How to Solve Fresnel Diffraction Integrals

In the physics of wave fields, a well-known principle by the name of the Huygens-Fresnel principle proposes an integral -- the Fresnel diffraction integral -- that gives the solution to a diffracted field. There is only one problem with this principle: The proposed integral is not solvable by standard means. In order to solve a Fresnel diffraction integral, you will need to apply tricky manipulations of the terms in the integral, simplifying it. Only after simplifying the Fresnel diffraction integral can you clearly see its solution.

Instructions

    • 1

      Separate the variable r01 for simplification. Factor the z^2 term in the formula for r01 so that it comes outside of the square root function. In short, the original formula, r01=sqrt(z^2+(x-ep)^2+(y-et)^2) becomes r01=z*sqrt(1+[(x-ep)^2/z]+[(y-et)^2/z]).

    • 2

      Apply binomial expansion to the square root term. The binomial expansion equation gives sqrt(1+[(x-ep)^2/z]+[(y-et)^2/z]) as an infinite sequence, 1 + .5*(x-ep)^2/z+.5*(y-et)^2/z+….

    • 3

      Replace the binomial expansion of the square root term into the equation for r01. This simplifies to r01=z[1+.5*(x-ep)^2/z+.5*(y-et)^2/z+…].

    • 4

      Delete all terms in the sequence. The equation for r01 further simplifies to r01=z[1+.5*(x-ep)^2/z+.5*(y-et)^2/z].

    • 5

      Plug r01 into the Fresnel diffraction integral and simplify. The result is U(x,y) = exp(jkz)/[j*theta*z]*Dint[U(ep,et)*exp(jk{[x-ep]^2+[y-et]^2}/(2z))], where “Dint” refers to the double integral with respect to et and ep.

    • 6

      Set up a function h(x,y) that will be used as a part of a convolution function for U(x,y). Let h(x,y) equal exp(jkz)/(j*theta*z)*exp{jk/(2z)*[(x-ep)^2+(y-et)^2)]}.

    • 7

      Replace all exp(jkz)/(j*theta*z)*exp{jk/(2z)*[(x-ep)^2+(y-et)^2)]} values in the Fresnal diffraction integral with h(x-ep,y-et).

    • 8

      Rewrite the integral in whole. The final, computable version of the Fresnel diffraction integral is Dint[U(ep,et)*h(x-ep,y-et)].

    • 9

      Use numerical software to compute the integral. Evaluate the integral with the boundary conditions from negative infinity to infinity. For example: In Maple, set the integral’s internal terms as a function with “f:= f(ep,et)*h(x-ep,y-et).” Make sure to input the numerical values for the variables as well as define the function h(x,y) in a similar manner. Then apply integration, with the int command, such as “int(f, x = -infinity..infinity).”

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