Optoelectronics

Arkady Major
ECE 4580, Lecture 2
 Lecture Plan
Basic properties of light

• History
• Definition of a wave
• Polarization
• Phase and group velocity
• Refractive index
• Interference
• Diffraction, diffraction grating
 History
Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727)

Lights is a stream of fast moving particles called corpuscles.

They:
• can be blocked by opaque objects
• follow laws of mechanics upon reflection
• come in different colors (prism experiment)

Failed to explain:
• Diffraction
• Polarization

Newton rejected the wave theory of light – waves cannot

propagate straight along a line!
 History
Christian Huygens (1629 – 1695)
Light is a wavelike disturbance (longitudinal) transmitted through
the hypothetical medium called ether.
• formulated Huygen’s principle
• discovered polarization

Thomas Young (1773-1829)

• double-slit interference experiment
• light is a transverse wave

Wave theory failed to explain:

• Black body radiation
• Photoelectric effect
 History
James Clerk Maxwell (1831 – 1879)
In 1864 Maxwell combined the equations of electricity and
magnetism. They suggested the existence of transverse
electromagnetic waves.

The predicted speed of propagation of these waves was found

to be equal to the speed of light (c = 3 x 108 m/s).

Maxwell therefore proposed that light was a transverse

electromagnetic wave.
 History
Max Planck (1858 – 1947)
Lights occurs in discrete chunks of energy, called quanta (1900).

E  h h = 6.63 x 10-34 Js (Planck’s constant)

ν (or f) – frequency of light in Hz

Based on this assumption, in 1905 Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

explained photoelectric effect.

In 1913 Niels Bohr (1885 - 1962) used this concept again to explain
emission and absorption processes of the hydrogen atom.

The name photon was suggested by chemist Gilbert Lewis in 1926.

 Wave-Particle Duality

Light behaves like waves in its propagation and in

the phenomena such as interference and
diffraction.

However, it exhibits particle-like behavior when

exchanging energy with matter as in the
photoelectric effect.
 Types of Waves
Longitudinal: oscillatory movement in the direction of propagation
(e.g. sound waves)

Transverse: oscillatory motion is perpendicular to the direction of

propagation (e.g. waves on the water)
A

time
 Types of Waves
Longitudinal: oscillatory movement in the direction of propagation
(e.g. sound waves)

Transverse: oscillatory motion is perpendicular to the direction of

propagation (e.g. waves on the water)

http://paws.kettering.edu/~drussell/Demos/waves/wavemotion.html
 Electromagnetic Wave

inms-ienm.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

Light is a transverse electromagnetic wave

 Polarization
Head on propagation

Ex E E

Linear polarization: Circular polarization: Elliptical polarization:

E oscillates in the same E has a constant E changes amplitude as
plane amplitude and rotates it rotates
 Period and Frequency
T
A v

time

Frequency Wavelength

f = 1/T   velocity  T

T – period (s)  – wavelength (m)

f – frequency (Hz) v – velocity (m/s)
 Period and Frequency
Example: Krypton 80 gas

f = 4.948865 x 1014 Hz
T = 1/f = 0.2020665 x 10-14 s

Velocity of light c = 3 x 108 m/s

 = cT = 0.6061995 x 10-6 m
 = 606 nm (orange-yellow)

Number of wavelengths in 1 m:

N = 1/ = 1.649621947 x 106

Electromagnetic Spectrum

www.yorku.ca/eye
 Phase Velocity

Infinite E vp
wave E0

phase
E  E0 cos(t  kz)
  2f angular frequency (rad)
k = 2/ wavenumber

This is a plane wave traveling in the z direction. Planes of constant

phase are perpendicular to the direction of propagation.

(t – kz) = k(t/k – z) This plane moves at phase velocity vp

vp = /k = f
 Group Velocity
 + 

 – 

Emax Emax k


Wave pac ket 

Tw o slightly different w avelength w aves travelling in the same

direction result in a w ave packet that has an amplitude variation
w hich travels at the group veloc ity.
© 1999 S.O. K asap,Optoelectronics(P rentice H all)

en.wikipedia.org
d
Wave packet travels with group velocity vg =
dk
 Index of Refraction
In a medium, the atoms interact with the light and the phase
velocity of the wave is changed to:
c 
vp =  k0 = 2/0
n nk0 0 – vacuum wavelength

In a medium, the effect of a refractive index is to slow down the

wave and to decrease its wavelength to  = 0/n

The same is valid and for group velocity, where Ng is a group

index of a medium:
d c
vg = 
dk N g

dn
Ng  n  
d
 Dispersive Medium
In general, refractive index n, and hence Ng, depend on wavelength.
Such medium is called dispersive. Therefore, both phase and group
velocities depend on the dispersive properties (n vs wavelength) of
material.
1.49
Ng is independent
1.48 on wavelength
around 1300 nm
1.47 Ng

1.46
n
1.45

1.44
500 700 900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900
Wavelength (nm)

Refractive index n and the group index Ng of pure

SiO 2 (silica) glass as a function of wavelength.
© 1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (Prentice Hall)
 Dispersive Medium
Example: Consider a light wave traveling in a pure silica (SiO2) glass.
What is the phase velocity vp, group index Ng and group velocity vg at a
wavelength of 1 µm? Refractive index at this wavelength is 1.45.

c 3 108 m / s
vp    2.069 108 m / s
n 1.45

From previous slide: Ng = 1.463 at 1 µm wavelength

c 3 108 m / s
vg    2.051108 m / s
Ng 1.463
 Interference
Interference is an interaction (superposition) of two or more waves.

Constructive Destructive
(waves are in phase) (waves are out of phase)

+ +
=

=
 Huygen’s Principle
Incident plane wave
A secon dary
wave so urce

An oth er ne w
wa vefront (diff ract ed)
Ne w
wa vefront  z

(a) (b)

(a) Huygens-Fresnel principles states that each point in the aperture becomes a source of
secondary waves (spherical waves ). The s pherical wavefronts are separated by . The new
wavefront is the envelope of the all these s pherical wavefronts . (b) Another possible
wavefront occurs at an angle  to the z-direction which is a diffracted wave.

© 1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (P rentice Hall)

 Diffraction
Diffraction is a deviation of light from rectilinear propagation


a

r1 – r2 = 

Diffraction pattern:
2
 sin(  )  ka
I ( )  I (0)    I ( 0)sinc 2
( ) where  sin( )
   2
physics.ucsc.edu
 Diffraction
Rectangular slit

b
a

The rectangular aperture of dimensions a  b on the left

gives the diffraction pattern on the right.

© 1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (Prentice Hall)

Positions of zero intensity spots (m - integer):

m
sin( ) 
D
 Diffraction
Circular aperture
Light intensity pattern

Airy pattern
Diffracted beam (not a sinc(x) function anymore)

(named after English astronomer

Incident light w ave
George Airy, 1801-1892)

Circular aperture

A light beam incident on a small circular apert ure becomes diffracted and its light
intensit y pat tern after passing through the aperture is a diffract ion pat tern wit h circular
bright rings (called Airy rings). If t he screen is far away from the apert ure, t his would be a
Fraunhofer diffraction pattern.
© 1999 S.O. K asap,Optoelectronics(P rentice H all)


Position of the first minimum (dark ring) sin( )  1.22
D
 Resolution of Imaging Systems
y

S1 A2
S1

 s 

S2 S2
A1 L
I
Screen

Resolution of imaging systems is limited by diffraction effects. As points S1 and S2

get closer, eventually the Airy disks overlap so much that the resolution is lost.
© 1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (Prentice Hall)

Position of the first minimum (dark ring)


sin( )  1.22
D
 Resolution of Imaging Systems
Example: The human eye has a pupil of about 2 mm. What is the minimum
angular separation of two points under a green light 550 nm illumination?
What is their separation if they are placed 30 cm from the eye?
n(water) = 1.33

 550 109 m
sin( min )  1.22  1.22
nD 1.33  2 103 m

 min  0.0145

s  2L tan( min / 2)

s =76 µm
 Diffraction Grating
y

One possible Single slit

y diffracted beam diffraction
envelope
Incident
light wave a
m=2 Second-order

m=1 First-order
d sin( )  m m=0 Zero-order
Diffraction or Bragg m = -1 First-order
d
condition  m = -2 Second-order
z
dsin

Diffraction grating
Intensity

(a) (b )

(a) A diffraction grating with N slits in an opaque scree. (b) The diffracted light
pattern. There are distinct beams in certain directions (schematic)
© 1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (Prentice Hall)

Single slit diffraction maximum (function sinc(x)) coincides with the zeroth
order of interference, for which there is no dispersion (m = 0).
physics.ucsc.edu
 Diffraction Grating
Normal to
Normal to grating plane
face

First order


 d

Blazed (echelette) grating.

© 1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (Prentice Hall)

Blazing of a grating allows to shift this diffraction maximum (function

sinc(x)) away from the zeroth-order to coincide with any other higher order
of interference (usually for m = 1). Higher orders depend on wavelength,
i.e. they contain spatially separated wavelengths.
 Summary
• Light is an electromagnetic wave
• It has quantized energy, photons, and exhibits
wave-like and particle-like behavior
• Light can travel with phase and group velocities
which depend on dispersive properties of medium
• Superposition of two or more waves is called
interference. The outcome depends on phase
• Light can bend around obstacles, i.e. diffract
• Diffraction limits resolution of optical systems
• Diffraction on a periodic series of slits (grating) can
be used to separate in space different wavelengths
Next Lecture

Lecture 3

Human eye
Image formation
Temporal response
Spectral sensitivity