Algorithm to visualize a 3D normal surface in anisotropic crystals and the polarization states of the o- and e-waves in uniaxial crystals

Abstract

Of the many topics generally taught in undergraduate or graduate optics courses, the propagation of light through crystals with electrical anisotropy is one of the most difficult topics for students and for teachers who do not work in this field. In particular, the mathematics and equations are complex vectorial equations, and this complicates the visualization of the implications of the theory. Also, the standard textbooks and papers on the subject have led to some misconceptions on this problem by presenting results only for specific cases of the theory in graphical form. For example, it is a general belief that after refraction of an incident wave on the crystal, the polarization state of the two waves propagating inside the crystal, given by their displacement vectors D, are always orthogonal to each other. However, this is not the case, as explained and illustrated for uniaxial crystals by Alemán-Castañeda and Rosete-Aguilar [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 33(4), 677–682 (2016)]. The purpose of this paper is to help students and teachers visualize the solution to Maxwell's equations in electrical anisotropic crystals. An algorithm has been written in mathematica so the reader can use it to visualize the normal surface in uniaxial and biaxial crystals. This algorithm can be used as the basis of computational projects for students to better understand the equations involved, or as a visualization tool for teachers in class.