Diffraction by m-bonacci gratings

Abstract

We present a simple diffraction experiment with m-bonacci gratings as a new interesting generalization of the Fibonacci ones. Diffraction by these nonconventional structures is proposed as a motivational strategy to introduce students to basic research activities. The Fraunhofer diffraction patterns are obtained with the standard equipment present in most undergraduate physics labs and are compared with those obtained with regular periodic gratings. We show that m-bonacci gratings produce discrete Fraunhofer patterns characterized by a set of diffraction peaks which positions are related to the concept of a generalized golden mean. A very good agreement is obtained between experimental and numerical results and the students’ feedback is discussed.