Half-slit phase-reversal diffraction

ID: half-slit-phase-reversal-diffraction

Reversing the phase on one half of an otherwise uniform slit makes its aperture transmission odd. Its Fourier amplitude is , where , so the axis is dark despite the removable denominator singularity. The largest symmetric lobes satisfy , with first positive root approximately . Doubling an ideal half-wave layer restores equal phases and the ordinary bright-centred single-slit pattern. Total transmitted power is conserved if the layer has no absorption or reflection.

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