Optics

 simulations  with  Python:  Diffraction  

 
Ahmed  Ammar*a,  Ritambhar  Burmanb,  Hassen  Ghalilaa,  Zohra  BenLakhdhara,  L.Srinivasa  
Varadharajanc  ,  Souad  Lahmara  and  Vasudevan  Lakshminarayanand  
a
LSAMA laboratory, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University Tunis ElManar, Tunis, Tunisia; bDepartment  of  Electronics  
and  Telecommunication  Engineering,  Jadavpur  University,  Kolkata,  India;  cHyderabad  Eye  Research  Foundation,  L  V  
Prasad  Eye  Institute,  Banjara  Hills,  Hyderabad  -­‐  500  038,  India;  dUniversity  of  Waterloo  and  University  of  Michigan
 
Contact  :  Hassen  Ghalila:  email  :  ghalila.sevestre@planet.tn  
 
 
Abstract  
Python  is  an  easy  open  source  software  that  can  be  used  to  simulate  various  optical  phenomena.  We  have  developed  a  
suite  of  programs,  covering  both  geometrical  and  physical  optics.  These   simulations  follow  the  experimental  modules  
used  in  the  ALOP  (Active  Learning  in  Optics  and  Photonics)  UNESCO  program  in  the  sense  that  they  complement  it  
and   help   with   student   prediction   of   results.   We   present   these   programs   and   the   student   reactions   to   these  
simulations.  

Keywords  :  Optics,  Numerical  Experiments,  Python,  Active  Learning,  ALOP,  simulations,  Diffraction,  Physical  
Optics.  

 
 
1.  Introduction  
 

The  UNESCO  program  “Active  Learning  in  Optics  and  Photonics”  (ALOP)  promotes  a  friendly  and  interactive  method  
for   teaching   optics   using   simple   and   inexpensive   equipment   [1-­‐3].   The   full   ALOP   manual   can   be   downloaded   from  
UNESCO  [4].  Despite  the  gain  provided  by  these  new  conceptual  experiments,  diffraction  remains  a  difficult  concept  
for  students.  Numerical  simulation  is  a  valuable  help  in  this  direction  and  many  simulations  are  now  available  for  free  
on  the  web.  Numerical  tools  have  been  developed  to  accompany  the  ALOP  modules  [5,6].  The  dazzling  progress  in  this  
area   allow   us,   thanks   to   free   distributions   like   python   and   the   notebook   associated   with   it,   to   implement   the   ALOP  
modules  with  the  numerical  code  that  simulate  the  various  phenomena.  .  

2.  Teaching  with  python  

 

Among   the   multitude   of   programming   languages  available,   Python   has   experienced   the   most   rapid   growth   these   past  
few  years.  One  reason  for  that  is  due  to  the  fact  that  interfacing  modules  are  multiplatform  so  the  same  program  can  
be  used  to  generate  applications  for  different  Operating  Systems  (OS).  Another  important  reason  is  python  is  a  free  
and   open   source   software.   In   addition   to   these   two   major   points   python   has   several   advantages   over   other  
programming   language   such   as   easy   syntax.   In   addition,   it   comes   with   various   packages   (all   open   source)   such   as  

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Scipy  (Scientific  Python),  Matplotlib  (a  plotting  program),  Numpy  (Numerical  Python),  Statpy  (Statistical  Python),  etc.  
There   are   numerous   texts   on   Python   [7,8].   It   should   be   emphasized   that   Python   is   a   very   intuitive   programming  
language,  which  is  very  flexible  and  powerful.  

2.1  Versions  of  Python  

One   of   the   most   critical   points   is   the   installation   of   the   python   distribution.   Since   most   of   python   distributions  
are/were  developed  as  open  source  a  wide  variety  of  possibilities  are  offered  to  users  and  accordingly  it  is  difficult  to  
select   the   one   that   suits   the   user   most.   This   is   particularly   true   when   organizing   an   event   such   as   an   optics  
educational   workshop.   In   any   case,   the   most   recommended   version   of   python   to   use   is   python   2.7   because   of   its  
stability.  The  newer  version  (Python  3.0  or  3.4)  can  run  version  2.7  with  a  few  minor  modifications.  The  software  can  
be  downloaded  from  the  Python  Foundation  at: https://www.python.org/downloads/.    

2.2  Notebook  
Notebook  is  a  powerful  tool  to  write  and  generate   lessons  in  various  formats  as  latex,  html  or  slides.  In  addition  to  
that  it  is  possible  to  insert  parts  of  codes,  execute  them  and  generate  the  outputs.  This  ability   facilitates  greatly  the  
explanation  of  programs.  The  notebook  can  be  downloaded  from:  http://ipython.org/notebook.html.  The  code  given  
in  the  section  3.1.3  illustrates  how  to  interactively  affects  a  value  to  one  of  the  parameters.  

3.  Fraunhofer  diffraction  
 

In   this   example   we   will   deal   with   diffraction.   Diffraction   is   one   of   the   modules   of   the   ALOP   program[9].   Fraunhofer   is  
an  application  built  using  python  programming  language  and  its  packages  like  Numpy,  Matplotlib  and  wxpython.  This  
program  was  developed  under  windows  OS  and  the  same  code  can  be  compiled  under  both  linux  and  OSX.    

3.1  Single  slit  diffraction  

3.1.1  Mathematical  formulation  
Single   slit   diffraction   is   modeled   as   sinc()   function   with   the   suitable   parameters.   Let   I(x)   be   the   distribution   of   the  
intensity  and  I(0)  its  value  at  x=0.  Let  b  be  the  slit  width,  λ  the  wavelength  and  D  the  distance  of  the  screen  to  the  slit.  
The  expression  of  the  intensity  normalized  to  I(0)  is  :  

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⎡sin⎛πb   x ⎞⎤
I(x) ⎢ ⎝ λ D⎠⎥
 =     (1)  
I(0) ⎢ ⎛πb x ⎞ ⎥
 
⎣ ⎝ λ D⎠ ⎦
Making   these   parameters   interactive,   it   is   possible   to   perform   numerical   experiments   and   test   a   wide   variety   of  
configurations.  For  instance,  this  allows  us  to  test  the  effect  of  different  wavelengths,  which  would  be  difficult  to  do  in  
an  experimental  situation  due  to  lack  of  light  sources  with  variable  wavelengths.  We  face  the  same  problem  with  the  
slits.  For  example,  in  ALOP  workshop  the  slits  are  manually  fabricated.  So  it  is  not  possible  to  produce  a  large  number  
of  slits  different  slit  widths.  

3.1.2  Plotting  within  application  

Creating  an  application  with  interactive  tools  as  buttons,  menus,  sliders  make  this  possible.  Figure.1  shows  how  it  is  
possible  to  vary  the  three  parameters  (b,  λ,  D)  with  the  help  of  the  sliders  at  the  bottom.  Moreover  the  values  of  these  
three   parameters,   displayed   inside   the   plot   along   with   the   formula,   change   simultaneously   with   the   values   in   the  

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slider.  We  show  here,  as  an  example,  the  interface  created  for  this  application.  

 
Figure.1:  Fraunhofer  interface  application  for  a  single  slit  

3.1.3  Using  notebook  

Notebook  allows   us   to   explain   in   a   friendly   way   how   the   program   is   built.   We   can   follow  the   progress,   as   we   will   do   it  
with  a  debugger.  

In  [3]:  %pylab  inline  

b=raw_input  ("Enter  the  slit  width  (microns)=  ")  
  print  "b=",b  
b  =  b*1.E-­‐06  
lamda=  float(600)*1.E-­‐09  
D=  float(100)*1.E-­‐02  
thetamin1=  -­‐np.pi/200  
thetamax1=  np.pi/200  
pas  =(  thetamax1-­‐thetamin1)/2001  
Theta1=[]  
for  i  in  range(2001):  
         T1  =  thetamin1+i*pas  
         Theta1.append(T1)  
         U1  =  np.pi*b*np.sin(Theta1)/lamda  
         Amplitude=  np.sin(U1)  /  U1  
         Intens_1f=Amplitude**2  
         U1  =  1.E+2*np.tan(Theta1)*np.array(D)  
 
We  get  as  an  output  :  
Enter  the  slit  width  (microns)=  1  
b=1

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This  first  part  affects  the  value  to  the  three  parameters  (d,  λ,  D)  and  computes  the  sinc()  function.  The  following  part  
displays  the  result.  

In  [4]:  fig  =  plt.figure()  

ax1=fig.add_subplot(1,1,1)  
ax1.plot(U1,  Intens_1f,’r-­‐’)  
ax1.set_xlabel(’cm’)  
ax1.set_ylabel(’Intensity’)  
ax1.grid(True)  
 

   
Figure.2:  Direct  display  of  the  portion  of  code  given  above  

3.2  Multiple  slit  diffraction  

3.2.1  Young’s  Double  slit  diffraction  
As  in  the  previous  section,  let  I(x)  be  the  distribution  of  the  intensity  and  I(0)  its  value  at  x=0.  Let  ‘b’  be  the  slit  width,  
‘a’  the  distance  between  slits,  ‘λ’  the  wavelength  and  ‘D’  the  distance  of  the  screen  to  the  slit.  The  expression  of  the  
intensity  normalized  to  I(0)  is  :  

2
πb x
⎡ sin⎛   ⎞⎤
I(x) ⎝ λ D⎠ ⎡ ⎛πa x ⎞⎤ 2
 =  4  ⎢   cos       (2)  
I(0) ⎛πb   x ⎞ ⎥ ⎣ ⎝ λ D⎠⎦
⎣ ⎝ λ D⎠ ⎦
We  proceed  with  the  same  way  as  in  the  case  of  the  single  slit.  Making  these  parameters  interactive,  it  is  possible  to  
perform  numerical  experiments  and  test  a  wide  variety  of  configurations.  Figure.2  shows  how  it  is  possible  to  vary  
the   four   parameters   (b,   a,   λ,   D)   with   the   help   of   the   sliders   at   the   bottom.   Likewise   these   four   values   are   displayed  
inside  the  plot  along  with  the  formula  changing  simultaneously  with  the  values  in  the  slider.

3.2.2  Diffraction  grating    

Increasing  the  number  of  slits  lead  us  to  the  case  of  grating  diffraction.  In  this  case  the  mathematical  expression  of  the  
normalized  intensity  is  given  by:  

4
 2 2
⎡sin⎛πb   x ⎞⎤ ⎡sin⎛N  πa   x ⎞⎤
I(x) ⎝ λ D⎠⎥ ⎝ λ D⎠⎥
 =  4  ⎢  ⎢     (3)  
I(0) ⎢ ⎛πb   x ⎞ ⎥ ⎢N  sin⎛πa   x ⎞⎥
⎣ ⎝ λ D⎠ ⎦ ⎣ ⎝ λ D⎠⎦

And  as  previously  done  we  transform  this   into  an  interactive  application.  Figure.3  shows  the  interface  dedicated  to  
this  case.  

   
Figure.2:  Fraunhofer  interface  application  for  the  double  slits   Figure.3:   Fraunhofer   interface   application   for   the   multiple  
slits  

4.  Workshop  session  
 

In   order   to   better   spread   optical   physics   together   with   the   new   software   facilities   such   as   Python,   we   organized   a  
workshop   at   the   Faculty   of   Science   of   Tunis   in   November   2014   with   15   participants.   This   was   the   first   of   (we   hope)   a  
long  series.  During  this  first  workshop,  we  presented  as  a  first  part  the  basic  physics  of  diffraction  phenomena  and  the  
second   part   was   dedicated   to   Python.   Two   python   distributions   were   prepared   for   the   participants   (windows   and  
linux).  After  the  installation  of  the  distribution  we  tested  the  two  cases:  single  slit  and  the  Young  double  slit.  

   
 
Most   of   the   participants   (53%)   found   the   session   beneficial   and   (33%)   very   beneficial   on   a   scale   of   0   to   5,   ranging  
from  very  beneficial  to  useless.  The  majority  of  the  participants  were  very  enthusiastic  and  asked  for  information  on  
the  next  planned  workshop  

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 5.  Summary  
 

After   the   tedious   step   of   the   Python   distribution   installation   procedure,   it   is   very   easy   to   develop   programs   and   build  
applications   that   are   available   for   various   OS.   Since   this   new   environment   is   free,   this   possibility   constitutes   a   very  
crucial   point   for   teaching   and   more   generally   outreach   programs.   The   next   steps   will   be   in   two   directions,   (1)  
organization  of  several  workshop  sessions  and  (2)  to  develop  other  simulations  and  implement  them  on  smartphones  
and  mobiles  devices  that  will  be  accompany  the  ALOP  program.  

References  

[1] M. Alarcon, E. Arthurs, Z. Ben Lakhdar, I. Culaba, V. Lakshminarayanan, J. Maquiling, A. Maz- zolini, J. Niemela, D.
Sokoloff : “Active learning in optics and photonics: experiences in Africa”, http://spie.org/etop/ETOP2005040.pdf,2005.
[2] Z. Ben Lakhdar, N. Derbel, Z. Dhaouadi, H. Ghalila, R. Miled, S. Lahmar, K. Berrada, R. Channa, A. Outzourhit : Active
learning in physics a way for rational thinking - a way for development. http://spie.org/etop/2007/etop07programsI.pdf ,
2007.
[3] M. Alarcon, Z. Ben Lakhdar, I. Culaba, S. Lahmar, V. Lakshminarayanan, A. Mazzolini, J. Maquil- ing, Niemela J.
“ Active learning in optics and photonics (ALOP): a model for teacher training and professional development”, Proc SPIE,
7783: 1-8, 2010.
[4] M. Alarcon, Z. Ben Lakhdar, I. Culaba, G. Denardo, V. Lakshminarayanan, J. Maquiling, A.Mazzolini, J. Niemela, D.
Sokoloff : “Active learning in optics and photonics: Training Manual” http://unesdoc.unesco.org/
images/0021/002171/217100e.pdf
[5] H. Ghalila, Z. BenLakhdar, S. Lahmar, Z. Dhouaidi, Y. Majdi: “Active Learning in Optics and Photonics: Fraunhofer
diffraction”, Proc. SPIE 9289, doi:10.1117/12.2070776; http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2070776
http://spie.org/Publications/Proceedings/Paper/10.1117/12.207077
[6] V. Lakshminarayanan and R.Burman, Python Optics, unpublished technical report, University of Waterloo, 2014.
[7] H.P.Langtangen, A primer on scientific programming with Python, 4th edition, Springer, Berlin, 2014.
[8] M. Lutz, Learning Python, 5th edition, O’Reilly Media, Sebastopol, CA., 2013.
[9] Z.Ben Lakshdar, S.Lahmar, V. Lakshminarayanan, " Workshop on active learning: two examples ", Proc. SPIE 9289
doi:10.1117/12.2070726; 2013.