Bondoc, Kristopher Jayson C.

15 March 2013
CH 48 B Instructor: Ronald Reyes

Experiment: Optical Transforms

Derived Data
Diffraction Grating Pattern Pattern of Diffraction Morphology of the Grating

Grating A: 2 by 2 pixel
square

Grating B: 3 by 3 pixel
square

Grating C: monoclinic, 2
by 4 pixel with ~63 deg
angle

Grating D: hexagonal
array, equivalent to
5.28 by 5.28 pixel with
60 deg angle (actual
size is 22 by 22 pixels in
a 300 in-1 grid

Reference: Lisensky, G. C. etal. The Optical Transform: Simulating Diffraction Experiments in Introductory
Courses.1991.
 Grating E: centered 2 by
2 pixel square

Grating F: 3 by 3 square
with two different spot
size

Grating G: 2 by 4 pixel
rectangle

Grating H: 4 by 5 pixel
rectangle with glide

Reference: Lisensky, G. C. etal. The Optical Transform: Simulating Diffraction Experiments in Introductory
Courses.1991.
Results and Discussion

Optical transforms is a technique wherein diffraction experiments can be simulated using 2D diffraction
gratings. In this technique, a slide (the diffraction grating) is placed in front of a monochromatic source of
light where the diffraction is simulated and the pattern of diffraction is noted and correlated to the
diffraction grating used.

By using optical transforms slides, one can study diffraction patterns and in turn, study the characteristic
patterns in crystal lattices. Since one cannot simply do x-ray diffraction because of its complexity, optical
transforms serves to be a good alternative in simulating a diffraction experiment because of its simplified
approach.

In optical transforms, Fraunhofer diffraction can be demonstrated instead of Bragg diffraction. The
difference between the two is shown below:

Fraunhofer diffraction is observable when using 2D diffraction

grating because the electromagnetic wave only encounters a
single array of points since the incident wave is perpendicular to
the diffraction grating. Meanwhile, Braggs diffraction is observable
when using 3D diffraction grating such as crystals because the
electromagnetic wave encounters points of diffraction at all three
dimensions. So, optical transforms can be useful for surface
analysis because of its 2D nature, while for 3D analysis, one can
study the actual crystallographic characteristics of a crystal
because in 3D, one can have a survey of all the atoms concerned.

For the obtained diffraction patterns, their relationship with their diffraction gratings can be characterized.
For Gratings A and B, one can see the similarity of the patterns: both gratings are an array of pixels
arranged in the same manner. Hence, it can be said that the diffraction patterns for both gratings should
be the same. However, it must be noted that even though they have same pattern, the pixels are more
diffused in Grating B. Because of this, Grating B produced a diffraction pattern with brighter spots than
Grating A because Grating B has wider spaces which can let more light to pass through.

For simple patterns like Gratings A-E and G, diffraction patterns are relatively easier to predict as compared
to those diffraction patterns produced by Gratings F and H. Since all gratings operate at Fraunhofer
diffraction, it is practical to assume that their diffraction patterns will more or less be similar to the pattern
on the grating. However, this is not true anymore for Gratings F and H. For their diffraction patterns, dots
can be observed instead of the patterns themselves because of interference. In diffraction, waves interact
with each other as they emerge from points of diffraction. If waves coincide, they reinforce each other and
hence, addition of waves happen and this wave can travel and form the observed pattern. This
phenomenon of interference is true for other gratings.

Conclusions

Optical transforms can serve as a useful tool in visualizing diffraction patterns in 2D. Depending on the
pattern of the grating, one can produce a grating’s characteristic diffraction pattern. However, if
visualization is done by taking a picture of the diffraction pattern using a camera, one should be careful not
to commit parallax errors especially when a quantitative method will be used for further analysis.

Reference: Lisensky, G. C. etal. The Optical Transform: Simulating Diffraction Experiments in Introductory
Courses.1991.