Photonics Dictionary

Able to rotate the plane of polarization of a transmitted, plane-polarized light beam clockwise as seen by a viewer looking in the same direction as the traveling light. Also called dextrorotary; the...

In a waveguide, a change in direction of the axis without deviating from the plane of polarization.

1. The near total absorption of plane-polarized light by a polarizer that has an axis perpendicular to the plane of polarization. 2. The decrease in the intensity of a diffracted beam resulting from...

A piece of uniform birefringent material placed at a 45° angle to the plane of polarization in a polarizing microscope to indicate changes in color caused by interference when a birefringent...

A plate of electro-optical material that serves to rotate the plane of polarization of a light beam.

A cell filled with a transparent material that, when placed in a strong electrical field, exhibits double refraction. Since the two polarized elements of an incident light beam travel at different...

A Laurent polarimeter is an instrument used in optics for measuring the rotation of plane-polarized light caused by optically active substances. Optical rotation, also known as optical activity, is a...

Characterizes a substance whose plane of polarization is rotated counterclockwise as the observer looks through the material toward the light source. The rotation is negative.

A type of high-speed photographic shutter that uses Faraday rotation to produce exposure times as fast as 1 microsecond. It consists of two polarizers, set with their planes of polarization at right...

A specific type of storage in which the material to be written on is heated above its transition temperature and switched in a biased field. Reading of the material is determined by the magneto-optic...

Magneto-optics refers to the study and manipulation of the interaction between magnetic fields and light (electromagnetic radiation). This field of physics explores how the properties of light, such...

A law that uses the square of the cosine between the plane of polarization of a beam of plane-polarized light and the plane of polarization of a polarizing element to calculate the intensity of the...

A wedge-shaped piece of quartz typically found in a polarimeter to monitor and rotate the plane of polarization of plane polarized light. A Martens wedge can also be used in combination with other...

1. The angular displacement of the plane of polarization of light passing through a medium. 2. The azimuthal displacement of the field of view achieved with a rotating prism.

A polariscope with a half-shade device and an angular scale generally attached to the analyzer. It is used to measure the rotation of the plane of polarization by materials placed within it. A...

The measurement of the rotation of the plane of polarization of radiant energy, usually through the use of a polarimeter.

A combination of a polarizer and an analyzer that is used to detect birefringence or rotation of the plane of polarization of materials placed between them. Useful for the determination of stress...

Single-mode fiber that preserves the plane of polarization of the light launched into it as the beam propagates through its length. Also called polarization-maintaining fiber. The polarization is...