ECE 6104: QUANTUM

OPTICS FOR ENGINEERS

Lecture #2
 MAXWELL’S EQUATIONS AND
THE WAVE EQUATION
𝟐
𝜵. 𝓓 = 𝝆 𝟐
𝟏 𝝏 𝒖
𝜵 𝒖− 𝟐 𝟐 =𝟎
𝒗 𝝏𝒕
𝜵. 𝓑 = 𝟎
𝒗= 𝒄
𝒏 , 𝒏 = 𝝐𝒓
𝝏𝓑 where, 𝒏 denotes the
𝜵×ℇ=− refractive index of the
𝝏𝒕
medium, and

𝝏𝓓 𝒄 = 𝟐. 𝟗𝟗𝟖 × 𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒎𝒔−𝟏

𝜵×𝓗=𝓳+
𝝏𝒕
 MONOCHROMATIC WAVES

• A monochromatic wave is represented by a wavefunction with

harmonic time-dependence:
𝑢 𝑟, 𝑡 = 𝑎 𝑟 cos 2𝜋𝜈𝑡 + 𝜑 𝑟
𝑎 𝑟 = amplitude
𝜑 𝑟 = phase
𝜐 = frequency
T = 1 𝜈 = time period
 THE PLANE WAVE

• If the z-axis is taken along the wavevector 𝑘, then 𝑈 𝑟 =

𝐴𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝑧 and the corresponding real wavefunction:

𝑢 𝑟, 𝑡 = |𝐴| cos 2𝜋𝜈 𝑡 − 𝑧 𝑐 + 𝑎𝑟𝑔 𝐴

𝑧 = 0 ⇒ 𝑢 𝑟, 𝑡 = |𝐴| cos 2𝜋𝜈𝑡 + 𝑎𝑟𝑔 𝐴 𝑇=1 𝜈

𝑡 = 0 ⇒ 𝑢 𝑟, 𝑡 = |𝐴| cos 𝑘𝑧 − 𝑎𝑟𝑔 𝐴 𝑇 = 2𝜋 𝑘

 TEM PLANE WAVES

 Consider a wave of angular frequency 𝝎 propagating in the z-direction, with the

electric field oriented along the x-axis.
(TEM Plane Wave)
 With ℰ𝑦 = ℰ𝑧 = ℬ𝑥 = 𝐵𝑧 = 0, Maxwell’s
equations yield:

𝜕ℰ𝑥 𝜕ℬ𝑦
=−
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑡
𝜕ℬ𝑦 𝜕ℰ𝑥
− = 𝜇0 𝜖0 𝜖𝑟 Poynting flux: 𝑰 = 𝓔 × 𝓗
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑡
 Solutions: ℰ𝑥 𝑧, 𝑡 = ℰ𝑥0 cos 𝑘𝑧 − 𝜔𝑡 + 𝜑 , ℬ𝑦 𝑧, 𝑡 = ℬ𝑦0 cos 𝑘𝑧 − 𝜔𝑡 + 𝜑
where, ℰ𝑥0 , ℬ𝑦0 are the amplitudes of the electric and magnetic fields
respectively, 𝜑 is the optical phase, and 𝑘 is the wavenumber given by:
𝑘 = 𝑛𝜔 𝑐
𝜇0
 ℋ𝑦0 = ℰ𝑥0 𝑍, where, 𝑍 = (≈ 377Ω in free space) is the wave impedance.
𝜖0 𝜖𝑟
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
THE SPHERICAL WAVE
 POLARIZATION OF LIGHT

Linear

Circular

Elliptical
 DEVICES BASED ON THE
POLARIZATION OF LIGHT
 Birefringent Devices separate arbitrarily polarized
beams into 2 orthogonally-polarized beams known as
the ordinary (o) and extraordinary (e) rays.
 Each of these rays experiences a different index of
refraction, typically denoted 𝑛𝑜 and 𝑛𝑒 , or 𝑛∥ and 𝑛⊥
relative to the optical axis (OA) of the device.
 This index-difference is converted
to a phase-change:

 A polarizing beam splitter (PBS) has the

property of splitting the input intensity into
vertical and horizontal components:
𝐼𝑉 = 𝐼0 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝜃
𝐼𝐻 = 𝐼0 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝜃
where, 𝜃 is the angle of the input
polarization w.r.t the vertical axis.
 POLARIZATION BY
REFLECTION & SCATTERING
 INTERFERENCE

• Principle of Superposition: When two or

more optical waves are simultaneously
present in the same region of space at the
same time, the total wavefunction is the sum
of the individual wavefunctions.
• For monochromatic waves, the
superposition carries over to complex
amplitudes (linearity of Helmholtz equation).
• The superposition principle does not apply
to optical intensities, since the intensity of
two or more waves is not necessarily the
sum of their individual intensities.
• The phenomenon of interference cannot be
explained on the basis of Ray Optics, since
it is dependent on the phase-relationship
between the interfering waves.
TWO-BEAM INTERFERENCE
 TWO-BEAM INTERFERENCE

• If 𝐼1 = 𝐼2 = 𝐼0 , 𝐼 = 2𝐼0 1 + 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜑 = 4𝐼0 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝜑 2

- For 𝜑 = 0, 𝐼 = 4𝐼0 (Constructive Interference)

- For 𝜑 = ±𝜋, 𝐼 = 0 (Destructive Interference)

𝜋 𝑜𝑟 3𝜋 , 𝐼 = 2𝐼0
- For 𝜑 = 2 2
• The strong dependence of the intensity 𝐼 on the phase-
difference 𝜑 permits the measurement of phase-differences
by measuring light intensities. This principle is used in
numerous optical systems.
• Interference is not observed under ordinary lighting
conditions, because the random fluctuations in phases
causes the phase-difference to assume random values, and
the interference term “washes-out”.
INTERFEROMETRY

Fourier
Transform
Interferometer
TWO-BEAM INTERFERENCE
 THE MICHELSON
INTERFEROMETER
DIFFRACTION
DIFFRACTION
FAR-FIELD (FRAUNHOFER)
DIFFRACTION
FAR-FIELD DIFFRACTION AND
ANGULAR RESOLUTION
FAR-FIELD DIFFRACTION AND
ANGULAR RESOLUTION