Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

X-ray Crystallography

X-ray Crystallography

The size of the unit cell and the arrangement of atoms in a crystal may be determined from measurements of the diffraction of X-rays by the crystal, termed X-ray crystallography.
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...

$Interference and Diffraction$ 02:18

Interference and Diffraction

Interference is a characteristic phenomenon exhibited by waves. When two electromagnetic waves interact with their peaks and troughs coinciding, a resulting wave with enhanced amplitude is produced. This is known as constructive interference. In this case, the two waves interacting are in phase with each other.

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy

Phase-Contrast Microscopes
In-phase-contrast microscopes, interference between light directly passing through a cell and light refracted by cellular components is used to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining. It is the oldest and simplest type of microscope that creates an image by altering the wavelengths of light rays passing through the specimen. Altered wavelength paths are created using an annular stop in the condenser. The annular stop produces a hollow cone of...

Determination of Crystal Structures

Determination of Crystal Structures

In the late 1800s, the revelation that light extended beyond visible wavelengths led to the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen. Recognized as high-energy electromagnetic radiation with short wavelengths, X-rays prompted exploration into their interaction with crystals. Max von Laue proposed in 1912 that the periodic arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in crystals would cause them to diffract X-rays, a hypothesis confirmed through experiments with copper sulfate and zinc sulfide...

Three-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology

Three-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology

Three-dimensional imaging techniques are essential in cell biology, allowing researchers to visualize intricate cellular structures with high resolution. Two prominent methods, Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy (DIC) and Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (CSLM), provide distinct advantages for imaging live and thick specimens, respectively.Differential Interference Contrast MicroscopyDIC microscopy enhances contrast in transparent, unstained samples by converting phase...

Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy

Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy

Confocal microscopy is an advanced microscopic technique. The prime advantage of the confocal microscope over other microscopy techniques is its ability to block the out-of-focus light from the illuminated samples using pinholes. It is widely used with fluorescence optics to obtain high-resolution, sharp contrast images. Unlike optical microscopes, confocal microscopes use a focused beam of light laser to scan the entire sample surface at different z-planes. These microscopes are, therefore,...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Annular illumination in 2D quantitative phase imaging: a systematic evaluation.

Applied optics·2022

Same author

ADMM approach for efficient iterative tomographic deconvolution reconstruction of 3D quantitative phase images.

Applied optics·2021

Same author

Analytical phase optical transfer function for Gaussian illumination and the optimized illumination profiles.

Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision·2021

Same author

Three-dimensional phase optical transfer function in axially symmetric microscopic quantitative phase imaging.

Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision·2020

Same author

Two improved defocus quantitative phase imaging methods: discussion.

Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision·2019

Same author

Quantitative phase imaging of fiber Bragg gratings in multicore fibers.

Applied optics·2019

Same journal

Multifunctional reconfigurable terahertz metasurface based on vanadium dioxide phase transition: achieving broadband absorption and efficient polarization conversion.

Applied optics·2026

Same journal

High-Q-factor electromagnetically induced transparency utilizing quasi-bound states in the continuum in an all-dielectric terahertz metasurface.

Applied optics·2026

Same journal

Automated stitching interferometry for high-precision metrology of X-ray mirrors.

Applied optics·2026

Same journal

Experimental demonstration of an approach to designing a metal-dielectric DBR resonant cavity structure.

Applied optics·2026

Same journal

High-precision wavefront reconstruction from a single-shot interferogram using a physics-driven hybrid feature calibration network.

Applied optics·2026

Same journal

Ultra-high-Q Fano resonance based on coupled topological corner states in Kagome photonic crystals.

Applied optics·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 4, 2026

$On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature$

On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature

Published on: March 11, 2022

Three-beam-interference lithography: contrast and crystallography.

Justin L Stay¹, Thomas K Gaylord

¹School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0250, USA.

|June 21, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Three linearly polarized plane waves can create interference patterns with specific symmetries. This study details three-beam interference, identifying constraints for five plane groups and uniform contrast conditions for maximum achievable contrast.

More Related Videos

Single-Digit Nanometer Electron-Beam Lithography with an Aberration-Corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope

Single-Digit Nanometer Electron-Beam Lithography with an Aberration-Corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope

Published on: September 14, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 4, 2026

$On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature$

On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature

Published on: March 11, 2022

Single-Digit Nanometer Electron-Beam Lithography with an Aberration-Corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope

Single-Digit Nanometer Electron-Beam Lithography with an Aberration-Corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope

Published on: September 14, 2018

Area of Science:

Optics and Photonics
Crystallography
Mathematical Physics

Background:

Previous research demonstrated that specific configurations of three linearly polarized plane waves can generate interference patterns exhibiting symmetries from 5 of the 17 plane groups.
Interference patterns are fundamental in optics and have applications in various scientific fields.

Purpose of the Study:

To examine three-beam interference in detail, starting from the general expression for N linearly polarized waves.
To present all possible sets of constraints for producing the five plane groups.
To identify and discuss uniform contrast conditions and the achievability of unity absolute contrast.

Main Methods:

Analysis of the general expression for N linearly polarized waves.
Detailed examination of three-beam interference configurations.
Systematic presentation of constraints for generating specific plane group symmetries.

Main Results:

The totality of all possible sets of constraints for producing the five plane groups is presented.
Two uniform contrast conditions are identified and discussed.
It is shown that unity absolute contrast is achievable when uniform contrast conditions are applied and absolute contrast is maximized.

Conclusions:

Three-beam interference offers a versatile method for generating specific crystallographic plane group symmetries.
The identified uniform contrast conditions provide a pathway to optimize interference pattern quality.
Achieving unity absolute contrast demonstrates the high fidelity of these interference configurations.