Low-loss tunable filter based on optical rotatory dispersion

The optical arrangement of a spectral filter without an intermediate polarizer that was developed based on optical rotatory dispersion and test measurement results are presented and described. The filter uses three dispersive polarization rotators as the key elements in combination with two additional quarter-wave retarders, and it is wavelength tunable with a spectral transmission equivalent to that of a standard Lyot two-stage filter.     

Low-loss birefringent spectral filters comprising three identical retarders

Basic fan or folded arrangements comprising three identical retarders in cascade between parallel or crossed polarizers are presented for constructing birefringent spectral filters without an internal polarizer. The retarders' axes are oriented with an angle increment of theta or -theta preferably with /theta/ 相似文献   

Compensation of rotation effect in a combination of retarders

In a cascaded system comprising a combination of oblique retarders, the effect of optical rotation is observed in addition to the overall retardation. This shows that the combined system does not behave as a pure oblique retarder. Analyzing such a general system using Pauli Spin matrices, it is shown that the effect of optical rotation may be completely annulled through the use of a suitably oriented retarder at the output of the cascaded system. The analysis assumes monochromaticity of the illuminating light beam.     

Achromatic quarter-wave plate using crystalline quartz

Achromatic wave plates are ideal components for use with tunable and multiline laser systems, broadband sources, and in astronomical instrumentation. The present study deals with the design and characteristics of two different quarter-wave achromatic retarders in the 500-700 nm range, using a cascaded system of two birefringent plates. The first of these shows a variation of less than ±0.5°, whereas the second system shows a variation of ±4° where the azimuth remains constant. Finally, a comparison between the two systems is made. The succinct and simple Jones matrix formalism has been used to derive the general expression for the equivalent retardation and azimuth of the combinations. It appears that the proposed arrangement has the promise of producing good achromatic combinations.     

Nearly-off-axis transmissivity of Solc birefringent filters

The characteristics of light propagating near the axis of a birefringent filter are studied. A generalized formulation to describe the nearly-off-axis transmissivity of a Solc birefringent filter is derived. On this basis, the polarization conoscopic figures of Solc filters with different numbers of birefringent plates are simulated. Furthermore the variation of spectral transmission with angle of incidence is analyzed, and the field-of-view transmissivity and the spectral transmissivity averaged with respect to the spread of incident light are given. Primary experiments for verification are also demonstrated.     

High transmissivity optical filter with phase gratings: Architecture and analysis

Abstract

A type of optical filter, the phase grating filter (PGF), which uses cascaded rectangular phase gratings or a single echelon grating as a wavelength selector, is proposed and analysed. The PGF has similar properties to conventional the Lyot birefringent filter but higher light transmittance thanks to elimination of the use of any polarizer.     

Analytical solutions of the azimuthal deviation of a polarizer and an analyzer by polarizer-sample-analyzer ellipsometry

The analytical solutions of the azimuthal deviation of a polarizer and an analyzer were obtained by polarizer-sample-analyzer ellipsometry with a three-intensity measurement technique. By performing two sets of this three-intensity measurement with the polarizer's azimuth set at 45 degrees and at -45 degrees , we were able to obtain a set of ellipsometric parameters free from the azimuthal deviations of the polarizer and the analyzer.     

Duty cycle dependence of a periodically poled LiNbO3-based electro-optic Solc filter

We demonstrate that the performance of a periodically poled LiNbO3- (PPLN-) based electro-optic Solc filter is dependent on the duty cycle of the crystal. This may limit the performance of the device for applications such as add-drop filtering and switching, owing to the deterioration of the extinction ratio. It is shown that by adding a retarder to the Solc filter it is possible to improve the extinction ratio; thus the dependence of the filter on the duty cycle can be reduced. Using Jones calculus, we analyzed the effect of a variable retarder that can also be rotated on the extinction ratio. We experimentally observed a 6 dB increase in the extinction ratio when we used a half-wavelength retarder.     

Rotatable broadband retarders for far-infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry

Rotatable retarders have been developed for applications in spectroscopic, full Mueller Matrix ellipsometry in the far-IR spectral range. Several materials, such as silicon, KRS-5, and a commercial polymer plastic (TOPAS) have been utilized to achieve a fully adjustable retardation between 0° and 90°. Experimental characteristics of the rotatable retarders that utilize three- and four-bounce designs are compared with calculations. We discuss the effect of light focusing on the performance of these rotatable retarders.     

Three methods to ascertain proper compensation in a general system of retarders

One can regard a three dimensional photoelastic model as a general system of linear retarders. These linear retarders can he individually separated out using a compensator. In the general case, a compensator can he used to cancel the combined effect of the linear retarders up to a certain required point along the light path. The discrete linear retarders from the point of entry of light to the model to the point along the light path under consideration can be replaced by a resultant optically equivalent model which is characterised by three discrete quantities called the characteristic parameters.1 If the compensator cancels the characteristic retardation completely and is orientated along the axis of the linear retarder of the optically equivalent model for any general light path, such a configuration of the compensator would correspond to the ideal case of compensation. However there could exist, for any particular three dimensional model, particular values of characteristic parameters, which, along with the value of retardation introduced by the compensator would result in a resultant optically equivalent model having the same primary and secondary characteristic directions2 as in the ideal case of compensation. This can lead to a misinterpretation of the results.
In this paper three very simple methods have been described to ascertain the correct positioning of the compensator.     

Broad-band superachromatic retarders and circular polarizers for the UV,visible and near infrared

Abstract

We present designs for two combinations of conventional achromatic retarders that can be used, over the wavelength range from 300 to 1100 nm, to obtain retardations of a quarter-wave and a half-wave, respectively, as well as a combination that can be used as a circular polarizer over this range of wavelengths.     

Synthesis of birefringent reflective gratings

The layer-peeling method for reconstruction of fiber and waveguide gratings is extended to the case of birefringent reflective gratings with polarization-dependent background index and polarization-dependent effective index contrast. Using a discrete grating model, we characterize the set of possible reflection and transmission Jones matrices and show that for a given wavelength, the total structure can be represented by a discrete reflector sandwiched between two retardation sections. In reflection the discrete reflector acts as a partial polarizer. A method for designing birefringent gratings is developed and tested numerically.     

Analysis of systematic errors in Mueller matrix ellipsometry as a function of the retardance of the dual rotating compensators

A dual rotating compensator ellipsometer based on the optical PC1SC2A configuration described by Collins [1, chap. 7.3] has been developed. The systematic errors for this configuration if the compensators are quarter-wave plates have been already studied [2, 3, 4]. Smith [5] has demonstrated that the optimum retardance of a dual-rotating-retarder (DRR) instrument must be equal to 127° compared to the quarter-wave (90°) retarders generally used. In this condition random errors are optimized. The aim of this work is to used such retarders and verify if the systematic errors due to uncertainties of the optical elements (i.e. analyzer, polarizer, first and second compensators) are improved too. For each optical element in different configurations like single or 4-zone average measurements, the systematic errors are given and compared according to the compensators. It is demonstrated that using a 127° instead of quarter-wave retarders coupled with 4-zone averaging measurement is the best configuration for this instrument. These results were confirmed by a statistical study.     

Improved method for calibrating a Stokes polarimeter

We present a method for calibrating a polarization state analyzer that uses a set of well- characterized reference polarization states and makes no assumptions about the optics contained in the polarimeter other than their linearity. The method requires that a matrix be constructed that contains the data acquired for each of the reference polarization states and that this matrix be pseudoinverted. Since this matrix is usually singular, we improve the method by performing the pseudoinversion by singular value decomposition, keeping only the four largest singular values. We demonstrate the calibration technique using an imaging polarimeter based upon liquid crystal variable retarders and with light emitting diode (LED) illumination centered at 472 nm, 525 nm, and 630 nm. We generate the reference polarization states by using an unpolarized source, a single polarizer, and a Fresnel rhomb. This method is particularly useful when calibrations are performed on field-grade instruments at a centrally maintained facility and when a traceability chain needs to be maintained.     

a-Si:H film on side-polished fiber as optical polarizer and narrow-band filter

An optical waveguide structure consisting of side-polished single-mode fiber covered with thin a-Si:H planar waveguide is studied as a channel-dropping narrow-band filter and fiber-optic polarizer. Spectral and polarization characteristics of the structure are measured in the wavelength region of 600–1600 nm, for the different values of the a-Si:H film thickness and the superstrate refractive index. The FWHM of the filter is about 8 nm for the asymmetric waveguide and 10 nm for the symmetric one. The discrimination of the resonance minima for two polarizations varies from several tens for the symmetric PWG up to several hundreds of nanometers for the asymmetric PWG. The optical losses in the off-resonance region are less than 0.3 dB. The measured value of the extinction coefficient of the fiber-optical polarizer is 32.5 dB.     

运用ASAP光学软件模拟单轴晶体的锥光干涉

为了模拟不同光轴取向、光束发散角、晶体厚度或入射波长等参数下的单轴晶体锥光干涉,在 ASAP中定义起偏器、晶体、检偏器和接收屏的几何形状和光学特性,产生一组锥状高斯光束并设置其相干性和波动性,进行光线追迹、计算并显示接收屏上的干涉场能量分布。所得模拟结果表明,光轴与晶体表面垂直时,干涉条纹是 1组以光轴为圆心且被十字分割的内疏外密、明暗相间的同心圆环;平行时,是 2组分别以光轴的平行和垂直方向为对称轴的、内疏外密、明暗相间的双曲线;既不垂直也不平行时,条纹特征因光轴取向而异;当增大发散角、晶体厚度或减小波长时,干涉条纹都向内移动且条纹数增多,反之亦然;起、检偏器正交时的干涉条纹都和它们平行时的条纹互补。     

Optical angular properties of twisted-nematic liquid-crystal cells with twist angles of less than 90°

I analyze the optical angular properties of twisted-nematic liquid-crystal cells that operate in the normally white mode with twist angles of less than 90°. It is demonstrated that, although a reduction of the twist angle produces an increase in the asymmetry of the birefringence generated by a single cell when in the active phase, the positioning of two cells such that the face-to-face rub directions are crossed gives rise to a large amount of cell compensation, giving an enhanced field of view. The effect of the polarizer arrangement is investigated, and it is shown that the configuration required in order to maximize the overall optical transmittance when in the inactive phase also maintains the asymmetry displayed by the single cell when stimulated by voltages lying below that of the saturation voltage. Although employment of this polarizer design together with a lowering of the twist angle degrades cell contrast, a fast optical shutter from the light to the dark state based on a double-cell construction possessing improved optical angular properties is introduced. Such systems find applications in automatically darkening welding filter visors for which it is critical to combine both a fast response time to the protective state together with a large viewing cone.     

Retardation-film-compensated reflective bistable twisted nematic liquid-crystal displays

The reflective bistable twisted nematic liquid-crystal-displays (RBTN-LCDs) with a single front polarizer have been compensated by front half-wave or integer-wave plates or both. The compensation has been optimized through maximizing the contrast ratio. The optimized RBTN-LCDs with one or two retardation plates showed great improvement in contrast ratio. The wavelength-dependent reflectance, viewing-angle properties, and effect of the retardation variation of these optimized RBTNs with retardation compensation were also investigated. The simulation was carried out by using realistic parameters on RBTN modes that have retardation values from 0.30 to 0.85 microm and a low contrast ratio. The viewing-angle properties did not change much before and after the retardation compensation. The reflectance varied little, but the contrast ratio varied significantly with the variation of the retardations of the bistable twisted nematic cells, for both compensated and uncompensated cases. It is shown that a high contrast ratio (100:1), high reflectance (30%), and low dispersion are possible for such RBTN-LCDs with proper retardation compensations. Black-white operations can be realized by compensating RBTN-LCDs.     

Simple process for building large homogeneous adaptable retarders made from polymeric materials

A process for building large, homogeneous, adaptable retarders easily and at low cost is proposed and analyzed. This method is based on the properties of high polymers to present variable birefringence as a function of applied stresses and on the possibility of freezing these stresses inside the material by a thermal process. Various geometries for the applied forces make obtaining a large range of birefringence profiles possible. In the process that we describe composed bending leads to a linear birefringence profile. The superimposition of two pieces with identical profiles with opposite directions gives homogeneous constant retardation. This retardation can be adjusted by a relative displacement between the pieces. A precision of better than 1% over large areas (more than 3 cm in diameter) for a quarter-wave value has been obtained. The correct choice of material makes many applications possible with a large range of wavelengths.