Measurements of linearly birefringent media parameters using the optical vortex interferometer with the Wollaston compensator

Abstract

The classical Mach?Zehnder two-beam set-up has been modernized with the use of polarization elements to generate a set of optical vortices. The main element of these set-ups is the Wollaston compensator, which allows us to obtain a specific phase distribution (with polarization singularities) in one of the arms of our interferometer. We have confirmed the practical value of this set-up by developing a method of birefringent media properties measurement. In the present paper we have started with developing the method for linearly birefringent media only: however, we hope that this method can be extended to elliptically birefringent media. The numerical analysis has confirmed our theoretical predictions. The mutual displacement measurements of the two OV sublattices of different topological charges allowed us to calculate the basic birefringent media parameters: the azimuth angle of its first eigenvector and the phase difference between their eigenwaves. We also carried out some experiments which convinced us about the practical value of the proposed set-ups.