Abstract
An analysis of Young’s interference experiment for single cycle pulses showing the time evolution of the interference pattern due to two square apertures is obtained in the Fresnel regime. The fact that the diffraction pattern from each aperture is not constant in time has consequences on the interference pattern. We have also analyzed the changes in the spectrum at different regions at the observation plane. This position-dependent spectrum results in frequency beating of the interference pattern for the case of two apertures.
Highlights
During the past decade, the technology of ultrashort pulse lasers has been rapidly developed and many applications of ultrashort pulses in areas such as communications, spectroscopy, chemistry, and microscopy are found
In the first part of this paper, we introduce the calculation of the diffraction pattern for a square aperture using the Fresnel expression
We show the profile and the spectrum of the diffraction pattern through a square aperture as a function time using as an example pulses in terahertz regime
Summary
The technology of ultrashort pulse lasers has been rapidly developed and many applications of ultrashort pulses in areas such as communications, spectroscopy, chemistry, and microscopy are found. The diffraction pattern for continuous-wave illumination can be calculated using the Fresnel diffraction theory that describes the light propagation in the free space. [1], the diffraction of ultrashort pulses evolves in time and the diffraction pattern is very different from the one corresponding continuous-wave illumination. This effect is the consequence of the difference in propagation time of wavelets that originate from different points of the aperture to a point at the observation plane as a function of the wavelength. In this article we analyze the evolution in time of the diffraction pattern of an ultrashort pulse through two square apertures in the Fresnel regime. The time evolution of the interference pattern as well as the spectrum of the Young’s interference fringes is shown
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