Undergraduate experiment with fractal diffraction gratings

We present a simple diffraction experiment with fractal gratings based on the triadic Cantor set. Diffraction by fractals is proposed as a motivating strategy for students of optics in the potential applications of optical processing. Fraunhofer diffraction patterns are obtained using standard equip...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of physics 2011-05, Vol.32 (3), p.687-694
Main Authors: Monsoriu, Juan A, Furlan, Walter D, Pons, Amparo, Barreiro, Juan C, Giménez, Marcos H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College Science
Communication, education, history, and philosophy
Exact sciences and technology
General physics
Geometric Concepts
Optics
Physics
Physics literature and publications
Science Experiments
Science Instruction
Science Laboratories
Surveys and tutorial papers, resource letters
Undergraduate Students
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Summary:We present a simple diffraction experiment with fractal gratings based on the triadic Cantor set. Diffraction by fractals is proposed as a motivating strategy for students of optics in the potential applications of optical processing. Fraunhofer diffraction patterns are obtained using standard equipment present in most undergraduate physics laboratories and compared with those obtained with conventional periodic gratings. It is shown that fractal gratings produce self-similar diffraction patterns which can be evaluated analytically. Good agreement is obtained between experimental and numerical results. (Contains 4 footnotes, 1 table, and 6 figures.)
ISSN:0143-0807
1361-6404
DOI:10.1088/0143-0807/32/3/005