Frustrated total internal reflection: the Newton experiment revisited

Abstract

Three centuries ago, Isaac Newton reported the experimental observation of the tunnelling of a light ray between two prisms separated by a small gap once one of them was shinned in total internal reflection. This article describes a modern revisit of this seminal Newton’s experiment, generally known as the Frustrated Total Internal Reflection. This experiment was created in the framework of a series of lectures about near-field optics and nanophotonics for Master students. During a 4h lab work session, the students are running the experiment to evidence and quantify the evanescent wave on top of a glass prism once illuminated above the critical angle.