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Holography, Diffractive Optics, and Applications

Quantum analysis on the Talbot effect of two-dimensional grating

Xing Xu, Gaokun Huang, Sumei Zhou

Published Nov 7, 2018• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss some light diffraction phenomena with a simple quantum theory. Firstly, the wave function of the free particle in quantum mechanics is used to explain Fraunhofer diffraction of the light at a rectangular aperture, and the result is consistent with the Huygens-Fresnel principle. Secondly, probabilistic wave method is used to analyze the Talbot effect of a two-dimensional grating. The results show that the photons at the Talbot distance and incident photons are described by the same probability wave. Finally, Talbot effect is used to measure the wavelength of incident light.

DOI
10.1117/12.2500733

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In this paper, we discuss some light diffraction phenomena with a simple quantum theory. Firstly, the wave function of the free particle in quantum mechanics is used to explain Fraunhofer diffraction of the light at a rectangular aperture, and the result is consistent with the Huygens-Fresnel principle. Secondly, probabilistic wave method is used to analyze the Talbot effect of a two-dimensional grating. The results show that the photons at the Talbot distance and incident photons are described by the same probability wave. Finally, Talbot effect is used to measure the wavelength of incident light.
The characteristic of light is the wave and particle.From the perspective of probability wave in quantum mechanics,the thesis describes the wave function of microcosmic particle and derives the distributive law of light intensity of the single slit and multiple-slit fraunhofer diffraction by means of the probability wave.The result accords with that obtained through the Huygens-Fresnel Principle.This method could help students to understand the wave function concept and the statistical meaning of wave function in quantum mechanics and understand the essence of light.
Using the Fresnel–Kirchhoff integral, we express the state of the light that diffracts from an aperture to a point, by superposition of two or more waves. The amplitudes of the waves are determined by the distances of the point from the ray optics borders of the emerging beams. The interference approach to the Fresnel diffraction leads to a universal formulation of the normalized intensity distribution on the diffraction pattern that determines the state of the incident light, the parameters of the aperture, and its distance from the observation plane, uniquely. In the photon approach, according to the uncertainty principle, confining the position of a photon to an aperture changes the probable propagation direction of the photon in an interval that leads to the diffraction of the photon or light. Thus, the normalized intensity distribution on the diffraction pattern is the probability distribution of a photon. To this probability distribution, a probability amplitude distribution is associated that diffracts similar to a wave in Fresnel diffraction. Applying the introduced approach to the study of the diffraction, from different simple apertures and phase steps, we deduce general behaviors of the Fresnel diffraction and show it is involved in all aspects of light phenomena.
We demonstrate the quantum Talbot effect using a beam of single photons produced by parametric down conversion. In contrast to the previous works, we use a programmable spatial light modulator to behave as a diffraction grating. Thus, the investigation of the Talbot diffraction patterns under the variation of grating structure can be easily performed. The influence of spectral bandwidth of the down-converted photons on the diffraction pattern is also investigated. A theoretical model based on the wave nature of photons is presented to explain the Talbot diffraction patterns under varying conditions. The measured diffraction patterns are in good agreement with the theoretical prediction. We are convinced that our study improves the understanding of the quantum Talbot effect.
A theoretical model of diffraction based on quantum mechanics is presented. It provides a general expression of the quantum state of a particle after its passage through an aperture in an opaque plane (diaphragm). In this model, the diaphragm is considered as a measurement device not only of the transverse coordinates but also of the longitudinal coordinate of the particle. Moreover, the change of state from the initial state (incident wave) to the final state (diffracted wave) results from two successive projections involving a transitional state which corresponds to the state of the particle when it is localized inside the aperture. These features of the model results from the need to ensure compatibility with the Huygens-Fresnel principle and with the kinematics constraints of the particle-diaphragm interaction. In the case of the diffraction at infinity (Fraunhofer diffraction), the predictions of the quantum model and of the classical theories based on the integrals of Fresnel-Kirchhoff (FK) and Rayleigh-Sommerfeld (RS1 and RS2) are different. They are close at small diffraction angles but contradictory at large angles. In this latter region, only the quantum and RS1 models predict the probable decrease in the intensity of the diffracted wave to zero when the diffraction angle reaches 90{\deg}. However, this decrease is different according to the model and it turns out that the discrepancies become significant beyond 60{\deg}. A measurement of the intensity of the particle flow in this region should allow to test the two theories.
A well-known phenomenon in both optics and quantum mechanics is the so-called Talbot effect. This near field interference effect arises when infinitely periodic diffracting structures or gratings are illuminated by highly coherent light or particle beams. Typical diffraction patterns known as quantum carpets are then observed. Here the authors provide an insightful picture of this nonlocal phenomenon as well as its classical limit in terms of Bohmian mechanics, also showing the causal reasons and conditions that explain its appearance. As an illustration, theoretical results obtained from diffraction of thermal He atoms by both N-slit arrays and weak corrugated surfaces are analyzed and discussed. Moreover, the authors also explain in terms of what they call the Talbot-Beeby effect how realistic interaction potentials induce shifts and distortions in the corresponding quantum carpets.