Abstract:
A method for irradiating onto a target optical system plural linearly polarized rays having different polarization directions, and for measuring a polarization characteristic of the target optical system including a birefringence amount R and a fast axis Φ includes the steps of irradiating linearly polarized ray having a polarization direction θ onto the target optical system and obtaining a centroid amount P of the ray that has transmitted through the target optical system, and obtaining the birefringence amount R and the fast axis Φ from P=-R•cos(2θ-Φ) or P=R•cos(2θ-Φ).
Abstract:
A polarising double-passed interferometer comprises a polarising beamsplitter (16), a reference mirror (20) in the path of a reference beam (14) and a movable measurement mirror (26) in the path of a measurement beam (12). The reference and measurement beams have different polarisations. An angular beam deflection device such a glass wedge or prism (32) acts to remove or separate out an error beam (30) caused by leakage of light of one polarisation into the path of light of the other polarisation.
Abstract:
A method and an apparatus for delaying parts of a coherent optical signal beam relative to each other, comprising: a first device (104) for splitting the beam into a first part and a second part, a second device (108) for delaying the second part relative to the first part, a third device (106) for recombining the first and the second part, a fourth device (104,106) for providing the recombined parts with different polarizations.
Abstract:
Das Polarisationsinterferometer weist eine Lichtquelle (1), einen Kollimator (2), ein erstes polarisierendes Element (3), ein System von doppelbrechenden Elementen (4,5,6) und ein zweites polarisierendes Element (7) auf, welches das aus dem doppelbrechenden Element (4,5,6) austretende Licht polarisiert und einem Photonendetektor (8) zuführt. Das doppelbrechende Element (4,5,6) besteht dabei aus zwei, längs entgegengesetzter Seitenflächen gegeneinander verschiebbar angeordneten, sich zu einem Quader ergänzenden, optischen Keile (5,6) und einer als Kompensator dienenden doppelbrechenden planparallelen Platte (4). Die optische Achse des Kompensators (4) ist gegenüber derjenigen der beiden Keile (5,6) in der Ebene senkrecht zum Lichtstrahl um einen endlichen Winkel verdreht, wobei die optischen Achsen der beiden Keile (5,6) übereinstimmen. Die optischen Achsen der beiden Polarisatoren (3,7) stehen senkrecht oder parallel zueinander und sind nicht parallel zu den Achsen der beiden Keile (5,6) des doppelbrechenden Elementes (4,5,6) ausgerichtet. Ein monochromatischer Lichtstrahl (9) wird in den von der Lichtquelle (1) erzeugten parallen Lichtstrahl eingekoppelt und nach Durchquerung mindestens des doppelbrechenden Elementes (4,5,6) wieder ausgekoppelt und auf einen Photonendetektor (13) geführt.
Abstract:
An apparatus is described for classifying particles (30) and includes an optical system for transmitting to a focal plane which includes at least one particle (30), two substantially parallel optical beams (22, 24), the beams (22, 24) being initially mutually coherent but of different polarizations. The beams (22, 24) are displaced and focused in the focal plane. A further optical system is positioned in the path which the beam takes after departing from the focal plane and combines the beams so that a particle-induced phase shift in one beam is manifest by a change in elliptical polarization of the combined beams. A first detector (52) is responsive to the beam's intensity along a first polarization axis to produce a first output and a second detector (54) is responsive to the beams intensity along a second polarization axis to produce a second output. The first and second outputs are added (56) to provide an extinction signal and, in a separate device (218), are subtracted to provide a phase shift signal. The extinction signal and phase shift signal are both fed to a processor (60) which classifies a particle in accordance therewith.