Lab 4

From 6.161 and 6.637 Collaboration Page

6.161 Modern Optics Project Laboratory

Fall 2006

Assignment for Laboratory 4 Report

Holography

Laboratory 4 consisted of two parts: part 4.1, in which you studied different types of holograms, and part 4.2, in which you made your own hologram. Your report should be written in journalistic style: part 4.2 of the lab should be written as a journal article, with part 4.1 included as an appendix. As described in the course syllabus, the journal article should contain the following information.

1. A cover page which states the title of the experiment, your name, subject number, the date, and the name of the person who supervised your work.

2. A one-paragraph Abstract that states the problem being addressed or the goals of the research, the procedures used to solve or analyze the problem, and the salient findings, conclusions or implications of the work.

Your goal is to create a hologram. The findings include an indication of the quality of the hologram. If the quality is poor, the conclusions and implications may include a concise explanation of why the quality is poor, and/or a recommendation for how it could have been improved. The abstract must be concise.

3. An Introduction that contains a brief description of the problem being investigated as well as brief background information to familiarize the reader with the significance or importance of the work to the field. Be sure to define all uncommon terms.

The reader knows as much as an average MIT junior or senior. In other words, the reader has taken 8.02, 8.03, linear systems, etc, but has no background in optics. In the introduction, you will need to introduce the reader to your work. There are many ways to do so.

One way to demonstrate the importance of holography is to mention existing applications.

If you mention in the introduction that there are different types of holograms, you could refer the readers to the appendix for details. (In the appendix you will be presenting the answers to part 4.1 of the lab handout.)

4. A section describing the Approach (or Theory) used. This section should briefly describe the general techniques or methods used to explore the phenomena being investigated. It may, therefore, include a brief theoretical formulation or modeling of the problem. For brevity, you should cover the principles at a level such that one with a similar educational background (MIT junior or senior) can follow your reasoning. Do not rederive complicated equations. Instead you should state the equation, cite the reference (see 8 below) where one can find the derivation, but interpret each term in the equation so the reader can understand the physical concepts involved.

5. A brief description of the apparatus used, followed by your Experimental Procedure. Use as many diagrams as you need to describe the apparatus and its operating principles, and how the data were taken.

Include the answers to parts 4.2 (a) and (b) of the lab handout.

6. A section describing your Experimental Results, Analysis, and Discussion. Present raw data, whenever possible, in tabular form, and derived results or analysis, whenever possible, in graphical form.

Describe the quality of your hologram. Is the image blurred? faint? incomplete? If so, why? How would you improve the quality if you were to make the hologram again? Here is where you answer question 4.2 (c) of the lab handout. Support all contentions with evidence.

7. A section summarizing your Conclusions with comments on the errors in your measurements, and recommendations for improving the measurements or the experiment. Your conclusions should also tie in to the stated objectives of the experiment so that the reader gets your opinion of the overall success of the work. This is also a good place to speculate on the potential applications of your work.

The Conclusion should be a brief *summary* of the most important topics that were addressed in the Results, Analysis, and Discussion. The conclusion is where you clearly state the most important points that you want your audience to remember. You may also include new ideas for applications and the answer to question 4.2 (d). The conclusion should be only 1–3 paragraphs long. If you would like to devote more space to new applications or question 4.2 (d), you may do so in the discussion (see part 6 above) or in an appendix.

8. A list of References that support claims made in your report.

Follow the citation style used in the sample article handed out in lab 2.

If still in doubt, use the bold-face words above as section headings in your report.

Your single-spaced report should be 4–7 pages long, excluding the appendices.

TA's Addendum to Requirements and Technical Grade

• DACL is the same grading system used for the oral reports: Data, Analysis, Concepts, Lab Understanding/Skills/Notebook.

• All reports should be written so that a future researcher (or student), with the same knowledge you had going into the lab, could duplicate your results and expand upon them. Without telling them the exposure, error modes, materials and chemicals used, results, problems and solutions, and new results, there is no possible way to duplicate or expand upon what you did.

As for detail:

• Assume the reader/researcher/future student will have no supervision or assistance from a TA/Instructor in duplicating the experiment.

• Assume the reader/researcher/future student has same knowledge-base that you initially had going into the lab.

• Assume the reader/researcher/future student has only *your* lab report and the equipment you used (but not the setup) to duplicate your experiment.

• Assume that the reader/researcher/future student should be able to duplicate your results.

Therefore, you need to describe all the chemistry and times, the exact setup, what problems you encountered with the setup, exposure intensities and times, methodologies, etc...