Interference Pattern Plot
The pattern of fringes resulting from the interference of two or more rays can be plotted using the dedicated Interference Pattern plot. The Interference Pattern plot is available in 2D plot groups and requires a Cut Plane data set pointing to a Ray data set. The interference pattern is then plotted using the locations and properties of rays as they intersect the cut plane.
Figure 2-5: Interference pattern resulting from two point sources at slightly different distances from a surface.
The Interference Pattern can only be plotted if the ray intensity and phase are solved for; in the physics interface settings, select an appropriate intensity computation method from the Intensity computation list, then select the Compute phase check box.
For the resulting interference pattern to be physically meaningful, it must be plotted over a region with a length scale that is much smaller than the principal radii of curvature of the incident wavefronts. This is equivalent to the assumption that the wavefront associated with each ray subtends a very small solid angle, and is necessary due to the approximation used to compute the incident intensity.
Interference Pattern Theory