difraktsiooniklaaside

Difraktsiooniklaas is a term used in Estonian to describe a diffraction grating, an optical component that disperses light into its constituent wavelengths. The device consists of a surface etched, ruled, or recorded with a regular pattern of slits or lines that are spaced on the order of the wavelength of visible light. When monochromatic light illuminates the grating, the waves emerging from adjacent slits interfere constructively or destructively, creating an interference pattern that can be described by the grating equation d sin θ_m = mλ. Here, d is the spacing between adjacent slits, θ_m is the diffraction angle for the m‑th order, and λ is the wavelength.

The first widely used diffraction gratings were mechanically ruled by Joseph von Fraunhofer in the early 19th century, and they quickly became essential in spectroscopy for resolving fine spectral lines of atoms and molecules. Modern gratings come in two main varieties: ruled and holographic. Ruled gratings are cut using diamond tools and typically exhibit high efficiency over a narrow range of wavelengths, while holographic gratings are recorded with laser interference patterns and provide lower scattered light and high flexibility in line density.

In practical applications, difraktsiooniklaasid are found in a wide range of instruments. Spectrometers rely on high‑resolution gratings to separate overlapping spectral features in astronomy, environmental monitoring, and chemical analysis. Laser systems use diffraction gratings for mode selection, pulse compression, and wavelength stabilization. Additionally, grating couplers on silicon photonic chips enable efficient coupling of light into and out of waveguides for optical communication.

The performance of a diffraction grating is commonly quantified by its line density (lines per millimeter), efficiency curves across wavelengths, and the quality of its surface figure. Advances in manufacturing, such as electron‑beam ruled gratings and laser‑written holograms, have pushed efficiencies above 90 % for specific orders and extended usable wavelength ranges into the ultraviolet and infrared. While the basic physics of diffraction remains unchanged, these technological developments continue to expand the role of difraktsiooniklaasid in modern optics and photonics.