LAB MANUAL for BS PH 191

DETERMINATION OF THE WAVELENGTH OF He-Ne LASER BY

STUDYING THE DIFFRACTION OF MONOCHROMATIC LIGHT BY
PLANE TRANSMISSION GRATING

Haldia Institute of Technology, Haldia

 Physics -1 Laboratory Manual (BS PH-191 / BS PH – 291), Haldia Institute of Technology

DETERMINATION OF THE WAVELENGTH OF He-Ne LASER BY

STUDYING THE DIFFRACTION OF MONOCHROMATIC LIGHT BY
PLANE TRANSMISSION GRATING

I. Objective:
To determine the wavelength of He-Ne Laser by studying the diffraction of monochromatic light
by plane transmission grating.
II. Apparatus:
1. Meter Scale
2. He-Ne Laser
3. Plane transmission Grating
4. Optical Bench

III. Theory:
When a wavefront is incident on a grating surface, light is transmitted through the slits and
obstructed by the opaque portions. The secondary waves from the positions of the slit interfere with one
another similar to the interference of waves in Young’s experiment. If the spacing between the lines is
of the order of the wavelength of light then an appreciable deviation of the light is produced.
We consider a grating of N slits per centimeter having clear space of width ‘a’ each are
separated by opaque space ‘b’ placed on the optical bench. A parallel beam of laser incident on it at an
angle i with the normal to the grating surface. Superposition of secondary waves coming from the clear
space of grating will give diffraction pattern on the screen.

Fig.1: Fraunhofer diffraction from a grating of grating element d = a + b

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 Physics -1 Laboratory Manual (BS PH-191 / BS PH – 291), Haldia Institute of Technology

Fig.2: Schematic diagram of LASER diffraction from grating

Fig.3: Intensity distribution pattern for diffraction pattern from grating.

The intensity distribution pattern of grating is shown in fig 3 and the condition of diffraction maxima
is given by
𝒅(𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒊 ± 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽) = 𝒏𝝀 …………………………………(1)
Where θ is the angle of diffraction of the nth order maxima, λ is the wavelength of monochromatic light.

For normal incidence

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 Physics -1 Laboratory Manual (BS PH-191 / BS PH – 291), Haldia Institute of Technology

𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝜽 = 𝒏𝝀………………………….…………….(2)
If the angle of diffraction is very small, of the order of few degrees, then from Fig. 2

𝑿𝒏 𝜽𝟑
𝜽𝒏 = and 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 = 𝜽 −
𝑫 𝟑!

Where Xn is the distance of nth order principal maxima from central maxima and D is the distance of the
screen from the grating.

𝒅 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 𝒅 𝜽𝟑 𝒅 𝑿𝒏 𝑿𝟑𝒏 𝒅𝑿𝒏 𝑿𝟐𝒏

𝝀= = (𝜽 − ) = ( − ) = (𝟏 − )
𝒏 𝒏 𝟑! 𝒏 𝑫 𝟔𝑫𝟑 𝒏𝑫 𝟔𝑫𝟐

And hence,

𝑿𝒏 𝑿𝟐
𝝀= (𝟏 − 𝒏𝟐 )……………………..…….(3)
𝒏𝑵𝑫 𝟔𝑫

Here N=1/d, number of rulings per centimeter of grating and equation (3) is the working formula for
this experiment.

IV. Experimental Procedure:

1. Mount the grating with its plane vertical and set it for normal incidence.
2. Make sure that the laser beam is incident normal to the plane of grating. [If it is not normal, distance
of a certain order principal maxima from the central maxima will be different on both sides]
3. Obtain the diffraction grating maximum spot (i.e. principal maxima) on the screen of the wall and
mark them.
4. Measure Xn and D by meter scale.

5. Calculate the value of for each order on both sides and obtain the mean value.

6. Repeat it for another D value.

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 Physics -1 Laboratory Manual (BS PH-191 / BS PH – 291), Haldia Institute of Technology

V. Experimental Observation:
Table-1 Observation data of Xn and D to calculate λ
No of rulings per cm (N) =2500 lines/inch = 2500/2.54 lines/ cm
Least count of the meter scale used = ……………………………….
Sl. Distance Order of Distance of nth diffraction Wavelength Mean
No between diffraction maxima from central maxima λ (cm) wavelength λ
grating and maxima (n) (cm) (cm)
screen (D) Left side Right side Mean
(cm)
1
2
3 D1 =
4
5
1
2 D2 =
3
4
5

VI. Graph plotting:

Plot a graph of Xn (along Y axis) vs. n (along X axis) for both D1 and D2. Draw the straight lines and
extrapolate them (i.e. extend the lines beyond observed points).

Fig.4: Plot for Xn (along Y axis) vs. n (along X axis).

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 Physics -1 Laboratory Manual (BS PH-191 / BS PH – 291), Haldia Institute of Technology

VII. Calculation of λ from graph:

From the graph, find out the value of Xn for an unobserved order no. (must be integer) and calculate
λ using the working formula for both values of D.

From graph,

For D1 = ….. cm, Xn = …… cm for n = ….. Hence λ = ……. cm

For D2 = ….. cm, Xn = …… cm for n = ….. Hence λ = ……. cm

Mean λ = ……. cm

VIII. Result:
From the study of diffraction of monochromatic light beam by plane transmission grating we obtain the
wavelength of He-Ne laser and it is…….. cm = ……….Ǻ
IX. Error calculation:
Working formula is
𝑿𝒏 𝑿𝟐𝒏
𝝀= (𝟏 − )
𝒏𝑵𝑫 𝟔𝑫𝟐
Here, the maximum proportional error is introduced due to third power of Xn and D
Hence

𝝀 𝟑𝑿𝒏 𝟑 𝑫
= + ……………………………….……….(4)
𝝀 𝑿𝒏 𝑫

Where Xn = 2 × minimum length measurable by meter scale = 2×0.1 cm = 0.2 cm

And D = 2 × minimum length measurable by meter scale = 2×0.1 cm = 0.2 cm
[The factor 2 comes as we are measuring length using both ends of the scale]
𝝀 𝟑𝑿𝒏 𝟑 𝑫
Maximum percentage error, × 𝟏𝟎𝟎% = ( + ) × 𝟏𝟎𝟎 %
𝝀 𝑿𝒏 𝑫

X. Precautions and Discussions:

(i) LASER is dangerous, so it should be careful that LASER must not fall into eye.
(ii) Diffraction pattern should be symmetrical.
(iii) Alignment of the grating should be checked. The grating should be parallel to the screen,
perpendicular to the LASER beam and the lines formed by diffraction points should be
horizontal.

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 Physics -1 Laboratory Manual (BS PH-191 / BS PH – 291), Haldia Institute of Technology

Model Viva Questions

1. What is diffraction?
2. In this experiment, how does diffraction occur?
3. What is a plane transmission diffraction grating?
4. What is a reflection grating?
5. Distinguish between Fresnel and Fraunhofer diffraction.
6. In present experiment what kind of diffraction occurs and how?
7. How are commercial gratings made?
8. Define grating element.
9. What is the effect of increasing the number of lines per cm on the grating?
10. What do you understand by the angular dispersive power of the grating?
11. How does the angular dispersive power of the grating vary with
a. the order number n of the spectrum,
b. the grating element or the number of lines per cm in the grating, and
c. the wavelength λ?
12. What will happen if the grating is illuminated with white light?
13. What is the full form of laser?
14. How laser light is different from the ordinary light?
15. What do you mean by population inversion, pumping and metastable state.
16. How does He-Ne laser work?
17. What will happen if the rulings of the grating are not parallel and the distance between two
consecutive rulings is not constant?