Diffraction measurement - remote experiment

Abstract

In the paper, the setup for measuring the diffraction of light on an optical element in a specific case on a diffraction grating in the remote way is presented. The wavelength of the laser light is known from datasheet. Setup is based on Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, two cameras and two stepper motors, Arduino Nano microcontroller, laser module and lampshade. The mechanical parts were printed on a 3D printer. Base software is programmed in a node-red environment, the Arduino IDE environment is used to control stepper motors. Physical data processing is based on reading the position of light spots on graph paper. The collected distribution of the light spot on lampshade and the known wavelength of laser light is used to determine the lattice constant of the optical element. Other measurement options such as measurement on an optical prism and on calcite crystal are also shortly discussed. Possible hardware and software implementation issues are also discussed.