Physics Lab – 5 Eekshith Venkata Sai Mandava

20MIS1121

Aim:
“TO DETERMINATE THE TRACK WIDTH (PERIODICITY) IN A GIVEN CD BY A LASER DIFFRACTION
METHOD AND THEN DETERMINE THE AMOUNT OF DATA STORED ON A GIVEN CD.”

Apparatus:
Laser Source, Written CD-R, Plane screen, Scale

Theory:
A standard CD is a fairly simple piece of plastic disk having 1.2 mm thick and 120 mm diameter
which can hold up to 80 minutes of uncompressed audio or 700 MB of data. The polycarbonate disc
contains a spiral groove (tracks), called the "pregroove" (because it is molded in before data are written
to the disc), to guide the laser beam upon writing and reading information. The pregroove is molded
into the top side of the polycarbonate disc, where the pits and lands would be molded if data were
written; the bottom side, which faces the laser beam in the player or drive, is flat and smooth. The
distance between the spiral tracks, the pitch, is 1.55405 µm. Our aim is to determine the pitch using
light diffraction.

The difference between a CD and a DVD is:

BASIS FOR
CD DVD
COMPARISON
Digital Versatile
Expands to Compact disk
Disk
Acquired size 700 MB 4.7 to 17 GB
Less as compared to
Usage More
DVDs.
Metal layer
Middle of the
(recording layer) Top
disk.
position on the disk
Double (two-
Layers of the pits Single
sided)
Spacing between
the loops of the 1.6 micrometer 0.74 micrometer
spiral
Spacing between
0.834 micrometer 0.4 micrometer
the pits
Error correction RS-PC and EFM
CIRC and EFMP
codes plus
Can cause an
Removal of the Result in damage of
imbalance in
adhesive labels metal layer.
spin.
Physics Lab – 5 Eekshith Venkata Sai Mandava
20MIS1121

Formula:

nλ= d sinθ (µm) lines per meter. - (For reflected diffraction pattern)
Where,

λ = Wavelength of the laser light used in the experiment.

Θ = Angle of diffraction.

n = Order of diffraction.

d = Track width.

Procedures:
1. The CD is held normal to the laser beam at a distance such that the laser source lies between the
screen and the CD.

2. The laser source is switched on and it is diffracted by the CD by the phenomenon of reflective
diffraction.

3. A central spot with equidistant spots on either side will be noticed on the screen.

4. The distance 2L between the spots on either side of the central spot is measured corresponding to
various orders (1, 2, 3 ….n).

5. The experiment is repeated for various values of D, the distance between the screen and the CD.

Precautious/Sources of Error:
1. There could be some scratches on the surface of the CD-R.

2. There can be some smudges on the surface of the CD. There can be cuts on edges of the
CD_R.

3. The other possibility is that you are, in fact, using a single slit. Depending on the model you
are using, the other slits may be blocked for some reason.

4. The position of laser dots may not be observed correctly.

Observations/Data:
Observation Table: Given λ of laser = 660 nm.
Physics Lab – 5 Eekshith Venkata Sai Mandava
20MIS1121

Diffraction Tanθ Θ= tan-1 mean

D 2L L sinθ d (µm)
Order (n) =L/D (L/D) sinθ
5 4.8 2.4 0.480 25.6 0.432
10 9.8 4.9 0.490 26.1 0.439
1 0.430 1.5348
15 14.2 7.1 0.473 25.3 0.427
20 18.6 9.3 0.465 24.9 0.421
5 17.2 8.6 1.720 59.8 0.864
10 29 14.5 1.450 55.4 0.823
2 0.839 1.5733
15 43.2 21.6 1.440 55.2 0.821
20 63.8 31.9 1.595 57.9 0.847

Calculations:
𝑛𝜆
d=
sin θ
For n =1,
1 x 660 x 10^−9
d= = 1534.8 x 10-9. = 1.5348 µm.
0.430

For n =2,
2 x 660 x 10^−9
d= = 1573.3 x 10-9. = 1.5733 µm.
0.839

Mean value of ‘d’ = 1.55405 µm.

Result:
1. For n = 1, d = 1.5348 µm.
2. For n = 2, d = 1.5733 µm.

Inference
The track width of the CD is‘d’ =1.55405 µm.