Abstract
Using the Huygens-Fresnel principle the expressions for the intensity and the phase in Fresnel diffraction phenomena have been derived. The cases of spherical, cylindrical and plane scalar waves incident upon the plane diffraction screen have been investigated. The diffraction screen may consist of any number of parallel strips of different transmissivities and different phase shifts, the width of the individual strips being large compared with the wave-length. As special cases of the general formulae, the intensity and phase distributions in the diffraction patterns for the following forms of the diffraction screen have been calculated: opaque and partially transparent half-plane, slit, strip and double slit. By means of the derived expressions, the validity of Babinet's principle for Fresnel diffraction phenomena of this type has been verified.
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