Nicholas Byrnes

Optics 3445

4/7/2017

Lab 6 and 7:

The Michelson Interferometer and

Coherence and Lasers

Introduction and Theory:

The purpose of the first of these two labs is to build a Michelson Interferometer and

observe the effects of heat, motion, and time on the resultant fringe patterns that occur as a result.

The purpose of the second lab is to observe and determine the frequency separation

between the axial modes of a laser.

The purpose of setting up the Michelson interferometer is to determine quantifiably the

amount of aberration present in the test mirror being used (W), and to observe that effects such

as motion, heat, optical path length, and time can have as well in terms of total image aberration.

This is represented by the formula

(𝐹𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑆ℎ𝑖𝑓𝑡)
𝑊=
2

The factor of ½ arises from the use of two mirrors, effectively doubling the total

aberration, and the final aberration is represented in terms of the wavelength of the laser used

(633nm).
 Once the interferometer is set up, by observing the fringes produced by aberration in the

Interferometer, one can determine the difference in axial modes produced by a laser. This is done

by repositioning the reference mirror and noting when the Fringes are at a maximum and a

minimum width. When the fringes complete one period of maximum and minimum width, that

distance is used as ΔL in the following equations. In the case of this lab, the He-Ne laser has

three axial modes separated in frequency by

𝑐
∆𝑓 =
2𝐿

where Δf is the difference in axial modes of the laser, c is the speed of light and L is the distance

between mirrors in the Laser Assembly

This Equation can be taken further by use of the following equations:

𝑐 𝜆𝑓
∆𝑓 = =
2𝐿 4∆𝐿

where ΔL is the change in distance between the beam splitter and the reference mirror, and f is

the characteristic frequency of the laser being used, in this case, 4.74 x 1014 s-1
Apparatus:
 Data:
Table 1: The amount of Fringe Shift, the number of Interferometer mirrors, and the calculated
Aberration still in units of mm for setting up the Michelson Interferometer in Lab 6.
Fringe Shift (mm) Number of mirrors in Aberration (mm)
Interferometer
2 2 1

Table 2: The relative position of the reference mirror (ΔL), and whether the fringes are at a
minimum or a maximum contrast for Lab 7.
Relative Position of the Reference Mirror (in) Minimum or Maximum

5.25 Minimum
6.25 Maximum
7.25 Minimum
8.25 Maximum

Graphs and Analysis:

Lab 6:

 Aberration in units of He-Ne Laser wavelength-

(𝐹𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑆ℎ𝑖𝑓𝑡) 2𝑚𝑚

𝑊= = = 1𝑚𝑚
2 2

1𝑚
𝑊= 𝑚 = 1.58 × 103 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ𝑠
6.33 × 10−7
𝜆

Aberration of the Reference mirror is about 1580 wavelengths of the He-Ne laser
 Images of fringe patterns with various external changes resulting in fringe shifts:

A. Fringe Pattern Observable by C. Pattern Formed by heat introduced

Michelson Interferometer by finger

D. Pattern Formed by Heat introduced

by lighter
B. Bull’s Eye pattern formed by
adjusting the second Beam Expander
lens.
Lab 7:

 Calculations determining the axial mode frequency differences in the He-Ne laser and
towards determining the length between the mirrors in the Laser Assembly

𝑐 𝜆𝑓
∆𝑓 = =
2𝐿 4∆𝐿

𝑚
3 × 108
∆𝑓 = 𝑠 9 −1
𝑚 𝑐𝑚 = 2.95 × 10 𝑠
4 (1 𝑖𝑛 × .01 𝑐𝑚 × 2.54 𝑖𝑛 )

𝑚
𝑐 3 × 108 𝑠
𝐿= = = .0508𝑚 = 2𝑖𝑛
2∆𝑓 2 × (2.95 × 109 𝑠 −1 )

The difference in frequency between the axial modes of the

He-Ne laser is 2.95 × 109 𝑠 −1 and the distance between the mirrors in the LA is about 2 inches.

Conclusion:

Both Experiment 6 and Experiment 7 were successful. For Lab 6, a Michelson

Interferometer was successfully constructed and the aberration of the mirror found, and given the

scale we were working, the result does not seem particularly far off. Unfortunately, no textbook

data exists to confirm this, given our specific materials. The effects of heat and motion on the

experimental setup also were clear, with even slight variations in temperature and location

producing clear differences in the fringe pattern formed.

For the second lab, the results of the experiment fall well within the acceptable range

possible for the distance between the two mirrors in the Laser Assembly, as a 2-inch gap
between the mirrors could easily fit into the LA. The variation in period between the axial modes

of the laser is also extremely small, which fits well with the concept that there are only small

differences in frequency between the modes.

If were to repeat the experiments, I would try to be more accurate with determining the

minimums and maximums of the fringe contrast, as well as trying to get an even larger radius for

the fringes by adjusting the beam expander further. Beyond these technical Improvements, I can

think of very little to improve the efficacy of this lab.