22nd Annual Student Research Conference
Measurement and Analysis of Power Distribution in all Orders as a Function of Incidence Angle for a Series of Diffraction Gratings
Nathan F. Klessig
Dr. Michael Goggin, Faculty Mentor
The main objective of this research is to explicate the observed power loss from a diffraction grating, when light is incident upon it. It is commonly assumed that power incident upon the diffraction grating is distributed equally amongst the different diffraction orders. However, there are conditions for which this assumption turns out to be invalid, with a large amount of energy appearing to be absorbed by the diffraction grating. Currently the theory behind the absorption of energy is the excitation of surface plasmon waves. We measure the efficiency of a diffraction grating, using a two stage, split single-axle rotation detector platform to reduce error in alignment as well as to streamline data collection. The results will be compared to the theory of surface plasmon waves in gratings.
Keywords: physics, diffraction grating, goggin, power loss, surface plasmon
Topic(s):Physics
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 9-2
Location: VH 1412
Time: 8:30