Target Diamond Structural Analysis

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The Target Diamond

Section in progress

Probing the Diamond's Structure

We must be able to determine the precise thickness and shape of the diamond chip. Because it is tiny (on the order of 50 microns thick), conventional measurements are impossible. Instead, we will use a modified Michelson interferometer. In our design, we will replace one of the mirrors with the target diamond chip. In this modified design, the plane wave returned to the detector will be a combination of three waves (neglecting internal reflection): one reflected off the front of the diamond, one reflected off the back of the diamond, and one reflected off the remaining mirror. However, all that the detector can record is the wave's amplitude. From this, we need to extract thickness and shape.

Thickness Calculation

Both the front and back planes of the diamond are two-dimensional surfaces in three-dimensional space. The recorded amplitudes will form a two-dimensional graph and record amplitude at points across the diamond's surface. Basically, the light wave can be treated as a massive grid of one-dimensional waves normal to the diamond. All of the following calculations are applied to the recorded amplitude of one of these waves, which is the amplitude at one specific point on the diamond.

Future Updates

• Add diagrams to this page
• Calculate precise thickness terms
• Compensate for interference and internal reflection