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Photoelastic Modulator
A photoelastic modulator (PEM) is an optical device used to modulate the polarization of a light source. The photoelastic effect is used to change the birefringence of the optical element in the photoelastic modulator. PEM was first invented by J. Badoz in the 1960s and originally called a "birefringence modulator." It was initially developed for physical measurements including optical rotary dispersion and Faraday rotation, polarimetry of astronomical objects, strain-induced birefringence, and ellipsometry. Later developers of the photoelastic modulator include J.C Kemp, S.N Jasperson and S.E Schnatterly. Description The basic design of a photoelastic modulator consists of a piezoelectric transducer and a half wave resonant bar; the bar being a transparent material (now most commonly fused silica). The transducer is tuned to the natural frequency of the bar. This resonance modulation results in highly sensitive polarization measurements. The fundamental vibration of the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polarization (waves)
Polarization (also polarisation) is a property applying to transverse waves that specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the wave. A simple example of a polarized transverse wave is vibrations traveling along a taut string ''(see image)''; for example, in a musical instrument like a guitar string. Depending on how the string is plucked, the vibrations can be in a vertical direction, horizontal direction, or at any angle perpendicular to the string. In contrast, in longitudinal waves, such as sound waves in a liquid or gas, the displacement of the particles in the oscillation is always in the direction of propagation, so these waves do not exhibit polarization. Transverse waves that exhibit polarization include electromagnetic waves such as light and radio waves, gravitational waves, and transverse sound waves (shear waves) in solids. An electromagnetic wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Photoelastic Effect
Photoelasticity describes changes in the optical properties of a material under mechanical deformation. It is a property of all dielectric media and is often used to experimentally determine the stress distribution in a material, where it gives a picture of stress distributions around discontinuities in materials. Photoelastic experiments (also informally referred to as ''photoelasticity'') are an important tool for determining critical stress points in a material, and are used for determining stress concentration in irregular geometries. History The photoelastic phenomenon was first discovered by the Scottish physicist David Brewster, who immediately recognized it as stress-induced birefringence. That diagnosis was confirmed in a direct refraction experiment by Augustin-Jean Fresnel.A. Fresnel, "Note sur la double réfraction du verre comprimé" (read 16 September 1822), ''Annales de Chimie et de Physique'', Ser. 2, vol. 20, pp. 376–83 (nominally for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birefringence
Birefringence is the optical property of a material having a refractive index that depends on the polarization and propagation direction of light. These optically anisotropic materials are said to be birefringent (or birefractive). The birefringence is often quantified as the maximum difference between refractive indices exhibited by the material. Crystals with non-cubic crystal structures are often birefringent, as are plastics under mechanical stress. Birefringence is responsible for the phenomenon of double refraction whereby a ray of light, when incident upon a birefringent material, is split by polarization into two rays taking slightly different paths. This effect was first described by Danish scientist Rasmus Bartholin in 1669, who observed it in calcite, a crystal having one of the strongest birefringences. In the 19th century Augustin-Jean Fresnel described the phenomenon in terms of polarization, understanding light as a wave with field components in transverse polariz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faraday Rotation
The Faraday effect or Faraday rotation, sometimes referred to as the magneto-optic Faraday effect (MOFE), is a physical magneto-optical phenomenon. The Faraday effect causes a polarization rotation which is proportional to the projection of the magnetic field along the direction of the light propagation. Formally, it is a special case of gyroelectromagnetism obtained when the dielectric permittivity tensor is diagonal. This effect occurs in most optically transparent dielectric materials (including liquids) under the influence of magnetic fields. Discovered by Michael Faraday in 1845, the Faraday effect was the first experimental evidence that light and electromagnetism are related. The theoretical basis of electromagnetic radiation (which includes visible light) was completed by James Clerk Maxwell in the 1860s. Maxwell's equations were rewritten in their current form in the 1870s by Oliver Heaviside. The Faraday effect is caused by left and right circularly polarized waves pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polarimetry
Polarimetry is the measurement and interpretation of the polarization of transverse waves, most notably electromagnetic waves, such as radio or light waves. Typically polarimetry is done on electromagnetic waves that have traveled through or have been reflected, refracted or diffracted by some material in order to characterize that object. Plane polarized light: According to the wave theory of light, an ordinary ray of light is considered to be vibrating in all planes of right angles to the direction of its propagation. If this ordinary ray of light is passed through a nicol prism, the emergent ray has its vibration only in one plane. Applications Polarimetry of thin films and surfaces is commonly known as ellipsometry. Polarimetry is used in remote sensing applications, such as planetary science, astronomy, and weather radar. Polarimetry can also be included in computational analysis of waves. For example, radars often consider wave polarization in post-processing to imp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ellipsometry
Ellipsometry is an optical technique for investigating the dielectric properties (complex refractive index or dielectric function) of thin films. Ellipsometry measures the change of Polarization (waves), polarization upon reflection or transmission and compares it to a model. It can be used to characterize Materials science, composition, Surface roughness, roughness, thickness (depth), Crystalline, crystalline nature, Doping (semiconductor), doping concentration, electrical conductivity and other material properties. It is very sensitive to the change in the optical response of incident radiation that interacts with the material being investigated. A spectroscopic ellipsometer can be found in most thin film analytical labs. Ellipsometry is also becoming more interesting to researchers in other disciplines such as biology and medicine. These areas pose new challenges to the technique, such as measurements on unstable liquid surfaces and microscopic imaging. Etymology The name "el ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resonance
Resonance describes the phenomenon of increased amplitude that occurs when the frequency of an applied periodic force (or a Fourier component of it) is equal or close to a natural frequency of the system on which it acts. When an oscillating force is applied at a resonant frequency of a dynamic system, the system will oscillate at a higher amplitude than when the same force is applied at other, non-resonant frequencies. Frequencies at which the response amplitude is a relative maximum are also known as resonant frequencies or resonance frequencies of the system. Small periodic forces that are near a resonant frequency of the system have the ability to produce large amplitude oscillations in the system due to the storage of vibrational energy. Resonance phenomena occur with all types of vibrations or waves: there is mechanical resonance, orbital resonance, acoustic resonance, electromagnetic resonance, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron spin resonance (ESR) and reso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is equal to one event per second. The period is the interval of time between events, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency. For example, if a heart beats at a frequency of 120 times a minute (2 hertz), the period, —the interval at which the beats repeat—is half a second (60 seconds divided by 120 beats). Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio signals (sound), radio waves, and light. Definitions and units For cyclical phenomena such as oscillations, waves, or for examples of simple harmonic motion, the term ''frequency'' is defined as the number of cycles or vibrations per unit of time. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wave Plate
A waveplate or retarder is an optics, optical device that alters the Polarization (waves), polarization state of a light wave travelling through it. Two common types of waveplates are the ''half-wave plate'', which shifts the polarization direction of linear polarization, linearly polarized light, and the ''quarter-wave plate'', which converts linearly polarized light into circular polarization, circularly polarized light and vice versa. A quarter-wave plate can be used to produce elliptical polarization as well. Waveplates are constructed out of a birefringence, birefringent material (such as quartz or mica, or even plastic), for which the index of refraction is different for light linearly polarized along one or the other of two certain perpendicular crystal axes. The behavior of a waveplate (that is, whether it is a half-wave plate, a quarter-wave plate, etc.) depends on the thickness of the crystal, the wavelength of light, and the variation of the index of refraction. By appro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lock-in Amplifier
A lock-in amplifier is a type of amplifier that can extract a signal with a known carrier wave from an extremely noisy environment. Depending on the dynamic reserve of the instrument, signals up to a million times smaller than noise components, potentially fairly close by in frequency, can still be reliably detected. It is essentially a homodyne detector followed by low-pass filter that is often adjustable in cut-off frequency and filter order. The device is often used to measure phase shift, even when the signals are large, have a high signal-to-noise ratio and do not need further improvement. Recovering signals at low signal-to-noise ratios requires a strong, clean reference signal with the same frequency as the received signal. This is not the case in many experiments, so the instrument can recover signals buried in the noise only in a limited set of circumstances. The lock-in amplifier is commonly believed to have been invented by Princeton University physicist Robert H. Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lock-in Amplifier
A lock-in amplifier is a type of amplifier that can extract a signal with a known carrier wave from an extremely noisy environment. Depending on the dynamic reserve of the instrument, signals up to a million times smaller than noise components, potentially fairly close by in frequency, can still be reliably detected. It is essentially a homodyne detector followed by low-pass filter that is often adjustable in cut-off frequency and filter order. The device is often used to measure phase shift, even when the signals are large, have a high signal-to-noise ratio and do not need further improvement. Recovering signals at low signal-to-noise ratios requires a strong, clean reference signal with the same frequency as the received signal. This is not the case in many experiments, so the instrument can recover signals buried in the noise only in a limited set of circumstances. The lock-in amplifier is commonly believed to have been invented by Princeton University physicist Robert H. Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Photoelasticity
Photoelasticity describes changes in the optical properties of a material under mechanical deformation. It is a property of all dielectric media and is often used to experimentally determine the stress distribution in a material, where it gives a picture of stress distributions around discontinuities in materials. Photoelastic experiments (also informally referred to as ''photoelasticity'') are an important tool for determining critical stress points in a material, and are used for determining stress concentration in irregular geometries. History The photoelastic phenomenon was first discovered by the Scottish physicist David Brewster, who immediately recognized it as stress-induced birefringence. That diagnosis was confirmed in a direct refraction experiment by Augustin-Jean Fresnel.A. Fresnel, "Note sur la double réfraction du verre comprimé" (read 16 September 1822), ''Annales de Chimie et de Physique'', Ser. 2, vol. 20, pp. 376–83 (nominally f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
