Thin film interference and air gap of variable thickness
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** Please see the attached file for the complete problem description **
Say you saw the following interference pattern due to air between two glass slides:
(please see the attached file)
a) What can you say about the thickness of the air gap across the slide? Is it uniform? What does it mean if there isn't any color (e.g., over their finger near the top right of the image)? What does it mean if there are lots of lines? Etc.
b) What is the requirement on the thickness of the film for constructive interference in this case? Consider the relative indices of refraction involved?
c) How can you determine the thickness of the air gap at a particular location? Derive an equation to use in the lab. Be explicit about your assumptions. Don't assume normal incidence.
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This solution provides a tutorial on how to solve the given optics questions.
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Understanding Interference From a Thin Air Gap
A very interesting problem. This type of problem is a classic example of how modern optics is applied in real situations. As in all cases of interference, whether the interference is constructive or destructive depends on the following:
1. The difference in the optical path length of two interfering light rays
2. The wavelength of the light
In the case of a thin air gap (or a thin film) the two rays that are interacting are the ray that is reflected from the bottom of the gap, and the ray that is reflected from the top of the gap. See the image below
(from ...
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