Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-a-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/paper-2/section-a/a2/solution

Both the incoming and outgoing spherical wavefronts contribute to the path excess. At aperture radius , with axial distances before and after the aperture,
The outer edge of the th Fresnel half-period zone has . Hence
Therefore the outer radius is . The paraxial approximation is excellent because . Treating the illumination as a plane wave would incorrectly omit the source-side path curvature.

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