Interference 

in thin films   2010

Interference in thin
films
 

‐ 1 ‐  ARWA TALAL KUTBEE 
 
Interference in thin films   2010

Table of Contents 

Section Page
Table of contents ......................................................................................................2
Basic Experiments
Experiment 1: Air wedge........................................................... 3
Experiment 2: Newton's rings........................................................................ 5

‐ 2 ‐  ARWA TALAL KUTBEE 
 
Interference in thin films   2010

Experiment 1: Air wedge

 

EQUIPMENT NEEDED
–Travelling microscope.
– Piece of glass rapped
– Thin object
–Sodium(monochromatic light) lamp with known wave length .
–Glass plate..
–Stand.

PURPOSE
1)Illustrate the interference pattern produced from the air wedge and how it is formed.
2)Measure the thickness of the thin object using the interference fringes .

THEORY

Figure.1a Figure.1b

A thin film having zero thickness at one end and progressively increasing to a
particular thickness at the other end is called a wedge.
A thin wedge of air film can be formed by two glasses slides on each other at one
edge and separated by a thin spacer at the opposite edge.

The arrangement for observing interference of light in a wedge shaped film ( shown
in Fig.1a) . the wedge angle is usually very small and of the order of a degree. When
a parallel beam of monochromatic light illuminates the wedge from above .The rays 
reflected from the two bounding surfaces of the film are not parallel they appear to diverge 
from a point near the film .these rays  interfere constructively or destructively producing  
alternate bright and dark fringes  (see Fig.1b). 
 
When the light is incident on the wedge from above, it gets partly reflected from the glass‐
to‐air  boundary at the top of the air film . 
The other Part of the light is transmitted through the air film and gets reflected at the air‐to‐
glass boundary (as shown in fig.2 ). 
 

‐ 3 ‐  ARWA TALAL KUTBEE 
 
Interference in thin films   2010
The two rays BC and DE reflected from the top and 
the bottom of the air film have a varying path 
difference  along the length of the film due to 
variation of the film thickness. Because ray DE 
travels more distance than BC. 
 
 Also  ray DE undergoes a phase change of half 
wave length     occurs at the air to glass 
boundary due to reflection . 
The optical phase difference between the two rays 
BC and DE is given by : 
∆ 2 ⁄2 
                                                                                                                         Figure.2
Minima occurs when the phase difference is an odd multiple of  /2,the two waves arriving 
are 180  out of phase and give rise to destructive interference .Therefore ,the condition for 
dark fringes, or destructive interference is: 
1
Δ  
2
 2  
Because the film produced from air   n=1 
2  
The thickness of the spacer used to form the wedge shaped air film between the glass slides 
can be determined using a travelling microscope . 
 
λ
L    
2
d
(t )is thickness of the spacer.
(L) is the length of the glass piece.
(λ )is the wave length of the used monochromatic light (sodium) in vacum.
(d) is the thickness of the fringe.

Procedure :
1. Set the apparatus as shown in (fig.1.a)
2. Fix the cross hair to one of the parallel fringes produced ,take the readings of
the vernier at one of the dark fringes(d0)
3. And then take the reading again after counting 20 dark fringes from the
previous one(d21)
4. Calculate d using
5. Measure the length of the glass piece ,starting from the edge of the thin spacer
to the end of the plate (L).
6. Calculate the thickness of the plate using the following relation :

λ
L    
t 2
d

7.explain the shape of the fringes produced from the air wedge experiment?

‐ 4 ‐  ARWA TALAL KUTBEE 
 
Interference in thin films   2010

Experiment 2: Newton's rings

 

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

–Travelling microscope.
– Convex lens.
–Sodium(monochromatic light) lamp with known wave length .
–Glass plate.
–Spherometer.
–Stand.

PURPOSE
 
1)Explain the formation of Newton's rings .
2)Measure the wave length of the monochromatic light (Sodium).

THEORY

Figure.3a Figure.3b

Newton's rings are formed when a plano-convex lens of large radius of curvature is
placed on a plane glass sheet. The combination forms a thin circular air film of
variable thickness in all directions around the point of contact of the lens and the glass
plate at O.
If monochromatic light is allowed to fall normally (fig.3a)on the lens using the 45º
inclined glass plate, and the film is viewed in reflected light, interference fringes are
observed in the form of a series with concentric rings( fig.3b)

‐ 5 ‐  ARWA TALAL KUTBEE 
 
Interference in thin films   2010
when the light is incident on the plano-convex lens part of
the light incident on the system is reflected from glass-to-air
boundary (say at point D).The reminder of the light is
transmitted through the air film .it is again reflected from
the air-to-glass boundary (say from point J)
The two rays are (1 and 2 ) reflected from the top and
bottom of the air film interfere with each other to produce
darkness and brightness .

The condition For destructive interference is the same

obtained from the air wedge experiment

2t mλ Figure.4

To determine the wave length of the sodium light we use the following relation

r mλR
(r) is the radius of the fringe.
(m) is the order of the ring.
(R) is the radius of curvature of the plano convex lens.
(λ )is the wave length of the used monochromatic light (sodium) in vacum.

PROCEDURE
1. Turn on the sodium lamp and Adjust the apparatus so we have a parallel light
falling in the lens and the rings are seen clearly in the eyepiece of the
travelling microscope .
2. Fix the cross hair to the center ring and then move it to the L.H.S until you
reach the 8th dark fringe, take the reading of all the dark fringes until you reach
the other end of the 8th fringe from the R.H.S.
3. Calculate the radius of each ring r
| . . . . |

The readings should be obtained as the following:

m L.H.S R.H.S
(mm) (mm)

4. Use the spherometer to measure the radius of curvature of the lens R.

 
2 2

( h) the distance that the central leg has been moved from the readings on the
vertical scale (millimeter) and the circular scale (1/100 millimeter)

l) the distance between the central leg and the other three legs

‐ 6 ‐  ARWA TALAL KUTBEE 
 
Interference in thin films   2010

5. Plot the relation between r (y-axis) and m (x-axis).

6. Calculate from the plot
7. Calculate the wave length
 

8.explain the shape of the fringes produced from the Newton's rings experiment and
describe its properties .

‐ 7 ‐  ARWA TALAL KUTBEE