Abstract
A new four-step phase-shifting method for birefringence measurement based on the plane polariscope is proposed. The plane polariscope to carry this phase-shifting method is characterized by triple polarizers. One fixed polarizer is used as a linearly polarized state generator; the other two rotatable linear polarizers act as phase shifters. The measurement ranges are (0, π ) for phase retardation and (−π/4 , +π/4 ) for azimuth angle. Numerical simulation is carried out, and two mica wave plates are tested and evaluated. Compared with other commonly used methods on Senarmont or circular polariscopes, this method has the simplest optical setup and also is free from the errors of quarter wave plates. It has less wavelength dependence and temperature dependence and is expected to be more cost-effective and environmentally robust.
Highlights
Birefringence is an important property of optically anisotropic materials
The residual stress in optical glass will produce birefringence, which decrease the performance of optical system
The measurement of birefringence is important for optical glass
Summary
Birefringence is an important property of optically anisotropic materials. Most isotropic solids exhibit birefringence under mechanical stress. Phase-shifting methods[1] are well-known to be the most effective ways in whole-field or point-scanning measurements for birefringence. They generally fall into three categories: the methods based on plane polariscope,[2,3,4,5,6] Senarmont polariscope,[7] and circular polariscope.[8,9,10,11] The latter two categories should take use of quarter-wave plates, which will introduce major errors and additional dependence on both temperature and wavelength, while the first class has the simplest optical setup and no errors from quarter-wave plates. When laser is used as the light source, the fluctuations of both output intensity and polarization state of the laser will produce significant adverse effects on the measurement, and should be rigidly considered
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