2
_
1
w
2
0
+i
k
2z
_
e
i tan
1 2z
kw
2
0
(11.40)
This rather complicated-looking expression for the eld distribution is in fact very
useful and can be directly interpreted, as discussed in the next section.
Gaussian Field in Cylindrical Coordinates
A Gaussian eld prole is one of fewdiffraction problems that can be handled con-
veniently in either the Cartesian (as above) or cylindrical coordinate. In cylindrical
coordinates, the Fresnel diffraction integral (10.27) is
E
_
, z
_
=
2i e
i kz
e
i
k
2
2z
z
_
0
E
0
e
2
/w
2
0
e
i
k
2
2z
J
0
_
k
z
_
11.7 Gaussian Laser Beams 285
We can use the integral formula (0.59) to obtain
E
_
, z
_
=i E
0
2e
i kz
e
i
k
2
2z
z
e
_
k
z
_
2
4
_
1
w
2
0
i
k
2z
_
2
_
1
w
2
0
i
k
2z
_
=E
0
e
i kz
e
i
k
2
2z
_
1+
_
2z
kw
2
0
_
2
e

2
1+
_
2z
kw
2
0
_
2
_
1
w
2
0
+i
k
2z
_
e
i tan
1 2z
kw
2
0
which is identical to (11.40).
11.7 Gaussian Laser Beams
The cumbersome Gaussian-eld expression (11.40) can be cleaned up through
the judicious introduction of new quantities:
E
_
, z
_
=E
0
w
0
w(z)
e

2
w
2
(z)
e
i kz+i
k
2
2R(z)
i tan
1 z
z
0
(11.41)
where
2
x
2
+y
2
, (11.42)
w(z) w
0
_
1+z
2
/z
2
0
, (11.43)
R(z) z +z
2
0
/z, (11.44)
z
0
kw
2
0
2
(11.45)
This formula describes the lowest-order Gaussian mode, the most common laser
beamprole. (Please be aware that some lasers are multimode and exhibit more
complicated structures.)
It turns out that (11.41) works equally well for negative values of z. The
expression can therefore be used to describe the eld of a simple laser beam
everywhere (before and after it goes through a focus). In fact, the expression
works also near z = 0!
4
At z = 0 the diffracted eld (11.41) returns the exact
expression for the original eld prole (11.35) (see P11.11). In short, (11.41) may
be used with impunity as long as the divergence angle of the beam is not too wide.
4
There is good reason for this since the Fresnel diffraction integral is an exact solution to the
paraxial wave equation (10.15). The beam (11.41) therefore satises the paraxial wave equation for
all z.
To begin our interpretation of (11.41), consider the intensity prole I E
E
as depicted in Fig. 11.15:
I
_
, z
_
= I
0
w
2
0
w
2
(z)
e
2
2
w
2
(z)
=
I
0
1+z
2
/z
2
0
e
2
2
w
2
(z)
(11.46)
Figure 11.15 A Gaussian laser eld
prole in the vicinity of its beam
waist.
By inspection, we see that w(z) gives the radius of the beam anywhere along
z. At z =0, the beamwaist, w(z =0) reduces to w
0
, as expected. The parameter
z
0
, known as the Rayleigh range, species the distance along the axis from z =0
to the point where the intensity decreases by a factor of 2. Note that w
0
and z
0
are not independent of each other but are connected through the wavelength
according to (11.45). There is a tradeoff: a small beam waist means a short depth
of focus. That is, a small w
0
means a small Rayleigh range z
0
.
We next consider the phase terms that appear in the eld expression (11.41).
The phase term i kz +i k
2
/2R(z) describes the phase of curved wave fronts,
where R(z) is the radius of curvature of the wave front at z. At z =0, the radius of
curvature is innite (see (11.44)), meaning that the wave front is at at the laser
beam waist. In contrast, at very large values of z we have R(z)
= z (see (11.44)).
In this case, we may write these phase terms as kz +
k
2
2R(z)
= k
_
z
2
+
2
. This
describes a spherical wave front emanating fromthe origin out to point
_
, z
_
. The
Fresnel approximation (same as the paraxial approximation) represents spherical
wave fronts with the former parabolic approximation. As a reminder, to restore
the temporal dependence of the eld, we simply append e
i t
to the solution, as
discussed in connection with (10.4).
The phase i tan
1
z/z
0
is perhaps a bit more mysterious. It is called the Gouy
shift and is actually present for any light that goes through a focus, not just laser
beams. The Gouy shift is not overly dramatic since the expression tan
1
z/z
0
ranges from/2 (at z =) to /2 (at z =+). Nevertheless, when light goes
through a focus, it experiences an overall phase shift of .
Example 11.4
Write the beam waist w
0
in terms of the f-number, dened to be the ratio of z to
the diameter of the beam diameter 2w(z) far from the beam waist.
Solution: Far away from the beam waist (i.e. z >> z
0
) the laser beam expands
along a cone. That is, its diameter increases in proportion to distance.
w(z) =w
0
_
1+z
2
/z
2
0
w
0
z/z
0
Figure 11.16
The cone angle is parameterized by the f-number, the ratio of the cone height to
its base:
f
#
lim
z
z
2w(z)
=
z
2w
0
z/z
0
=
z
0
2w
0
Substitution of (11.45) into this expressions yields
w
0
=
2f
#
(11.47)
11.A ABCDLawfor Gaussian Beams 287
Equation (11.47) gives a convenient way to predict the size of a laser focus. One
obtains the f-number from the diameter of the beam at a lens and divided into the
distance to the focus. However, in practice you may be very surprised at how badly
a beam focuses compared to the theoretical prediction (due to aberrations, etc.).
It is always good practice to directly measure your focus if its size is important to
an experiment.
Appendix 11.A ABCDLawfor Gaussian Beams
In this section we discuss and justify the ABCD law for Gaussian beams. The
law enables one to predict the parameters of a Gaussian beam that exits from an
optical system, given the parameters of an input Gaussian beam. To make the
prediction, one needs only the ABCD matrix for the optical system, taken as a
whole. The system may be arbitrarily complex with many optical components.
At rst, it may seem unlikely that such a prediction should be possible since
ABCD matrices were introduced to describe the propagation of rays. On the other
hand, Gaussian beams are governed by the laws of diffraction. As an example of
this dichotomy, consider a collimated Gaussian beam that traverses a converging
lens. By ray theory, one expects the Gaussian beam to focus near the focal point
of the lens. However, a collimated beam by denition is already in the act of going
through focus. In the absence of the lens, there is a tendency for the beam to grow
via diffraction, especially if the beam waist is small. This tendency competes with
the focusing effect of the lens, and a new beam waist can occur at a wide range of
locations, depending on the exact outcome of this competition.
A Gaussian beam is characterized by its Rayleigh range z
0
. From this, the
beam waist radius w
0
may be extracted via (11.45), assuming the wavelength is
known. Suppose that a Gaussian beam encounters an optical system at position
z, referenced to the position of the beams waist as shown in Fig. 11.17. The beam
exiting from the system, in general, has a new Rayleigh range z
0
. The waist of the
new beam also occurs at a different location. Let z
denote the location of the exit

of the optical system, referenced to the location of the waist of the new beam. If
the exiting beam diverges as in Fig. 11.17, then it emerges from a virtual beam
waist located before the exit point of the system. In this case, z
is taken to be
positive. On the other hand, if the emerging beam converges to an actual waist,
then z
is taken to be negative since the exit point of the system occurs before the
focus.
The ABCD law is embodied in the following relationship:
z
+i z
0
=
A(z +i z
0
) +B
C (z +i z
0
) +D
(11.48)
where A, B, C, and D are the matrix elements of the optical system. The imaginary
number i
1 imbues the lawwith complex arithmetic. It makes two equations

from one, since the real and imaginary parts of (11.48) must separately be equal.

Figure 11.17 Gaussian laser beam traversing an optical system described by an ABCD
matrix. The dark lines represent the incoming and exiting beams. The gray line repre-
sents where the exiting beamappears to have been.
We now prove the ABCD law. We begin by showing that the law holds for
two specic ABCD matrixes. First, consider the matrix for propagation through a
distance d:
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
1 d
0 1
_
(11.49)
We know that simple propagation has minimal effect on a beam. The Rayleigh
range is unchanged, so we expect that the ABCD law should give z
0
= z
0
. The
propagation through a distance d modies the beam position by z
=z +d. We
now check that the ABCD law agrees with these results by inserting (11.49) into
(11.48):
z
+i z
0
=
1(z +i z
0
) +d
0(z +i z
0
) +1
=z +d +i z
0
(propagation through distance d) (11.50)
Thus, the law holds in this case.
Next we consider the ABCD matrix of a thin lens (or a curved mirror):
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
1 0
1/f 1
_
(11.51)
A beam that traverses a thin lens undergoes the phase shift k
2
/2f , according
to (11.11). This modies the original phase of the wave front k
2
/2R(z), seen in
(11.41). The phase of the exiting beam is therefore
k
2
2R(z
)
=
k
2
2R(z)
k
2
2f
(11.52)
where we do not keep track of unimportant overall phases such as kz or kz
. With
(11.44) this relationship reduces to
1
R(z
)
=
1
R(z)
1
f

1
z
+z
2
0
/z
=
1
z +z
2
0
/z

1
f
(11.53)
In addition to this relationship, the local radius of the beam given by (11.43)
cannot change while traversing the thin lens. Therefore,
w
_
z
_
=w(z) z
0
_
1+
z
2
z
2
0
_
=z
0
_
1+
z
2
z
2
0
_
(11.54)
11.A ABCDLawfor Gaussian Beams 289
On the other hand, the ABCD law for the thin lens gives
z
+i z
0
=
1(z +i z
0
) +0
_
1/f
_
(z +i z
0
) +1
(traversing a thin lens with focal length f )
(11.55)
It is left as an exercise (see P11.14) to show that (11.55) is consistent with (11.53)
and (11.54).
So far we have shown that the ABCD law works for two specic examples,
namely propagation through a distance d and transmission through a thin lens
with focal length f . From these elements we can derive more complicated sys-
tems. However, the ABCD matrix for a thick lens cannot be constructed from just
these two elements. However, we can construct the matrix for a thick lens if we
sandwich a thick window (as opposed to empty space) between two thin lenses.
The proof that the matrix for a thick window obeys the ABCD law is left as an
exercise (see P11.17). With these relatively few elements, essentially any optical
system can be constructed, provided that the beam propagation begins and ends
up in the same index of refraction.
To complete our proof of the general ABCD law, we need only show that when
it is applied to the compound element
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
A
2
B
2
C
2
D
2
__
A
1
B
1
C
1
D
1
_
=
_
A
2
A
1
+B
2
C
1
A
2
B
1
+B
2
D
1
C
2
A
1
+D
2
C
1
C
2
B
1
+D
2
D
1
_
(11.56)
it gives the same answer as when the law is applied sequentially, rst on
_
A
1
B
1
C
1
D
1
_
and then on
_
A
2
B
2
C
2
D
2
_
Explicitly, we have
z
+i z
0
=
A
2
_
z
+i z
0
_
+B
2
C
2
_
z
+i z
0
_
+D
2
=
A
2
_
A
1
(z+i z
0
)+B
1
C
1
(z+i z
0
)+D
1
_
+B
2
C
2
_
A
1
(z+i z
0
)+B
1
C
1
(z+i z
0
)+D
1
_
+D
2
=
A
2
[A
1
(z +i z
0
) +B
1
] +B
2
[C
1
(z +i z
0
) +D
1
]
C
2
[A
1
(z +i z
0
) +B
1
] +D
2
[C
1
(z +i z
0
) +D
1
]
=
(A
2
A
1
+B
2
C
1
) (z +i z
0
) +(A
2
B
1
+B
2
D
1
)
(C
2
A
1
+D
2
C
1
) (z +i z
0
) +(C
2
B
1
+D
2
D
1
)
=
A(z +i z
0
) +B
C (z +i z
0
) +D
(11.57)
Thus, we can construct any ABCD matrix that we wish from matrices that are
known to obey the ABCD law. The resulting matrix also obeys the ABCD law.
Exercises
Exercises for 11.1 Fraunhofer Diffraction Through a Lens
P11.1 Fill in the steps leading to (11.14) from (11.13). Show that the intensity
distribution (11.6) is consistent (11.14).
L11.2 Set up a collimated plane wave in the laboratory using a HeNe laser
(=633 nm) and appropriate lenses.
(a) Choose a rectangular aperture (x by y) and place it in the plane
wave. Observe the Fraunhofer diffraction on a very far away screen (i.e.,
where z
k
2
_
aperture radius
_
2
is satised). Check that the location of
the zeros agrees with (10.20).
(b) Place a lens in the beam after the aperture. Use a CCD camera
to observe the Fraunhofer diffraction prole at the focus of the lens.
Check that the location of the zeros agrees with (10.20), replacing z
with f .
(c) Repeat parts (a) and (b) using a circular aperture with diameter .
Check the position of the rst zero. (video)
Laser
Screen
Far-away
mirror
Removable
mirror
Aperture
CCD
Camera
Filters
Figure 11.18
Exercises for 11.2 Resolution of a Telescope
P11.3 On the night of April 18, 1775, a signal was sent from the Old North
Church steeple to Paul Revere, who was 1.8 miles away: One if by
land, two if by sea. If in the dark, Pauls pupils had 4 mm diameters,
what is the minimum possible separation between the two lanterns
that would allow him to correctly interpret the signal? Assume that the
predominant wavelength of the lanterns was 580 nm.
HINT: In the eye, the index of refraction is about 1.33 so the wavelength
is shorter. This leads to a smaller diffraction pattern on the retina.
However, in accordance with Snells law, two rays separated by an angle
580 nm outside of the eye are separated by an angle /1.33 inside the
eye. The two rays then hit on the retina closer together. As far as
resolution is concerned, the two effects exactly compensate.
Exercises 291
L11.4 Simulate two stars with laser beams (=633 nm). Align them nearly
parallel with a small lateral displacement. Send the beams down a long
corridor until diffraction causes both beams to grow into one another
so that it is no longer apparent that they are from two distinct sources.
Use a lens to image the two sources onto a CCD camera. The camera
should be placed close to the focal plane of the lens. Use a variable iris
near the lens to create different pupil openings.
Laser
Laser
Pupil
Filter
CCD
Camera
Figure 11.19
Experimentally determine the pupil diameter that just allows you to
resolve the two sources according to the Rayleigh criterion. Check your
measurement against theoretical prediction. (video)
HINT: The angular separation between the two sources is obtained by
dividing propagation distance into the lateral separation of the beams.
Exercises for 11.3 The Array Theorem
P11.5 Find the diffraction pattern created by an array of nine circles, each
with radius a, which are centered at the following (x
, y
) coordinates:
(b, b), (0, b), (b, b), (b, 0), (0, 0), (b, 0), (b, b), (0, b), (b, b) (a is
less than b). Make a plot of the result for the situation where (in some
choice of units) a =1, b =5a, and k/d =1. View the plot at different
zoom levels to see the ner detail.
Figure 11.20
P11.6 (a) A plane wave is incident on a screen of N
2
uniformly spaced identi-
cal rectangular apertures of dimension x by y (see Fig. 11.20). Their
positions are described by x
n
=h
_
n
N+1
2
_
and y
m
=s
_
m
N+1
2
_
. Find
the far-eld (Fraunhofer) pattern of the light transmitted by the grid.
(b) You look at a distant sodium street lamp (somewhat monochro-
matic) through a curtain made from a ne mesh fabric with crossed
threads. Make a sketch of what you expect to see (how the lamp will
look to you).
HINT: Remember that the lens of your eye causes the Fraunhofer
diffraction of the mesh to appear at the retina.
Exercises for 11.4 Diffraction Grating
P11.7 Consider Fraunhofer diffraction from a grating of N slits having widths
x and equal separations h. Make plots (label relevant points and
scaling) of the intensity pattern for N = 1, N = 2, N = 5, and N =
1000 in the case where h =2x, x =5 m, and =500 nm. Let the
Fraunhofer diffraction be observed at the focus of a lens with focal
length f =100 cm. Do you expect I
peak
to be the same value for all of
these cases?
P11.8 For the case of N =1000 in P11.7, you wish to position a narrow slit at
the focus of the lens so that it transmits only the rst-order diffraction
peak (i.e. at khx/
_
2f
_
=). (a) How wide should the slit be if it is to
be half the separation between the rst intensity zeros to either side of
the peak?
(b) What small change in wavelength (away from = 500 nm) will
cause the intensity peak to shift by the width of the slit found in part
(a)?
Exercises for 11.5 Spectrometers
L11.9 (a) Use a HeNe laser to determine the period h of a reective grating.
Figure 11.21
(b) Give an estimate of the blaze angle on the grating. HINT: Assume
that the blaze angle is optimized for rst-order diffraction of the HeNe
laser (for one side) at normal incidence. The blaze angle enables a
mirror-like reection of the diffracted light on each groove. (video)
(c) You have two mirrors of focal length 75 cm and the reective grating
in the lab. You also have two very narrow adjustable slits and the ability
to tune the angle of the grating. Sketch howto use these items to make
a monochromator (scans through one wavelength at a time). If the
beamthat hits the grating is 5 cmwide, what do you expect the ultimate
resolving power of the monochromator to be in the wavelength range
of 500 nm? Do not worry about aberration such as astigmatism from
using the mirrors off axis.
Light out
Light in
Slit
Slit
Grating
Figure 11.22
Exercises 293
L11.10 Study the Jarrell Ash monochromator. Use a tungsten lamp as a source
and observe how the instrument works by taking the entire top off.
Do not breathe or touch when you do this. In the dark, trace the light
inside of the instrument with a white plastic card and observe what
happens when you change the wavelength setting. Place the top back
on when you are done. (video)
(a) Predict the best theoretical resolving power that this instrument can
do assuming 1200 lines per millimeter.
(b) What should the width x of the entrance and exit slits be to obtain
this resolving power? Assume =500 nm.
HINT: Set x to be the distance between the peak and the rst zero of
the diffraction pattern at the exit slit for monochromatic light.
Exercises for 11.7 Gaussian Laser Beams
P11.11 (a) Conrm that (11.41) reduces to (11.35) when z =0.
(b) Take the limit z z
0
to nd the eld far from the laser focus.
P11.12 Use the Fraunhofer integral formula (either (10.19) or (10.28)) to deter-
mine the far-eld pattern of a Gaussian laser focus (11.35).
HINT: The answer should agree with P11.11 part (b).
Ghost Beam
Figure 11.23
L11.13 Consider the following setupwhere a diverging laser beamis collimated
using an uncoated lens. A double reection from both surfaces of the
lens (known as a ghost) comes out in the forward direction, focusing
after a short distance. Use a CCD camera to study this focused beam.
The collimated beam serves as a reference to reveal the phase of the
focused beam through interference. Because the weak ghost beam
concentrates near its focus, the two beams can have similar intensities
for optimal interference effects. (video)
Laser
Filter Pin Hole
Lens
150 cm
Uncoated
Lens
CCD
Camera
Figure 11.24
The ghost beamE
1
_
, z
_
is described by (11.41), where the origin is at
the focus. Let the collimated beam be approximated as a plane wave
E
2
e
i kz+i
, where is the relative phase between the two beams. The
net intensity is then I
t
_
, z
_
E
1
_
, z
_
+E
2
e
i kz+i
2
or
I
t
_
, z
_
=
_
I
2
+I
1
_
, z
_
+2
_
I
2
I
1
_
, z
_
cos
_
k
2
2R(z)
tan
1
z
z
0
__
where I
1
_
, z
_
is given by (11.46). We now have a formula that retains
both R(z) and the Gouy shift tan
1
z/z
0
, which are not present in the
intensity distribution of a single beam (see (11.46)).
(a) Determine the f-number for the ghost beam (see Example 11.4).
Use this measurement to predict a value for w
0
. HINT: You know that
at the lens, the focusing beam is the same size as the collimated beam.
z = 0
z = -z
0
z = -2z
0
z = -3z
0
z = +z
0
z = +2z
0
z = +3z
0
z = +4z
0
Figure 11.25
(b) Measure the actual spot size w
0
at the focus. How does it compare
to the prediction?
HINT: Before measuring the spot size, make a subtle adjustment to
the tilt of the lens. This incidentally causes the phase between the two
beams to vary by small amounts, which you can set to =/2. Then
at the focus the cosine term vanishes and the two beams dont interfere
(i.e. the intensities simply add). This is accomplished if the center of
the interference pattern is as dark as possible either far before or far
after the focus.
(c) Observe the effect of the Gouy shift. Since tan
1
z/z
0
varies over a
range of , you should see that the ring pattern before versus after the
focus inverts (i.e. the bright rings exchange with the dark ones).
(d) Predict the Rayleigh range z
0
and check that the radius of curvature
R(z) z +z
2
0
/z agrees with measurement.
HINT: You should see interference rings similar to those in Fig. ??. The
only phase term that varies with is k
2
/2R(z). If you count N fringes
out to a radius , then k
2
/2R(z) has varied by 2N.
Exercises for 11.A ABCDLawfor Gaussian Beams
P11.14 Find the solutions to (11.55) (i.e. nd z
and z
0
in terms of z and z
0
).
Show that the results are in agreement with (11.53) and (11.54).
P11.15 Assuming a collimated beam (i.e. z =0 and beam waist w
0
), nd the
location L =z
and size w
0
of the resulting focus when the beam goes
through a thin lens with focal length f .
L11.16 Place a lens in a HeNe laser beamsoon after the exit mirror of the cavity.
Characterize the focus of the resulting laser beam, and compare the
results with the expressions derived in P11.15.
P11.17 Prove the ABCD law for a beam propagating through a thick window of
material with matrix
_
A B
C D
_
=
_
1 d/n
0 1
_
Chapter 12
Interferograms and Holography
In chapter 8, we studied a Michelson interferometer in an idealized sense: 1) The
light entering the instrument was considered to be a plane wave. 2) The retro-
reecting mirrors were considered to be aligned perpendicular to the beams
impinging on them. 3) All reective surfaces were taken to be perfectly at. If
any of these conditions are not met, the beam emerging from the interferometer
is likely to exhibit an interference or fringe pattern. A recorded fringe pattern
(on a CCD or photographic lm) is called an interferogram. In this chapter, we
shall examine typical fringe patterns that can be produced in an interferometer.
Such patterns are very useful for testing the prescription and quality of optical
components.
1
We will also study holography, where an interference pattern (or fringe pat-
tern) is recorded and then later used to diffract light, in much the same way that
gratings diffract light.
2
A recorded fringe pattern, when used for this purpose,
is called a hologram. When light diffracts from a hologram, it can mimic the
light eld originally used to generate the fringe pattern. This is true even for
complicated elds, recorded when light scatters fromarbitrary three-dimensional
objects. When the light eld is re-created through diffraction, the resulting image
looks three-dimensional, since the holographic fringes re-construct the original
light eld over a wide range of viewing angles.
12.1 Interferograms
Figure 12.1 Michelson interferom-
eter.
Consider the Michelson interferometer seen in Fig. 12.1. Suppose that the beam-
spliter divides the elds evenly, so that the overall output intensity is given by
(8.1):
I
det
=2I
0
[1+cos()] (12.1)
1
See M. Born and E. Wolf, Principles of Optics, 7th ed., Sect. 7.5.5 (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1999).
2
In fact, a grating can be considered to be a hologram and holographic techniques are often
employed to produce gratings.
295
296 Chapter 12 Interferograms and Holography
As a reminder, is the roundtrip delay time of one path relative to the other. This
equation is based on the idealized case, where the amplitude and phase of the two
beams are uniform and perfectly aligned to each other following the beamsplitter.
The entire beam blinks on and off as the delay path is varied.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Figure 12.2 Fringe patterns for
a Michelson interferometer: (a)
Horizontally misaligned beams.
(b) Vertically misaligned beams.
(c) Both vertically and horizontally
misaligned beams. (d) Diverging
beam with unequal paths. (e) Di-
verging beam with unequal paths
and horizontal misalignment.
What happens if one of the retro-reecting mirrors is misaligned by a small
angle ? The fringe patterns seen in Fig. 12.2 (a)-(c) are the result. By the law
of reection, the beam returning from the misaligned mirror deviates from the
ideal path by an angle 2. This puts a relative phase variation of
=kx sin(2
x
) +ky sin
_
2
y
_
(12.2)
on the misaligned beam.
3
Here
x
represents the tilt of the mirror in the x-
dimension and
y
represents the amount of tilt in the y-dimension.
When the two plane waves join, the resulting intensity pattern is
I
det
=2I
0
_
1+cos
_
+
__
(12.3)
Of course, the phase term depends on the local position within the beam
through x and y. Regions of uniform phase, called fringes (in this case individual
stripes), have the same intensity. As the delay is varied, the fringes seem to
move across the detector. In this case, the fringes appear at one edge of the beam
and disappear at the other.
Another interesting situation arises when the beams in a Michelson interfer-
ometer are diverging. A fringe pattern of concentric circles will be seen at the
detector when the two beam paths are unequal (see Fig. 12.2 (d)). The radius of
curvature for the beamtraveling the longer path is increased by the added amount
of delay d =c/. Thus, if beam 1 has radius of curvature R
1
when returning to the
beamsplitter, then beam2 will have radius R
2
=R
1
+d upon return (assuming at
mirrors). The relative phase (see phase term in (11.41)) between the two beams is
=k
2
/2R
1
k
2
/2R
2
(12.4)
and the intensity pattern at the detector is given as before by (12.3).
12.2 Testing Optical Components
A Michelson interferometer is ideal for testing the quality of optical surfaces. If
any of the at surfaces (including the beam splitter) in the interferometer are
distorted, the fringe pattern readily reveals it. Figure 12.3 shows an example of a
fringe pattern when one of the mirrors in the interferometer has an arbitrary de-
formity in the surface gure.
4
A new fringe stripe occurs for every half wavelength
that the surface varies. (The round trip turns a half wavelength into a whole
wavelength.) This makes it possible to determine the atness of a surface with
3
This ignores an additive constant for xed z.
4
The surface gure is a name for how well a surface contour matches a desired prescription.
12.3 Generating Holograms 297
very high precision. Of course, in order to test a given surface in an interferometer,
the quality of all other surfaces in the interferometer must rst be ensured.
A typical industry standard for research-grade optics is to specify the surface
atness to within one tenth of an optical wavelength (633 nm HeNe laser). This
means that the interferometer should reveal no more than one fth of a fringe
variation across the substrate surface. The fringe pattern tells the technician how
the surface should continue to be polished in order to achieve the desired surface
atness. Figure 12.3(a) shows the fringe pattern for a surface with signicant
variations in the surface gure.
(a)
(b)
Figure 12.3 (a) Fringe pattern aris-
ing from an arbitrarily distorted
mirror in a perfectly aligned inter-
ferometer with plane wave beams.
(b) Fringe pattern from the same
mirror as (a) when the mirror is
tilted (still plane wave beams).
The distortion due to surface varia-
tion is still easily seen.
When testing a surface, it is not necessary to remove all tilt fromthe alignment
before the effects of surface variations become apparent in the fringe pattern.
In fact, it can be helpful to observe the distortions as deections in a normally
regularly striped fringe pattern. Figure 12.3(b) shows fringes from a distorted
surface when some tilt is left in the interferometer alignment. An important
advantage to leaving some tilt in the beam is that one can better tell the sign of
the phase errors. We can see, for example, in the case of tilt that the two major
distortion regions in Fig. 12.3 have opposite phase; we can tell that one region of
the substrate protrudes while other dishes in. On the other hand, this is not clear
for an interferogram with no tilt.
Other types of optical component (besides at mirrors) can also be tested
with an interferometer. Figure 12.4 shows how a lens can be tested using a
convex mirror to compensate for the focusing action of the lens. With appropriate
spacing, the lens-mirror combination can act like a at surface. Distortions in the
lens gure are revealed in the fringe pattern. In this case, the surfaces of the lens
are tested together, and variations in optical path length are observed. In order
to record fringes, say with a CCD camera, it is often convenient to image a larger
beam onto a relatively small active area of the detector. The imaging objective
should be adjusted to produce an image of the test optic on the detector screen.
Of course the diameter of the objective lens needs to accommodate the whole
beam.
Optic to
be tested
Imaging
Objective
Camera
Figure 12.4 Twyman-Green setup
for testing lenses.
12.3 Generating Holograms
Inthe late 1940s, Dennis Gabor developed the concept of holography, but it wasnt
until after the invention of the laser that this eld really blossomed. Consider
a coherent monochromatic beam of light that is split in half by a beamsplitter,
similar to that in a Michelson interferometer. Let one beam, called the reference
beam, proceed directly to a recording lm, and let the other beam scatter from
an arbitrary object back towards the same lm. The two beams interfere at the
recording lm. It is best to split the beam initially into unequal intensities such
that the light scattered from the object has an intensity similar to the reference
beam at the lm.
The purpose of the lm is to record the interference pattern. It is important
that the coherence length of the light be much longer than the difference in
path length starting from the beam splitter and ending at the lm. In addition,
during exposure to the lm, it is important that the whole setup be stable against
vibrations on the scale of a wavelength since this will cause the fringes to washout.
For simplicity, we neglect the vector nature of the electric eld, assuming that the
scattering from the object for the most part preserves polarization and that the
angle between the two beams incident on the lm is modest (so that the electric
elds of the two beams are close to parallel). To the extent that the light scattered
from the object contains the polarization component orthogonal to that of the
reference beam, it provides a uniform (unwanted) background exposure to the
lm on top of which the fringe pattern is recorded.
Object
Film
Beamsplitter
Figure 12.5 Exposure of holo-
graphic lm.
In general terms, we may write the electric eld arriving at the lm as
5
E
lm
(r) e
i t
=E
object
(r) e
i t
+E
ref
(r) e
i t
(12.5)
Here, the coordinate r indicates locations on the lm surface, which may have
arbitrary shape, but often is a plane. The eld E
object
(r), which is scattered from
the object, is in general very complicated. The eld E
ref
(r) may be equally compli-
cated, but typically it is convenient if it has a simple form such as a plane wave,
since this beam must be re-created later in order to view the hologram.
Dennis Gabor (19001979, Hungarian)
was born in Budapest. As a teenager,
he fought for Hungary in World War
I. Following the war, he studied at the
Technical University of Budapest and
later at the Technical University of
Berlin. In 1927, Gabor completed his
doctoral dissertation on cathode ray
tubes and began a long career work-
ing on electron-beam devices such as
oscilloscopes, televisions, and electron
microscopes. It was in the context of
electron optics that he invented the
concept of holography, which relied on
the wave nature of electron beams. Ga-
bor did this work while working for a
British company, after eeing Germany
when Hitler came to power. Holography
did not become practical until after the
invention of the laser, which provided
a bright coherent light source. (Gabor
had attempted to make holograms ear-
lier using a spectral line from a mercury
lamp.) In 1964 the rst hologram was
produced. Soon after, holograms be-
came commercially available and were
popularized. Gabor accepted a post as
professor of applied physics at the Impe-
rial College of London from 1958 until
he retired in 1967. He was awarded the
Nobel prize in physics in 1971 for the
invention of holography. (Wikipedia)
The intensity of the eld (12.5) is given by
I
lm
(r) =
1
2
c
0
E
object
(r) +E
ref
(r)
2
=
1
2
c
0
_
E
object
(r)
2
+|E
ref
(r)|
2
+E
ref
(r) E
object
(r) +E
ref
(r) E
object
(r)
_
(12.6)
For typical photographic lm, the exposure of the lm is proportional to the
intensity of the light hitting it. This is known as the linear response regime. That
is, after the lm is developed, the transmittance T of the light through the lm is
proportional to the intensity of the light that exposed it (I
lm
). However, for low
exposure levels, or for lm specically designed for holography, the transmission
of the light through the lm can be proportional to the square of the intensity
of the light that exposes the lm. Thus, after the lm is exposed to the fringe
pattern and developed, the lmacquires a spatially varying transmission function
according to
T(r) I
2
lm
(r) (12.7)
If at a later point in time light of intensity I
incident
is directed onto the lm, it will
transmit according to I
transmitted
=T(r)I
incident
. In this case, the eld, as it emerges
from the other side of the lm, will be
E
transmitted
(r) =t (r) E
incident
(r) I
lm
(r) E
incident
(r) (12.8)
where t (r) =
T(r).
5
See P. W. Milonni and J. H. Eberly, Lasers, Sect. 16.4-16.5 (New York: Wiley, 1988); G. R. Fowles,
Introduction to Modern Optics, 2nd ed., Sect. 5.7 (Toronto: Dover, 1975).
12.4 Holographic Wavefront Reconstruction 299
12.4 Holographic Wavefront Reconstruction
To see a holographic image, we re-illuminate lm (previously exposed and devel-
oped) with the original reference beam. That is, we send in
E
incident
(r) =E
ref
(r) (12.9)
and view the light that is transmitted. According to (12.6) and (12.8), the transmit-
ted eld is proportional to
E
transmitted
(r) I
lm
(r) E
ref
(r)
=
_
E
object
(r)
2
+|E
ref
(r)|
2
_
E
ref
(r) +|E
ref
(r)|
2
E
object
(r) +E
2
ref
(r) E
object
(r)
(12.10)
Film
Image
Observer
Figure 12.6 Holographic recon-
struction of wavefront through
diffraction from fringes on lm.
Compare with Fig. 12.5.
Although (12.10) looks fairly complicated, each of the three terms has a direct
interpretation. The rst term is just the reference beamE
ref
(r) with an amplitude
modied by the transmissionthrough the lm. It is the residual undeected beam,
similar to the zero-order diffraction peak for a transmission grating. The second
term is interpreted as a reconstruction of the light eld originally scattered from
the object E
object
(r). Its amplitude is modied by the intensity of the reference
beam, but if the reference beam is uniform across the lm, this hardly matters.
An observer looking into the lm sees a wavefront identical to the one produced
by the original object (superimposed with the other elds in (12.10)). Thus,
the observer sees a virtual image at the location of the original object. Since
the wavefront of the original object has genuinely been recreated, the image
looks three-dimensional, because the observer is free to view from different
perspectives.
The nal term in (12.10) is proportional to the complex conjugate of the
original eld from the object. It also contains twice the phase of the reference
beam, which we can overlook if the reference beam is uniform on the lm. In
this case, the complex conjugate of the object eld actually converges to a real
image of the original object. This image is located on the observers side of the
lm, but it is often of less interest since the image is inside out. An ideal screen for
viewing this real image would be an item shaped identical to the original object,
which of course defeats the purpose of the hologram! To the extent that the lm is
not at or to the extent that the reference beam is not a plane wave, the phase of
E
2
ref
(r) severely distorts the image. On the other hand, the virtual image previously
described never suffers from this problem.
Point
Object
Reference
Beam
Film
Figure 12.7 Exposure to holo-
graphic lm by a point source
and a reference plane wave. The
holographic fringe pattern for a
point object and a plane wave ref-
erence beam exposing a at lm is
shown on the right.
Example 12.1
Analyze the three eld terms in (12.10) for a hologram made from a point object,
as depicted in Fig. 12.7.
Solution: Presumably, the point object is illuminated sufciently brightly so as to
make the scattered light have an intensity similar to the reference beam at the lm.
Let the reference plane wave strike the lmat normal incidence. Thenthe reference
eld will have constant amplitude and phase across it; call it E
ref
. The eld from
the point object can be treated as a spherical wave:
E
object
_
_
=
E
ref
L
_
L
2
+
2
e
i k
L
2
+
2
(point source example) (12.11)
Here represents the radial distance from the center of the lm to some other
point on the lm. We have taken the amplitude of the object eld to match E
ref
in
the center of the lm.
After the lm is exposed, developed, and re-illuminated by the reference beam, the
eld emerging from the right-hand-side of the lm, according to (12.10), becomes
E
transmitted
_
_
E
2
ref
L
2
L
2
+
2
+E
2
ref
_
E
ref
+E
2
ref
E
ref
L
_
L
2
+
2
e
i k
L
2
+
2
+E
2
ref
E
ref
L
_
L
2
+
2
e
i k
L
2
+
2
(12.12)
We see the three distinct waves that emerge from the holographic lm. The rst
term in (12.12) represents the plane wave reference beam passing straight through
the lm with some variation in amplitude (depicted in Fig. 12.8 (a)). The second
term in (12.12) has the identical form as the eld from the original object (aside
from an overall amplitude factor). It describes an outward-expanding spherical
wave, which gives rise to a virtual image at the location of the original point object,
as depicted in Fig. 12.8 (b). The nal term in (12.12) corresponds to a converging
spherical wave, which focuses to a point at a distance L from the observers side of
the screen (depicted in Fig. 12.8 (c)).
Reference
beam
Film
Undeflected
beam
Virtual
image
Reference
beam Film
Field associated
with virtual
image
Reference
beam
Film
Field associated
with real
image
Real
image
Figure 12.8 Reference beam in-
cident on previously exposed
holographic lm. (a) Part of the
beam goes through. (b) Part of the
beam takes on the eld prole of
the original object. undeected.
(c) Part of the beam converges to a
real image of the original object.
Exercises 301
Exercises
Exercises for 12.1 Interferograms
P12.1 An ideal Michelson interferometer that uses at mirrors is perfectly
aligned to a wide collimated laser beam. Suppose that one of the mir-
rors is then misaligned by 0.1
. What is the spacing between adjacent

fringes on the screen if the wavelength is = 633 nm? What would
happen if instead of tilting one of the mirrors the the angle of the input
beam (before the beamsplitter) changed by 0.1
?
P12.2 An ideal Michelson interferometer uses at mirrors perfectly aligned
to an expanding beam that diverges from a point 50 cm before the
beamsplitter. Suppose that one mirror is 10 cm away from the beam
splitter, and the other is 11 cm. Suppose also that the center of the
resulting bulls-eye fringe pattern is dark. If a screen is positioned 10 cm
after the beamsplitter, what is the radial distance to the next dark fringe
on the screen if the wavelength is =633 nm?
Exercises for 12.2 Testing Optical Components
L12.3 Set up an interferometer and observe distortions to a mirror substrate
when the setscrew is over tightened.
Exercises for 12.3 Generating Holograms
P12.4 Consider a diffraction grating as a simple hologram. Let the light from
the object be a plane wave (object placed at innity) directed onto
a at lm at angle . Let the reference beam strike the lm at normal
incidence, and take the wavelength to be .
(a) What is the period of the fringes?
(b) Show that when re-illuminated by the reference beam, the three
terms in (12.10) give rise to zero-order and 1st-order diffraction (occur-
ring on each side of zero-order).
P12.5 (a) Show that the phase of the real image in (12.12) may be approxi-
mated as = k
2
/2L, aside from a spatially independent overall
phase. Compare with (11.10) and comment.
(b) This hologram is similar to a Fresnel zone plate, used to focus
extreme ultraviolet light or x-rays, for which it is difcult to make a lens.
Graph the eld transmission for the hologram as a function of and
superimpose a similar graph for a best-t mask that has regions of
either 100% or 0% transmission. Use =633 nm and L =(510
5
1
4
)
(this places the point source about a 32 cm before the screen). See
Fig. 12.9.
Zone Plate Transmittance
Hologram
Transmittance
Figure 12.9 Field transmission for
a point-source hologram (upper)
and a Fresnel zone plate (middle),
and a plot of both as a function of
radius (bottom).
Consider the holographic pattern produced by the point object de-
scribed in section 12.4.
L12.6 Make a hologram.
Review, Chapters 912
R48 T or F: The eikonal equation and Fermats principle depend on the
assumptionthat the wavelengthis relatively small comparedto features
of interest.
assumption that the index of refraction varies only gradually.
assumption that the angles involved must not be too big.
assumption that the polarization is important to the problem.
R52 T or F: Spherical aberration can be important even when the paraxial
approximation works well.
R53 T or F: Chromatic aberration (the fact that refractive index depends on
frequency) is an example of the violation of the paraxial approximation.
R54 T or F: The Fresnel approximation falls within the paraxial approxima-
tion.
R55 T or F: The imaging relation 1/f =1/d
o
+1/d
i
relies on the paraxial ray
approximation.
R56 T or F: The spherical waves given by e
i kR
/R are exact solutions to
Maxwells equations.
R57 T or F: Spherical waves can be used to understand diffraction from
apertures that are relatively large compared to .
R58 T or F: Fresnel was the rst to conceive of spherical waves.
R59 T or F: Spherical waves were accepted by Poisson immediately without
experimental proof.
303
R60 T or F: The array theorem is useful for deriving the Fresnel diffraction
from a grating.
R61 T or F: A diffraction grating with a period h smaller than a wavelength
is ideal for making a spectrometer.
R62 T or F: The blaze on a reection grating can improve the amount of
energy in a desired order of diffraction.
R63 T or F: The resolving power of a spectrometer used in a particular
diffraction order depends only on the number of lines illuminated (not
wavelength or grating period).
R64 T or F: The central peak of the Fraunhofer diffraction from two nar-
row slits separated by spacing h has the same width as the central
diffraction peak from a single slit with width x =h.
R65 T or F: The central peak of the Fraunhofer diffraction from a circular
aperture of diameter has the same width as the central diffraction
peak from a single slit with width x =.
R66 T or F: The Fraunhofer diffraction pattern appearing at the focus of a
lens varies in angular width, depending on the focal length of the lens
used.
R67 T or F: Fraunhofer diffraction can be viewed as a spatial Fourier trans-
form (or inverse transform if you prefer) on the eld at the aperture.
Problems
R68 (a) Derive Snells law using Fermats principle.
(b) Derive the law of reection using Fermats principle.
R69 (a) Consider a ray of light emitted from an object, which travels a
distance d
o
before traversing a lens of focal length f and then traveling
a distance d
i
.
object
image
Figure 12.10
Write a vector equation relating
_
y
2
2
_
to
_
y
1
1
_
. Be sure to simplify
the equation so that only one ABCD matrix is involved.
HINT:
_
1 0
1/f 1
_
,
_
1 d
0 1
_
(b) Explain the requirement on the ABCDmatrix in part (a) that ensures
that an image appears for the distances chosen. Fromthis requirement,
extract a familiar constraint on d
o
and d
i
. Also, make a reasonable
denition for magnication M in terms of y
1
and y
2
, then substitute to
nd M in terms of d
o
and d
i
.
305
(c) A telescope is formed with two thin lenses separated by the sum of
their focal lengths f
1
and f
2
. Rays from a given far-away point all strike
the rst lens with essentially the same angle
1
. Angular magnication
M
quanties the telescopes purpose of enlarging the apparent angle

between points in the eld of view.
Figure 12.11
Give a sensible denition for angular magnication in terms of
1
and
2
. Use ABCD-matrix formulation to derive the angular magnication
of the telescope in terms of f
1
and f
2
.
R70 (a) Show that a system represented by a matrix
_
A B
C D
_
(beginning
and ending in the same index of refraction) can be made to look like
the matrix for a thin lens if the beginning and ending positions along
the z-axis are referenced from two principal planes, located distances
p
1
and p
2
before and after the system.
HINT:
A B
C D
=1.

Figure 12.12
(b) Where are the principal planes located and what is the effective
focal length for two identical thin lenses with focal lengths f that are
separated by a distance d = f (see Fig. 12.12)?
R71 Derive the on-axis intensity (i.e. x, y =0) of a Gaussian laser beam if
you know that at z =0 the electric eld of the beam is
E
_
, z =0
_
=E
0
e
2
w
2
0
Fresnel:
E
_
x, y, d
_
=
i e
i kd
e
i
k
2d
(x
2
+y
2
)
d
E
_
x
, y
, 0
_
e
i
k
2d
(x
2
+y
2
)
e
i
k
d
(xx
+y y
)
dx
dy
e
Ax
2
+Bx+C
dx =
_
A
e
B
2
4A
+C
.
R72 (a) You decide to construct a simple laser cavity with a at mirror and
another mirror with concave curvature of R = 100 cm. What is the
longest possible stable cavity that you can make?
HINT: Sylvesters theorem is
_
A B
C D
_
N
=
1
sin
_
_
where cos =
1
2
(A+D).
(b) The amplier is YLF crystal, which lases at =1054 nm. You decide
to make the cavity 10 cmshorter than the longest possible (i.e. found in
part (a)). What is the value of w
0
, and where is the beam waist located
inside the cavity (the place we assign to z =0)?
HINT: One can interpret the parameter R(z) as the radius of curvature
of the wave front. For a mode to exist in a laser cavity, the radius of
curvature of each of the end mirrors must match the radius of curvature
of the beam at that location.
E
_
, z
_
=E
0
w
0
w(z)
e

2
w
2
(z)
e
i kz+i
k
2
2R(z)
e
i tan
1 z
z
0
2
x
2
+y
2
w(z) w
0
_
1+z
2
/z
2
0
R(z) z +z
2
0
/z
z
0
kw
2
0
2
R73 (a) Compute the Fraunhofer diffraction intensity pattern for a uni-
formly illuminated circular aperture with diameter .
HINT:
E
_
x, y, d
_
=
i e
i kd
e
i
k
2d
(x
2
+y
2
)
d
__
E
_
x
, y
, 0
_
e
i
k
d
(xx
+y y
)
dx
dy
J
0
() =
1
2
2
_
0
e
i cos(
)
d
a
_
0
J
0
(bx) xdx =
a
b
J
1
(ab)
J
1
(1.22) =0
lim
x0
2J
1
(x)
x
=1
(b) The rst lens of a telescope has a diameter of 30 cm, which is the
only place where light is clipped. You wish to use the telescope to
examine two stars in a binary system. The stars are approximately 25
light-years away. How far apart need the stars be (in the perpendicular
sense) for you to distinguish them in the visible range of =500 nm?
Compare with the radius of Earths orbit, 1.510
8
km.
R74 (a) Derive the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern for the eld from a uni-
formly illuminated single slit of width x. (Dont worry about the
y-dimension.)
(b) Find the Fraunhofer intensity pattern for a grating of N slits of width
x positioned on the mask at x
n
= h
_
n
N+1
2
_
so that the spacing
between all slits is h.
307
HINT: The array theoremsays that the diffraction pattern is
N
n=1
e
i
k
d
xx
n
times the diffraction pattern of a single slit. You will need
N
n=1
r
n
=r
r
N
1
r 1
(c) Consider Fraunhofer diffraction from the grating in part (b). The
grating is 5.0 cm wide and is uniformly illuminated. For best resolution
in a monochromator with a 50 cm focal length, what should the width
of the exit slit be? Assume a wavelength of =500 nm.
R75 (a) A monochromatic plane wave with intensity I
0
and wavelength
is incident on a circular aperture of diameter followed by a lens of
focal length f . Write the intensity distribution at a distance f behind
the lens.
Figure 12.13
(b) You wish to spatially lter the beamsuch that, when it emerges from
the focus, it varies smoothly without diffraction rings or hard edges. A
pinhole is placed at the focus, which transmits only the central portion
of the Airy pattern (inside of the rst zero). Calculate the intensity
pattern at a distance f after the pinhole using the approximation given
in the hint below.
Figure 12.14
HINT: A reasonably good approximation of the transmitted eld is
that of a Gaussian E
_
, 0
_
=E
f
e
2
/w
2
0
, where E
f
is the magnitude of
the eld at the center of the focus found in part (a), and the width
is w
0
= 2f
#
/ and f
#
f /. The gure below shows how well the
Gaussian approximation ts the actual curve. We have assumed that
the rst aperture is a distance f before the lens so that at the focus after
the lens the wave front is at at the pinhole. To avoid integration, you
may want to use the result of P11.12 or P11.11(b) to get the Fraunhofer
limit of the Gaussian prole. (See gure below.)
Selected Answers
R72: (a) 100 cm (b) 0.32 mm.
R73: (b) 4.810
8
km.
R74: (c) 5 m.
Chapter 13
Blackbody Radiation
Gustav Kirchho (18241887, German)
was born in Konigsberg, the son of a
lawyer. Kirchho attended the Univer-
sity of Konigsberg. While still a student,
he developed what are now called Kirch-
hos law for electrical circuits. During
his career, Kirchho was a professor in
Breslau, Heidelberg, and nally Berlin.
Kirchho was one of the rst to study
the spectra emitted by various objects
when heated. Not coincidentally, his
colleague in heidelberg was Robert
Bunsen, inventor of the Bunsen burner.
Kirchho coined the term blackbody
radiation. He demonstrated that an ex-
cited gas gives o a discrete spectrum,
and that an unexcited gas surrounding
a blackbody emitter produces dark lines
in the blackbody spectrum. Together
Kirchho and Bunsen discovered cae-
sium and rubidium. Later in his career,
Kirchho showed how to derive Fres-
nels diraction formula starting from
the wave equation. (Wikipedia)
Hot objects glow. In 1860, Kirchhoff proposed that the radiation emitted by hot
objects as a function of frequency is approximately the same for all materials.
1
The notion that all materials behave similarly led to the concept of an ideal
blackbody radiator. Most materials have a certain shininess that causes light to
reect or scatter in addition to being absorbed and reemitted. However, light
that falls upon an ideal blackbody is absorbed perfectly before the possibility of
reemission, hence the name blackbody.
The distribution of frequencies emitted by a blackbody radiator is related
to its temperature. We often consider a blackbody radiator that is in thermal
equilibrium with the surrounding light that is absorbed and reemitted. If it is
not in thermal equilibrium, for example, if more light is emitted than absorbed,
then the object inevitably cools as light escapes to the environment, moving the
system toward thermal equilibrium.
The Sun is a good example of a blackbody radiator. The light emitted from the
Sun is associated with its surface temperature. Any light that arrives to the Sun
from outer space is virtually 100% absorbed, however little light that might be, so
the name blackbody aptly describes it. Mostly, light escapes to the much colder
surrounding space (i.e. it is not in thermal equilibrium), and the temperature of
the Suns surface is maintained by the fusion process within. As another example,
a glowing tungstenlament inanordinary light bulb may be reasonably described
as a blackbody radiator. However, surface reections make it less than ideal both
for absorption and emission.
Experimentally, a near perfect blackbody radiator can be constructed from
a hollow object. An example is shown in Fig. 13.1. As the interior of the object
is heated, the light present inside the internal cavity is in equilibrium with the
glowing walls. Asmall hole can be drilled through the wall to observe the radiation
inside without signicantly disturbing the system. The observation hole can be
thought of as a perfect blackbody since any light entering the hole from the
outside is eventually absorbed (before being potentially reemitted), if not on the
1
An important exception is atomic vapors, which have relatively few discrete spectral lines.
However, Kirchhoffs assumption holds quite well for most solids, which are sufciently complex.
309
310 Chapter 13 Blackbody Radiation
rst bounce then on subsequent bounces inside the cavity.
In this chapter, we develop a theoretical understanding of blackbody radiation
and provide some historical perspective. The explanation given by Max Planck
in 1900 marks the birth of quantum mechanics. He postulated the existence of
electromagnetic quanta, which we now call photons. Einstein used Plancks ideas
to explain the photoelectric effect and to develop the concept of stimulated and
spontaneous emission. Because of his analysis, Einstein can be thought of as the
father of light amplication by stimulated emission of radiation (LASER).
Figure 13.1 Blackbody radiator.
Thermal light emerges from the
small hole in the end.
13.1 Stefan-Boltzmann Law
One of the earliest properties deduced about blackbody radiation is known as the
Stefan-Boltzmann law, rst suggested by Stefan in 1879 and derived thermody-
namically by Boltzmann in 1884.
2
This early (somewhat cumbersome) derivation
is provided in appendix 13.A.
3
The Stefan-Boltzmann law says that the intensity I
(including all frequencies) that ows outward from an objects surface is given by
I =eT
4
, (13.1)
where is called the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and T is the absolute temper-
ature (in Kelvin) of the surface. The value of the Stefan-Boltzmann constant is
=5.669610
8
W/m
2
K
4
. The dimensionless parameter e, called the emissivity,
is equal to one for an ideal blackbody surface. However, it takes on smaller values
for actual materials because of surface reections. For example, the emissivity
of tungsten is approximately e =0.4. This takes into account surface reections,
which make it harder for a material to emit light as well as to absorb light.
4
As mentioned in the introduction, one can construct an ideal blackbody
radiator from a material with e <1 by creating an enclosure, or cavity, as depicted
in Fig. 13.2. A small hole in the wall behaves to the outside world like an ideal
blackbody surface. From the perspective of the outside world, the holes surface
has emissivity e = 1. Light within the cavity recirculates until it is eventually
absorbed. The intensity emerging from the hole automatically reaches that of an
ideal blackbody radiator.
Figure 13.2 Blackbody radiator
constructed as a cavity with a
small hole to sample the internal
light.
It is sometimes useful to express intensity in terms of the energy density of
the light eld u
eld
(given by (2.53) in units of energy per volume). The connec-
tion between the intensity emerging from the observation hole in the wall of a
blackbody cavity and the energy density of the thermal light within the cavity is
I =
cu
eld
4
u
eld
=
4T
4
c
(13.2)
2
See P. W. Milonni, The QuantumVacuumAn Introduction to QuantumElectrodynamics, Sect.
1.2 (San Diego: Academic Press, 1994).
3
It is less effort to obtain the Stefan-Boltzmann law using the Planck radiation formula as a
starting point (see P13.3).
4
Emissivity typically has some frequency dependence, so what is presented here is an oversim-
plication.
13.2 Failure of the Equipartition Principle 311
Within the enclosed cavity, light travels at speed c isotropically in all directions. A
factor of 1/2 arrises because only half of the energy travels towards the hole from
within the cavity as opposed to away. The remaining factor of 1/2 occurs because
the light emerging from the hole is directionally distributed over a hemisphere as
opposed to owing in the direction of the surface normal n. The average over the
hemisphere is carried out as follows:
2
_
0
d
/2
_
0
r nsind
2
_
0
d
/2
_
0
r sind
=
2
_
0
d
/2
_
0
r cossind
2
_
0
d
/2
_
0
r sind
=
1
2
(13.3)
Although (13.1) describes the total intensity of the light that leaves a blackbody
surface, it does not describe what frequencies make up the radiation eld. This
frequency distribution was not fully described for another two decades, when
Max Planck developed his famous formula. Planck was rst to arrive at the correct
formula for the spectrum of blackbody radiation, building on the work of others,
most notably Wien, who came very close. At rst, Planck tweaked Wiens formula
to match newly available experimental data. When he attempted to explain
it, he was forced to introduce the concept of light quanta. Even Planck was
uncomfortable with and perhaps disbelieved the assumption that his formula
implied, but he deserves credit for recognizing and articulating it.
13.2 Failure of the Equipartition Principle
In 1900, Lord Rayleigh attempted to explain the blackbody spectral distribution
(intensity per frequency) as a function of temperature by applying the equipar-
tition theorem to the problem. James Jeans gave a more complete derivation in
1905, which included an overall proportionality constant. They were hopelessly
behind, since Planck nailed the answer in 1900, but their failed (classical) ap-
proach is useful pedagogically, and for that reason it gets more attention than it
deserves. In this section, we also will examine the Rayleigh-Jeans approach to
illustrate the shortcomings of classical concepts. This will help us better appreci-
ate the quantum ideas in the following section. As we will see, the Rayleigh-Jeans
approach actually gets the right answer in the long-wavelength limit. In fairness
to Rayleigh and Jeans, they represented their formula as being useful only for long
wavelengths.
The thermodynamic law of equipartition implies that the energy in a system
on the average is distributed equally among all degrees of freedom in the system.
For example, a system composed of oscillators (say, electrons attached to springs
representing the response of the material on the walls of a blackbody radiator)
has an energy of k
B
T/2 for each degree of freedom, where k
B
=1.3810
23
J/K
is Boltzmanns constant. Rayleigh and Jeans supposed that each unique mode
of the electromagnetic eld should carry energy k
B
T just as each mechanical
spring in thermal equilibrium carries energy k
B
T (k
B
T/2 as kinetic and k
B
T/2 as
potential energy). The problem then reduces to that of nding the number of
unique modes for the radiation at each frequency.
5
The idea is that requiring each
mode of electromagnetic energy to hold energy k
B
T should reveal the spectral
shape of blackbody radiation.
Number of Modes in an Electromagnetic Field
Each frequency is associated with a specic wave number k =
_
k
2
x
+k
2
y
+k
2
z
. No-
tice that there are many ways (i.e. combinations of k
x
, k
y
, and k
z
) to come up
with the same wave number k =/c (corresponding to a single frequency ). To
count these ways properly, we can let our experience with Fourier series guide
us. Consider a box with each side of length L. The Fourier theorem (0.42) states
that the total eld inside the box (no matter how complicated the distribution)
can always be represented as a superposition of sine (and cosine) waves. The total
eld in the box can therefore be written as
6
Re
_

n=
m=
=
E
n,m,
e
i (nk
0
x+mk
0
y+k
0
z)
_
(13.4)
where each component of the wave number in any of the three dimensions is an
integer times
k
0
=2/L (13.5)
We note that considering a box of size L does not articially restrict our analysis,
since we may later take the limit L so that our box represents the entire
universe. Moreover, L will naturally disappear from our calculation when we later
consider the density of modes.

Figure 13.3 The volume of a thin
spherical shell in n, m, space.
We can think of a given wave number k as specifying the equation of a sphere in a
coordinate system with axes labeled n, m, and :
n
2
+m
2
+
2
=
_
k
k
0
_
2
(13.6)
The fact that the integers n, m, and range over both positive and negative values
automatically takes into account that the eld may travel in the forwards or the
backwards direction.
We need to know how many more ways there are to choose n, m, and when the
wave number k/k
0
increases to (k +dk)/k
0
. The answer is the difference in the
volume of the two spheres shown in Fig. 13.3:
# modes in (k,k+dk) =
_
4
k
2
k
2
0
_
dk
k
0
(13.7)
This is the number of terms in (13.4) associated with a wave number between k
and k +dk.
5
See O. Svelto, Principles of Lasers, 4th ed., translated by D. C. Hanna, Sect. 2.2.1 (New York:
Plenum Press, 1998).
6
The Fourier expansion 13.4 implies that the eld on the right and left of each dimension match
up, which is known as periodic boundary conditions.
13.3 Plancks Formula 313
According to the Rayleigh-Jeans assumption, each mode should carry on
average equal energy k
B
T. The energy density associated with a specied range of
wave numbers dk is then k
B
T/L
3
times the number of modes within that range
(13.7).
The total energy density in the eld involving all wave numbers is then
7
u
eld
=
_
0
2
k
B
T
L
3

4k
2
k
3
0
dk =k
B
T
_
0
k
2
2
dk (13.8)
where the extra factor of 2 accounts for two independent polarizations, not speci-
ed in (13.4). As anticipated, the dependence on L has disappeared from (13.8)
after substituting from (13.5).
James Jeans (18771946, English) was
born in Ormskirk, England. He attended
Cambridge University and later taught
there for most of his career. He also
taught at Princeton University for a
number of years. One of his major con-
tributions was the development of Jeans
length, the critical radius for interstel-
lar clouds, which determines whether
a cloud will collapse to form a star. In
his later career, Jeans became some-
what well known to the public for his
lay-audience books highlighting scien-
tic advances, in particular relativity
and cosmology. (Wikipedia)
Right away, we cansee that (13.8) disagrees drastically withthe Stefan-Boltzmann
law (13.2), since (13.8) is proportional to temperature rather than to its fourth
power. In addition, the integral in (13.8) is seen to diverge, meaning that regard-
less of the temperature, the light carries innite energy density! This has since
been named the ultraviolet catastrophe since the divergence occurs on the short
wavelength end of the spectrum. This is a clear failure of classical physics to
explain blackbody radiation. Nevertheless, Rayleigh emphasized the fact that his
formula works well for the longer wavelengths.
It is instructive to make the change of variables k =/c in the integral to write
u
eld
=k
B
T
_
0
2
c
3
d (13.9)
The important factor
2
/
2
c
3
can now be understood to be the number of modes
per frequency. Then (13.9) is rewritten as
u
eld
=
_
0
() d (13.10)
where
Rayleigh-Jeans
() =k
B
T

2
2
c
3
(13.11)
describes (incorrectly) the spectral energy density of the radiation eld associated
with blackbody radiation.
13.3 Plancks Formula
In the late 1800s as spectrographic technology improved, experimenters acquired
considerable data on the spectra of blackbody radiation. For the rst time, de-
tailed maps of the intensity per frequency associated with blackbody radiation
7
became available over a fairly wide wavelength range. In keeping with Kirchhoffs
notion of an ideal blackbody radiator, the results were observed to be indepen-
dent of the material for most solids. The intensity per frequency depended only
on temperature and when integrated over all frequencies agreed with the Stefan-
Boltzmann law (13.1).
Figure 13.4 Energy density per
frequency according to Planck,
Wien, and Rayleigh-Jeans.
Wilhelm Wien (18641928, Country)
was born in Gaken, Prussia (now Pri-
morsk, Russia). As a teenager, he at-
tended schools in Rastenburg and then
Heidelberg. He later attended the Uni-
versity of Gttingen and then the Uni-
versity of Berlin. In 1886, he received
his Ph.D. after working under Hermann
von Helmholtz where he studied the in-
uence of materials on the color of light.
In 1896 Wien developed an empirical
formula for the spectral distribution of
blackbody radiation. He collaborated
with Planck, who gave the law a foun-
dation in electromagnetic and thermody-
namic theory. Planck later improved the
formula, whereupon it became known by
his name. However, Wiens formula for
the peak wavelength of the blackbody
curve, called Wiens displacement law,
remains valid. In 1898, Wien identied
a positive particle equal in mass to the
hydrogen atom, which was later named
the proton. Wien received the Nobel
prize in 1911 for his work on heat and
radiation. (Wikipedia)
In 1896, Wilhelm Wien considered the known physical and mathematical
constraints on the spectrum of blackbody radiation and proposed a spectral
function that seemed to work:
8
Wien
() =

3
e
/k
B
T
2
c
3
(13.12)
An important feature of (13.12) is that it gives a result proportional to T
4
when
integrated over all frequency (i.e. the Steffan-Boltzmann law).
Wiens formula did a fairly good job of tting the experimental data. However,
in 1900 Lummer and Pringshein, colleagues of Max Planck, reported experimental
data that deviated from the Wien distribution at long wavelengths (infrared).
Planck was privy to this information early on and introduced a modest revision
to Wiens formula that t the data beautifully everywhere:
Planck
() =

3
2
c
3
_
e
/k
B
T
1
_ (13.13)
where =1.05410
34
J s is an experimentally determined constant.
9
Figure 13.4 shows the Planck spectral distribution curve together with the
Rayleigh-Jeans curve (13.11) and the Wien curve (13.12). As is apparent, the Wien
distribution does a good job nearly everywhere. However, at long wavelengths
it was off by just enough for the experimentalists to notice that something was
wrong.
At this point, it may seem fair to ask, what did Planck do that was so great?
After all, he simply guessed a function that was only a slight modication of
Wiens distribution. And he knew the answer from the back of the book, namely
Lummers and Pringsheins well done experimental results. (At the time, Planck
was unaware of the work by Rayleigh.)
Planck gets well-deserved credit for interpreting the meaning of his new
formula. His interpretation was what he called an act of desperation. He did
not necessarily believe in the implications of his formula; in fact, he presented
them somewhat apologetically. It was several years later that the young Einstein
published his paper explaining the photoelectric effect in the context of Plancks
work.
Plancks insight was an enormous step toward understanding the quantum
nature of light. Nevertheless, it took another three decades to develop a more
8
The constant h had not yet been introduced by Planck. The actual way that Wien wrote his
distribution was
Wien
() =a
3
e
b/T
, where a and b were parameters used to t the data.
9
Plancks constant was rst introduced as h = 6.62610
34
J s, convenient for working with
frequency , expressed in Hz. It is common to write h/2 when working with frequency ,
expressed in rad/s.
13.3 Plancks Formula 315
complete theory of quantum electrodynamics. Students should appreciate that
the very people who developed quantum mechanics were also bothered by its
confrontation with deep-seated intuition. If quantum mechanics bothers you,
you are in good company!
Planck found that he could derive his formula only if he made the following
strange assumption: A given mode of the electromagnetic eld is not able to
carry an arbitrary amount of energy (for example, k
B
T as Rayleigh and Jeans
used, which varies continuously as the temperature varies). Rather, the eld
can only carry discrete amounts of energy separated by spacing . Under this
assumption, the probability P
n
that a mode of the eld is excited to the n
th
level
is proportional to the Boltzmann statistical weighting factor e
n/k
B
T
. A review
of the Boltzmann factor is given in Appendix 13.B.
Max Planck (18581947, German)
was born in Kiel, the sixth child in his
family. His father was a law professor.
When Max was about nine years old,
his family moved to Munich where he
attended gymnasium. A mathematician,
Herman Muller took an interest in his
schooling and tutored him in mechanics
and astronomy. Planck was a gifted
musician, but he decided to pursue a
career in physics. At age 16 he enrolled
in the University of Munich. By age 22,
he had nished his doctoral dissertation
and habilitation thesis. He was initially
ignored by the academic community and
worked for a time as an unpaid lecturer.
He became an associate professor of
theoretical physics at the University of
Kiel and then a few years later took
over Kirchhos post at the University
of Berlin. After nearly twenty years of
idillic and happy family life, a series
of tragedies hit the Planck household.
Plancks rst wife and mother of four,
died. Then his eldest son was killed
in action during World War I. Soon
after, his twin daughters each died
giving birth to their rst child. Later
Plancks remaining son from his rst
marriage was executed for participating
in a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler.
Planck won the Nobel prize in 1918 for
his introduction of energy quanta, but
he had serious reservations about the
course that quantum mechanics theory
took. (Wikipedia)
Probable Energy in Each Field Mode
The Boltzmann factor can be normalized by dividing by the sum of all such factors
to obtain the probability of having energy n in a particular mode:
P
n
=
e
n/k
B
T
m=0
e
m/k
B
T
=e
n/k
B
T
_
1e
/k
B
T
_
(13.14)
We used (0.65) to accomplish the above sum, which is a geometric series.
The expected energy in a particular mode of the eld is the sum of each possible
energy level (i.e. n) times the probability of it occurring:
n=0
nP
n
=
_
1e
/k
B
T
_
n=0
ne
n/k
B
T
=
_
1e
/k
B
T
_

(/k
B
T)
n=0
e
n/k
B
T
=
_
1e
/1k
B
T
_

(/k
B
T)
1
1e
/k
B
T
=

e
/k
B
T
1
(13.15)
We used (0.65) again as well as a clever derivative trick.
Equation (13.15) provides the expected energy in any of the modes of the
radiation eld, as dictated by Plancks assumption. To obtain the Planck distribu-
tion (13.13), we simply replace k
B
T in the Rayleigh-Jeans formula (13.10) with the
correct expected energy (13.15).
10
It is interesting that we are now able to derive the constant in the Stefan-
Boltzmann law (13.2) in terms of Plancks constant (see P13.3). The Stefan-
Boltzmann law is obtained by integrating the spectral density function (13.13)
10
over all frequencies to obtain the total eld energy density, which is in thermal
equilibrium with the blackbody radiator:
u
eld
=
_
0
Planck
()d=
4
c
2
k
4
B
60c
2
3
T
4
4
c
T
4
(13.16)
Since Plancks constant was not introduced a couple decades after the Stefan-
Boltzmann law was developed, one might more appropriately say that the Stefan-
Boltzmann constant pins down Plancks constant.
Example 13.1
Determine
Planck
() such that
u
eld
=
_
0
Planck
() d=
_
0
Planck
() d
where
Planck
() and
Planck
() represent distinct functions distiguished by their
arguments.
Solution: The change of variables 2c/d=2cd/
2
gives
u
eld
=
0
_
(2c/)
3
2
c
3
_
e
(2c/)/k
B
T
1
_
_
2c
d
2
_
=
_
0
16c
5
_
e
2c/k
B
T
1
_ d
By inspection, we get
Planck
() =
8hc
5
_
e
hc/k
B
T
1
_ (13.17)
where we have written h 2. It is interesting to note that the maximum of
Planck
() occurring at
max
and the maximum of
Planck
() occurring at
max
do not
correspond to a matching wavelength and frequency. That is,
max
= 2c/
max
,
because of the nonlinear nature of the variable transformation. (See problem
P13.4.)
13.4 Einsteins A and B Coefcients
More than a decade after Planck introduced his formula, and after Niels Bohr
had proposed that electrons occupy discrete energy states in atoms, Einstein
reexamined blackbody radiation in terms of Bohrs new idea. If the material of a
blackbody radiator interacts with a particular mode of the eld with frequency ,
then electrons in the material must make transitions between two energy levels
with energy separation h. Since the radiation of a blackbody is in thermal equi-
librium with the material, Einstein postulated that the eld stimulates electron
13.4 Einsteins A and B Coefcients 317
transitions between energy levels. In addition, he postulated that some transi-
tions must occur spontaneously. (If the possibility of spontaneous transitions is
not included, then there can be no way for a eld mode to receive energy if none
is present to begin with.)
Einstein wrote down rate equations for populations of the two levels N
1
and
N
2
associated with the transition :
11
N
1
= A
21
N
2
B
12
() N
1
+B
21
() N
2
,
N
2
=A
21
N
2
+B
12
() N
1
B
21
() N
2
(13.18)
The coefcient A
21
is the rate of spontaneous emission from state 2 to state 1,
B
12
() is the rate of stimulated absorption from state 1 to state 2, and B
21
()
is the rate of stimulated emission from state 2 to state 1.
Albert Einstein (18791955, German)
is without a doubt the most famous sci-
entist in history. Time Magazine named
him Person of the Century. Born in
Ulm to a (non practicing) Jewish fam-
ily, young Albert was inuenced by a
medical student, Max Talmud, who took
meals with his family and enthusiasti-
cally introduced the 10-year-old Albert
to geometry and other topics. Einsteins
father wanted Albert to be trained as an
electrical engineer, but Albert clashed
with his teachers in that program and
withdrew. Einstein then attended school
in Switzerland, and subsequently en-
tered a mathematics program at the
Polytechnic in Zurich. There, Einstein
met his rst wife, Mileva Maric, a fellow
math student, who he later divorced
before marrying Elsa Lowenthal. Early
on, Einstein could not nd a job as
a professor, and so he worked in the
Swiss patent oce until his "Miracle
Year" (1905), when published four ma-
jor papers, including relativity and the
photoelectric eect (for which he later
received the Nobel prize). Thereafter,
job oers were never in short supply.
In 1933, as the Nazi regime came to
power, Einstein immigrated from Berlin
to the US and became a professor at
Princeton University. Einstein is most
noted for special and general relativity,
for which he became a celebrity scientist
in his own lifetime. Einstein also made
huge contributions to statistical and
quantum mechanics. (Wikipedia)
In thermal equilibrium, the rate equations (13.18) are both equal to zero (i.e.,
N
1
=

N
2
=0), since the relative populations of each level must remain constant.
We can then solve for the spectral density () at the given frequency. In this case,
either expression in (13.18) yields
() =
A
21
N
1
N
2
B
12
B
21
(13.19)
In thermal equilibrium, the spectral density must match the Planck spectral
density formula (13.13). In making the comparison, we should rst rewrite the
ratio N
1
/N
2
of the populations in the two levels using the Boltzmann probability
factor (see Appendix 13.B):
N
1
N
2
=
e
E
1
/k
B
T
e
E
2
/k
B
T
=e
(E
2
E
1
)/k
B
T
=e
h/k
B
T
(13.20)
Then when equating (13.19) to the Planck blackbody spectral density (13.13) we
get
A
21
e
/k
B
T
B
12
B
21
=

3
2
c
3
_
e
/k
B
T
1
_ (13.21)
From this expression we deduce that
12
B
12
=B
21
(13.22)
and
A
21
=

3
2
c
3
B
21
(13.23)
We see from (13.22) that the rate of stimulated absorption is the same as the
rate of stimulated emission. In addition, if one knows the rate of stimulated
11
12
We assume that energy levels 1 and 2 are non-degenerate. Some modications must be made
in the case of degenerate levels, but the procedure is similar.
emission between a pair of states, it follows from (13.23) that one also knows the
rate of spontaneous emission. This is remarkable because to derive A
21
directly,
one needs to use the full theory of quantum electrodynamics (the complete
photon description). However, to obtain B
21
, it is actually only necessary to use a
semiclassical theory, where the light is treated classically and the energy levels in
the material are treated quantum-mechanically using the Schrdinger equation.
In writing the rate equations, (13.18), Einstein predicted the possibility of
creating lasers fty years in advance of their development. These rate equations
are still valid even if the light is not in thermal equilibrium with the material.
The equations suggest that if the population in the upper state 2 can be made
articially large, then amplication will result via the stimulated transition. The
rate equations also show that a population inversion (more population in the
upper state than in the lower one) cannot be achieved by pumping the material
with the same frequency of light that one hopes to amplify. This is because the
stimulated absorption rate is balanced by the stimulated emission rate. The
material-dependent parameters A
21
and B
12
=B
21
are called the Einstein A and B
coefcients.
Appendix 13.A Thermodynamic Derivation of the Stefan-
Boltzmann Law
In this appendix, we derive the Stefan-Boltzmann law without relying on the
Planck blackbody formula.
13
This derivation is included mainly for historical
interest. The derivation relies on the 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics.
Consider a container whose walls are all at the same temperature and in
thermal equilibriumwith the radiation eld inside. Notice that the units of energy
density u
eld
(energy per volume) are equivalent to force per area, or in other
words pressure. It turns out that the radiation exerts a pressure of
P =u
eld
/3 (13.24)
on the walls of the container. This can be derived from the fact that radiation of
energy E imparts a momentum
p =
E
c
cos (13.25)
when it is absorbed with incident angle on a surface.
14
A similar momentum is
imparted when radiation is emitted.
13
14
The fact that light carries momentum was understood well before the development of the
theory of relativity and the photon description of light.
13.A Thermodynamic Derivation of the Stefan-Boltzmann Law 319
Derivation of (13.24)
Consider a thin layer of space adjacent to a container wall with area A. If the layer
has thickness z, then the volume in the layer is Az. Half of the radiation inside
the layer ows toward the wall, where it is absorbed. The total energy in the layer
that will be absorbed is then E =(Az)u
eld
/2, which arrives during the interval
t =z/(c cos), assuming for the moment that all light is directed with angle ;
we must average the angle of light propagation over a hemisphere.
The pressure on the wall due to absorption (i.e. force or dp/dt per area) is then
P
abs
=
2
_
0
d
/2
_
0
p
t
1
A
sin d
2
_
0
d
/2
_
0
sin d
=
u
eld
2
/2
_
0
cos
2
sin d =
u
eld
6
(13.26)
In equilibrium, an equal amount of radiation is also emitted from the wall. This
gives an additional pressure P
emit
=P
abs
, which conrms that the total pressure is
given by (13.24).
Figure 13.5 Field inside a black-
body radiator.
We derive the Stefan-Boltzmann law using the concept of entropy, which is
dened in differential form by the quantity
dS
dQ
T
(13.27)
where dQ is the injection of heat (or energy) into the radiation eld in the box
and T is the temperature at which that injection takes place. We would like to
write dQ in terms of u
eld
, V , and T. Then we may invoke the fact that S is a state
variable, which implies
2
S
TV
=

2
S
V T
(13.28)
This is a mathematical statement of the fact that S is fully dened if the internal
energy, temperature, and volume of a system are specied. That is, S does not
depend on past temperature and volume history; it is dictated by the present
state of the system.
To obtain dQ in the form that we need, we can use the 1st law of thermody-
namics. It states that a change in internal energy dU =d (u
eld
V ) can take place
by the injection of heat dQ or by doing work dW =PdV as the volume increases:
dQ=dU +PdV =d (u
eld
V ) +PdV
=V du
eld
+u
eld
dV +
1
3
u
eld
dV
=V
du
eld
dT
dT +
4
3
u
eld
dV
(13.29)
We have used energy density times volume to obtain the total energyU in the radi-
ation eld in the box. We have also used (13.24) to obtain the work accomplished
by pressure as the volume changes.
We can use (13.29) to rewrite (13.27) as
dS =
V
T
du
eld
dT
dT +
4u
eld
3T
dV (13.30)
When we differentiate (13.30) with respect to temperature or volume we get
S
V
=
4u
eld
3T
S
T
=
V
T
du
eld
dT
(13.31)
We are now able to evaluate the partial derivatives in (13.28), which give
2
S
TV
=
4
3
T
u
eld
T
=
4
3
1
T
u
eld
T

4
3
u
eld
T
2
2
S
V T
=
1
T
du
eld
dT
(13.32)
Since by (13.28) these two expressions must be equal, we get a differential
equation relating the internal energy of the system to the temperature:
4
3
1
T
u
eld
T

4
3
u
eld
T
2
=
1
T
du
eld
dT

u
eld
T
=
4u
eld
T
(13.33)
The solution to this differential equation is (13.2), where 4/c is a constant to be
determined experimentally.
Appendix 13.B Boltzmann Factor
The entropy of an object is dened by
S
obj
=k
B
lnn
obj
(13.34)
which depends on the number of congurations n
obj
for a given state (dened,
for example, by xed energy and volume). Now imagine that the object is placed
in contact with a very large thermal reservoir. The object could be the electro-
magnetic radiation inside a hollow blackbody apparatus, and the reservoir could
be the walls of the apparatus, capable of holding far more energy than the light
eld can hold. The condition for thermal equilibrium between the object and the
reservoir is
S
obj
U
obj
=
S
res
U
res
1
T
(13.35)
where temperature has been introduced as a denition, which is consistent with
(13.27).
The total number of congurations for the combined system is N =n
obj
n
res
,
where n
obj
and n
res
are the number of congurations available within the object
and the reservoir separately. A thermodynamic principle is that all possible
13.B Boltzmann Factor 321
congurations are equally probable. In thermal equilibrium, the probability for a
given conguration in the object is therefore proportional to
P
N
n
obj
=n
res
=e
S
res
/k
B
(13.36)
where we have invoked (13.34).
Meanwhile, a Taylors series expansion of S
res
yields
S
res
(U
res
)
=S
res
_
U
eq
res
_
+
S
res
U
res
U
eq
res
_
U
res
U
eq
res
_
+... (13.37)
Higher order terms are not needed since we assume the reservoir to be very large
so that it is disturbed only slightly by variations in the object. Since the overall
energy of the system is xed, we may write
U
res
U
eq
res
=U
res
=U
obj
(13.38)
where U
obj
is a small change in energy in the object. When (13.35), (13.37), and
(13.38) are introduced into (13.36), the probability for the specic conguration
becomes P e
1
k
B
S
res(U
eq
res)
U
obj
k
B
T
, or simply
P e
U
obj
k
B
T
(13.39)
since the rst term in the exponent is constant. U
obj
represents an amount
energy added to the object to establish a conguration. In the case of blackbody
radiation, a mode takes on energy U
obj
=n, where n is the number of energy
quanta in the mode. The probability that a mode carries energy n is therefore
proportional to e
n
k
B
T
.
Exercises
Exercises for 13.1 Stefan-Boltzmann Law
P13.1 The Sun has a radius of R
S
=6.9610
8
m. What is the total power that
it radiates, given a surface temperature of 5750 K?
P13.2 A 1 cm-radius spherical ball of polished gold hangs suspended inside
an evacuated chamber that is at room temperature 20
C. There is no
pathway for thermal conduction to the chamber wall.
(a) If the gold is at a temperature of 100
C, what is the initial rate of

temperature loss in

C/s? The emissivity for polished gold is e =0.02.
The specic heat of gold is 129 J/kg
C and its density is 19.3 g/cm

3
.
HINT: Q =mcT and Power =Q/t .
(b) What is the initial rate of temperature loss if the ball is coated with
at black paint, which has emissivity e =0.95?
HINT: You should consider the energy owing both ways.
Exercises for 13.3 Plancks Formula
P13.3 Derive (or try to derive) the Stefan-Boltzmann law by integrating the
(a) Rayleigh-Jeans energy density
u
eld
=
_
0
Rayleigh-Jeans
() d
Please comment.
(b) Wien energy density
u
eld
=
_
0
Wien
() d
Please evaluate .
HINT:
_
0
x
3
e
ax
dx =
6
a
4
.
(c) Planck energy density
u
eld
=
_
0
Planck
() d
Please evaluate . Compare results of (b) and (c).
HINT:
_
0
x
3
dx
e
ax
1
=

4
15a
4
.
Exercises 323
P13.4 (a) Derive Wiens displacement law
max
=
0.00290 m K
T
which gives the strongest wavelength present in the blackbody spectral
distribution.
HINT: See Example 13.1. You may like to know that the solution to the
transcendental equation (5x) e
x
=5 is x =4.965.
(b) What is the strongest wavelength emitted by the Sun, which has a
surface temperature of 5750 K (see P13.1)?
(c) Also nd
max
and show that it is not the same as c/
max
. Why would
we be interested mainly in
max
?
Index
Poyntings theorem, 189
ABCDlawfor gaussian beams, 287
ABCD matrices
transmission through a curved
surface, 236
ABCDMatrices for Combined Optical
Elements, 236
ABCD matrix, 234
aberration, 233
Aberrations and Ray Tracing, 244
absolute value, 1, 10
Airy pattern, 276
Amperes Law, 30
Amperes law, 25
angle addition formula, 7
anisotropic, 115
aperture, 254
Arago, Francois Jean Dominique, 257
Array Theorem, 278
array theorem, 271
arrival time, 184
astigmatism, 246
beam waist, 271, 283, 286
textbfBeyond Critical Angle: Tunnel-
ing of Evanescent Waves, 94
biaxial, 121
textbfBiaxial and Uniaxial Crystals,
121
Biot, Jean-Baptiste, 28
Biot-Savart law, 28
birefringence, 115, 120, 124
blackbody, 309
blackbody radiation, 309
Bohr, Niels, 316
Boltzmann Factor, 320
boundary conditions, 73
Boundary Conditions For Fields at an
Interface, 82
Brewsters Angle, 78
Brewster, David, 78
broadband, 170
carrier frequency, 180
Cartesian coordinates, 1
causality, 192, 194
Causality and Exchange of Energy
with the Medium, 189
centroid, 191
characteristic matrix, 106
chirped pulse amplication, 187
chirping, 183
Christiaan Huygens, 124
chromatic aberration, 245
circular polarization, 144
circular polarizer, 158
circularly polarized light, 143
Clausius-Mossotti Relation, 61
coefcient of nesse, 93
coherence length, 206
coherence time, 206
Coherence Time and Fringe Visibility,
206
coma, 246
complex angle, 11
complex conjugate, 10
complex notation, 43, 45
Complex Numbers, 6
complex plane, 9
complex polar representation, 9
concave, 235
conductivity, 68
constitutive relation, 47
325
326 INDEX
Constitutive Relation in Crystals, 115
continuity equation, 31
convex, 235
convolution theorem, 23
cosine complex representation, 7
Coulombs law, 26
critical angle, 79
cross product, 2
curl, 3
current density, 27
curvature of the eld (aberration), 246
cylindrical coordinates, 3
degree of coherence, 203, 206
degree of polarization, 144, 157, 160
density of modes, 312
depth of focus, 286
determinant, 12
dielectric, 43
Diffraction Grating, 280
Diffraction of a Gaussian Field Pro-
le, 283
Diffraction with Cylindrical Symme-
try, 261
Dirac delta function, 17
dispersion, 43, 169, 180, 181
dispersion relation, 44
in crystals, 119
displacement current, 32
distortion, 246
divergence, 3
divergence theorem, 5
dot product, 2
Double-InterfaceProblem, 88
eikonal equation, 225, 228
Einsteins A and B Coefcients, 316
Einstein, Albert, 317
electric eld, 26
Electric Field in Crystals, 129
ellipsometer, 155
Ellipsometry, 155
ellipsometry, 143
elliptical polarization, 143, 145, 146
Elliptically Polarized Light, 146
ellipticity, 147, 156
emissivity, 310
energy density, 189, 310
Energy Density of Electric Fields, 64
Energy Density of Magnetic Fields, 66
energy transport velocity, 190
Equipartition Principle, Failure of,
311
Eulers formula, 7
evanescent waves, 80
extraordinary, 115
extraordinary index, 121, 122
f-number, 286
Fabry, Charles, 96
Fabry-Perot, 96
Fabry-Perot etalon, 98
Fabry-Perot interferometer, 98
Fabry-Perot, Distinguishing Nearby
Wavelengths, 99
far eld, 253, 260
Faradays Law, 29
Faradays law, 25, 44
Faraday, Michael, 29
fast axis, 151
Fermats principle, 229
Fermat, Pierre, 229
nesse, 102
nesse, coefcient of, 93
uence, 203
focal length, 240
Fourier expansion, 14
Fourier integral theorem, 13, 16
Fourier Spectroscopy, 207
Fourier spectroscopy, 208
Fourier Theory, 13
Fourier transform, 16, 175
textbfFraunhofer Approximation, 260
Fraunhofer Diffraction Through a
Lens, 271
Fraunhofer, Joseph, 260
free spectral range, 100
frequency, 44
Frequency Spectrumof Light, 174
Fresnel Approximation, 258
INDEX 327
Fresnel Coefcients, 75
Fresnel coefcients, 76
Fresnels equation, 119
Fresnel, Augustin, 75
Fresnel-Kirchhoff formula, 263
fringe, 296
fringe pattern, 295
fringe visibility, 202, 206
fringes, 98
frustrated total internal reection, 94
Gabor, Dennis, 298
Galileo, 239
Gauss Law, 26
Gauss law, 25, 26
Gauss Lawfor Magnetic Fields, 27
Gauss, Friedrich, 27
Gaussian Laser Beams, 285
Generalized Context for Group Delay,
183
Generating Holograms, 297
Gouy shift, 286
gradient, 3
grating, 187
Greens theorem, 266
group delay, 170, 184
group delay function, 181
group velocity, 169, 173, 181
Group vs. Phase Velocity: Sumof Two
Plane Waves, 172
half-wave plate, 152
Hankel transform, 262
helicity, 147, 156
Helmholtz equation, 257
hologram, 295
Holographic Wavefront Reconstruc-
tion, 299
holography, 295
Huygens Elliptical Construct for a
Uniaxial Crystal, 132
Huygens Principle as Formulated by
Fresnel, 254
Huygens, Christian, 253
hyperbolic cosine, 8
hyperbolic sine, 8
identity matrix, 11
image, 231, 233
Image Formation, 239
imaginary number, 7
imaginary part, 9
Index of Refraction, 46
index of refraction, 43
Index of Refraction of a Conductor,
52
instantaneous power spectrum, 193
intensity, 57
Intensity of Superimposed Plane
WavesIntensity of Superim-
posed Plane Waves, 170
interferogram, 295
interferograms, 295
inverse Fourier transform, 175
inverse matrix, 11
irradiance, 54, 57
Irradiance of a Plane Wave, 56
isotropic, 115
isotropic medium, 56
Jeans, James Hopwood, 313
Jones Matrices for Wave Plates, 151
Jones matrix, 143
Jones Matrix for Polarizers at Arbi-
trary Angles, 150
Jones vector, 143, 146
textbfJones Vectors for Representing
Polarization, 145
Jones, R. Clark, 145
Kirchhoff, Gustav, 309
Kramers-Kronig Relations, 194
Kramers-Kronig relations, 195
Kronecker delta function, 212
Laplacian, 4
laser, 310, 318
laser beam, 285
laser cavity, 242
law of reection, 73
lens, 236
328 INDEX
lens makers formula, 237
Linear Algebra, 11
linear medium, 47
linear polarization, 143
Linear Polarizers and Jones Matrices,
147
Linear, Circular, and Elliptical Polar-
ization, 144
Lorentz model, 49
Lorentz, Hendrik, 49
Lorentz-Lorenz formula, 62
magnetic eld, 27
magnication, 240
magnitude, 1
matrix multiplication, 11
Maxwells Adjustment to Amperes
Law, 31
Maxwells equations, 25
Maxwell, James, 32
Michelson Interferometer, 202
Michelson, Albert, 202
mirage, 228
Mueller matrix, 161
Multilayer Coatings, 103
Multilayer Stacks, 107
multimode, 285
narrowband, 170
negative crystal, 122
Newton, Isaac, 170
normal to a surface, 6
object, 233
obliquity factor, 258, 266
optic axes of a crystal, 121
optical activity, 164
optical axis, 226, 233
optical path length, 230
ordinary, 122
oscillator strength, 51
p-polarized light, 72, 89
Packet Propagation and Group Delay,
178
paraxial approximation, 226, 233
paraxial ray theory, 226
Paraxial Rays and ABCDMatrices,
232
paraxial wave equation, 259, 260
Parsevals relation, 18
Parsevals theorem, 176
Partially Polarized Light, 157
pellicle, 97
phase delay, 180
phase velocity, 172, 180
photometry, 58
photon, 310
Plancks Formula, 313
Planck, Max, 315
plane of incidence, 72
plane wave, 45
Plane Wave Solutions to the Wave
Equation, 43
plane waves, 43
plasma frequency, 51
Poissons spot, 256
polarizability, 61
Polarization Effects of Reection and
Transmission, 154
polarization of a medium, 34
polarization of light, 143
Polarization of Materials, 34
polarizer, 143
Polaroid, 147
positive crystal, 122
power spectrum, 175
Poynting vector, 54, 56
Poynting Vector in a Uniaxial Crystal,
123
Poyntings theorem, 53, 54, 190
Poynting, John Henry, 54
principal axes, 117, 120
principal planes, 226, 241
Principal Planes for Complex Optical
Systems, 241
principal value, 194
pulse chirping, 181
Pulse Chirping in a Grating Pair, 187
pulse stretching, 181
INDEX 329
Quadratic Dispersion, 181
quarter-wave plate, 152, 155
radiometry, 58
Radiometry Versus Photometry, 58
radius of curvature, 237
ray, 229
ray tracing, 233
Rayleigh criterion, 277
Rayleigh range, 286
Rayleigh, Lord, 174
real part, 8
rectangular aperture, 259, 261
reectance, 76
Reectance and Transmittance, 76
reection, 234
Reection and Refraction at Curved
Surfaces, 234
reection from a curved surface, 235
Reections fromMetal, 81
refraction, 73
Refraction at a Uniaxial Crystal Sur-
face, 122
Refraction at an Interface, 71
reshaping delay, 185
resolution, 271, 276
Resolution of a Telescope, 275
resolving power, 102, 283
retarder, 151
right-hand rule, 3
ring cavity, 243
Roemer, Ole, 41
Rotation of Coordinates, 127
s-polarized light, 72, 89
Savart, Felix, 28
scalar diffraction, 254
Scalar Diffraction Theory, 256
scalar Helmholtz equation, 257
senkrecht, 72
Setup of a Fabry-Perot Instrument,
98
signal front, 189
sine complex representation, 7
skin depth, 48
slow axis, 151
Snells law, 73, 122
Snell, Willebrord, 73
spatial coherence, 202, 209, 213
Spatial Coherence with a Continuous
Source, 213
spatial lter, 307
Spectrometers, 281
spectrum, 175
spherical aberration, 246
spherical interface, 235
spherical surface, 234
spherical wave, 254, 300
Stability of Laser Cavities, 242
Stefan-Boltzmann Law, 310
stochastic phase, 212
Stokes parameters, 159
Stokes vector, 157, 160
Stokes theorem, 6
Stokes, George Gabriel, 157
Strutt, John William, 174
subluminal, 186
superluminal, 169, 186
surface gure, 296
susceptibility, 47
susceptibility tensor, 116
Sylvesters theorem, 12, 107
Symmetry of Susceptibility Tensor,
125
Table of Integrals, 19
Taylors series, 7
Temporal Coherence, 205
temporal coherence, 202
Testing Optical Components, 296
The Eikonal Equation, 226
The Lorentz Model of Dielectrics, 49
The Wave Equation, 35
Thermodynamic Derivation of the
Stefan-Boltzmann Law, 318
thin lens, 237
Total Internal Reection, 79
transmittance, 77
Two-Interface Transmittance at Sub
Critical Angles, 91
330 INDEX
uniaxial, 121
unit vector, 1
unpolarized light, 143, 157
Van Cittert-Zernike Theorem, 214
vector, 1
Vector Calculus, 1
vector multiplication, 2
voltage, 29
wave number, 44
wave plate, 143, 151
wavelength, 44
Wien, Wilhelm, 314
Youngs two-slit setup, 202, 209
Youngs Two-Slit Setup and Spatial
Coherence, 209
Young, Thomas, 212
Physical Constants
Constant Symbol Value
Permittivity
0
8.85410
12
C
2
/N m
2
Permeability
0
410
7
T m/A (same as kg m
_
C
2
)
Speed of light in vacuum c 2.997910
8
m/s
Charge of an electron q
e
1.60210
19
C
Mass of an electron m
e
9.10810
31
kg
Boltzmanns constant k
B
1.38010
23
J/K
Plancks constant h 6.62610
34
J s
1.05410
34
J s
Stefan-Boltzmann constant 5.67010
8
W/m
2
K
4

Physics of Light and Optics, J. Peatross, M. Ware, ByU (2010)

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Physics of Light and Optics

-axis. The dot product gives k r = kr (coscos+sinsin).

-plane. Inthis coordinate system, the

and B=B cos x

(see (0.14)), where is the angle

. If 0 <<, the result EB points in the positive z

direction, which is consistent with the right-hand rule.

and y =sin +cos

Figure 0.2 The unit vectors x and

Putting this all together, we arrive at

1 is an imaginary number. Eulers formula is easily proven using a

as an innitely tall and innitely thin rectangle centered

where a singularity situation

=1, as illustrated in Fig. 0.6.

, then the result of both integrals must be zero.

. Since the point r =r

is excluded by the tiny sphere, the result

) we must have the equal and opposite

3. HINT: Use sin

Solution: Part (a)

, which points from charge q

to q as seen in Fig. 1.1. The length or

(i.e. the distance between q

z (in Cartesian coordinates).

plus possibly a constant eld.

=0 (steady-state approximation) (1.20)

(see Example 1.3), nd the

=0). For a plasma,

as 2(n/c). We have also used (1.43) to

on the order of unity).

without inverting an image (see Fig. 3.12). Pentaprisms are

and put them into the forms (3.47) and (3.48).

as shown in Fig. 4.2. A thin coating of zinc sulde (n =2.32)

using Snells law

Next we calculate the single-boundary Fresnel coefcients:

right prisms, as shown in Fig. 4.4, as a function of

. Neglect possible reections

=1.0607 and cos

. Take the indices of the layers be n

(uniaxial crystal) (5.29)

=0. When the light strikes the surface at an

for which the susceptibil-

are symmetric (i.e.

(appearing both above and below the

apart, as you might

. Place the quartz plate

prism is a good device for reecting a beam of light

, (c) 95%, (d) 79%.

= 1. (The asterisk represents

is the phase difference between

is real and non-negative, and we

is real and non-negative. However, if we dont bother doing

in (6.23) ensure that we get the correct

apart in the plane of the window. If the

, and determine its

, the Jones matrix for the quarter-wave plate (6.37) reduces to

directly in front of the detector

from the wave-plate

from the polarizer (see

have the same phase. Therefore, A