Two identical diffraction gratings

  • Thread starter skrat
  • Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Diffraction
1 reply · 1K views · last reply
skrat
Messages
740
Reaction score
8

Homework Statement


We shine a laser light on two identical diffraction gratings as shown in picture.
Diagram of two identical diffraction gratings, one above the other, each made of rows of dark slits; the upper row has a period labelled 2a with a slit width labelled a, and the lower row is offset horizontally by a distance labelled x.

Calculate ##x##, if in Fraunhofer diffraction image the seventh peak is missing.

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution


No idea actually. I know how to do this with one diffraction grating.

For one grating all one has to do is compute a product of Fourier transformations of aperture function and sum of delta functions.
For one grating, the result is ##u_p=C\frac{\sin(k_xa)}{k_xa}\frac{\sin(k_xNa)}{\sin(k_xa)}##.

But I have no idea what to do with two diffraction gratings? Is it simply a product of both where one is shifted for ##x## ?
 
What would you take as:
- the separation of the gratings?
- the thickness of the gratings?
... try redrawing the diagram in a more realistic representation.

There is a clue in the description involving the Fraunhoffer diffraction image... why would there be a peak missing?