Interferometric determination of refraction and dispersion of a birefringent material: non-numerical procedure

Fringes of equal chromatic order are produced in air, immersion liquid and mica sample interferometric gaps. The three gaps are of the same thickness and simultaneously enclosed in a wedge interferometer. A single-shot interferogram contains fringes in the three gaps is sufficient to deduce the needed experimental data. A non-numerical procedure is used for determining the refractive indices of the immersion liquid and mica sample across the visible spectrum. There is no need for any numerical fitting stage nor for the application of any theoretical model concerning the dispersion behavior of the sample under test. A modified two-term Sellmeier dispersion formula has been used for fitting the experimental data and deducing the needed dispersion parameters.     

Interferometric determination of refraction and dispersion of human blood-serum, saliva, sweat and urine

Multiple-beam interference fringes of equal chromatic order are produced in air and liquid sample interferometric gaps. The two gaps are of the same thickness and simultaneously enclosed in a wedge interferometer. A single shot interferogram containing fringes in the two gaps is sufficient to deduce the needed experimental data. Locations of the fringe maxima, in the two gaps, are introduced in a non-numerical procedure for determining the gap thickness and the liquid-phase refractive indices across the visible spectrum. The method has been used for measuring the phase refractive indices of human blood-serum, saliva, sweat, urine and water liquids. A third-order polynomial dispersion relation is applied for fitting the measured phase indices. Group refractive indices have been derived and fitted to the same dispersion formula.     

Application of multiple-beam white-light fringes for measuring the refraction and dispersion of mica

Multiple-beam white-light interference fringes are applied to measure the two refractive indices of a mica sample and their dispersion across the visible spectrum. In addition, the mica birefringence and its dispersion are measured. A mica sample of dimensions 2 × 5 mm² and an immersion liquid of nearly the same refractive index are used. Only a single shot interferogram is needed to measure all the aforementioned parameters. Cauchy's and a modified single-term Sellmeier dispersion formula are used for fitting the experimental data and extracting the parameters required.     

Group refractive index measurement by fringes of equal chromatic order

Fringes of equal chromatic order in transmission across a thin liquid or a thin solid sample inside a wedge interferometer, followed with a grating spectrograph, are produced. A single-shot interferogram of the air and sample regions is recorded. Locations of fringes maxima in the air region are fitted in a numerical procedure based on Cauchy's dispersion function. Then it is used for measuring the interferometric gap thickness. The order of interference in the sample region is represented by a third-order polynomial in the wavenumber for deducing the sample group refractive index. An error analysis of the measured group refractive index is given. The method is applied for measuring the group refractive index of water and mica samples across the visible spectrum. The method measures both the sample thickness and its group refractive index. It is static with no moving parts and suitable for thin liquid or solid samples without immersion liquids.     

Liquid refraction and dispersion measurements by multiple-beam white-light Newton's fringes

Multiple-beam white-light Newton's fringes in transmission are produced in a Newton's interferometer containing a liquid sample and followed with a grating spectrograph. An equation describing the shape of the formed interference fringes is derived. A simple procedure is introduced for analyzing the resulting interference fringes. This enables the determination of both: the liquid refractive index, the fringe order of interference and the thickness at the point of contact. Errors of the measured liquid refractive index are discussed. The method is used for measuring the refraction and dispersion of glycerin, dimethylformamide (DMF) and water across the visible spectrum. The method is a single-shot, static, material-economic and low-cost interferometric one.     

LFI法测量半透明油的折射率

LFI方法曾被用来测量大直径光纤的折射率.用一半盛油一半为空气的毛细管代替光纤,并用聚焦的条形光束照射毛细管,空气与油的干涉条纹同时产生.根据空气的条纹可以确定参数b,根据一组已知折射率的标准样品可确定另一参数c,同时可以建立标准液体最外条纹的偏折角与折射率的标准曲线.对于未知折射率的样品,一旦测量出其最外条纹的偏折角,从标准曲线上就可以读出其折射率.实测了一组半透明油的折射率,其结果与阿贝折射仪测量结果接近.     

Critical Angle Refractometry for Simultaneous Measurement of Particles in Flow: Size and Relative Refractive Index

The principle of the optical technique critical angle refractometry, used to determine the size and refractive index of spherical particles (with relative refractive index below unity) in liquid flows, was investigated. This technique is based on the observation of the particle scattering pattern around the critical angle. Similarly to the recent technique developed for rainbow scattering pattern analysis for droplet temperature and size measurements, it is shown that the relative particle refractive index (m_r<1) and size can be determined from the position of the primary diffraction fringe and from the angular spacing between two fringes. Explicit equations for refractive index and particle size measurement were derived from the first-order term of the physical optics approximation. An experimental validation test and numerical computations based on the Lorenz-Mie theory were used to validate the principle of the proposed technique and to estimate its sensitivity, which was shown to be of the same order as that of the rainbow technique. This technique is considered to be useful for various applications in liquid multiphase flows where the particles size and material are to be characterized.     

Optical parameters of epitaxial GaN thin film on Si substrate from the reflection spectrum

A method has been proposed for determining the optical properties of a thin film layer on absorbing substrates. The film optical parameters such as thickness, refractive index, absorption coefficient, extinction coefficient and the optical energy gap of an absorbing film are retrieved from the interference fringes of the reflection spectrum at normal incidence. The envelopes of the maxima of the spectrum E_M and of the minima E_m are introduced in analytical forms to find the reflectance amplitudes at the interfaces and approximate values of the thin film refractive index. Then, the interference orders and film thickness are calculated to get accurate values of the needed optical parameters. There are no complex fitting procedures or assumed theoretical refractive index dispersion relations. The method is applied to calculate the optical properties of an epitaxial gallium nitride thin film on a silicon (1 1 1) substrate. Good agreement between our results and the published data are obtained.     

Factors affecting optical dispersion in borate glass systems

Series of ternary glass systems namely, Na₂O, B₂O₃, and RO (R=Ba or Mg) doped with TiO₂ are synthesized. The present glasses are dictated by requirement for a small refractive index and a small nonlinear coefficient needed for waveguide and laser fabrication requirements. The effect of MgO and BaO as alkaline earth metals on the optical properties of the glass systems is investigated. The dependence of the refractive index and extinction coefficient dispersion curves on composition is carried out over a wavelength range of 0.3-. Applying a genetic algorithm technique, the parameters of Sellmeier dispersion formula that fit index data to accuracy consistent well with the measurements are given. The zero material dispersion-wavelength (ZMDW) and group velocity are also determined using the refractive index data. The Fermi level is calculated exploiting the extinction coefficient dispersion curves. The absorption coefficient, both direct and indirect optical energy gaps, and Urbach energy are evaluated using the absorption edge calculations. The different factors that play a role for controlling the refractive indices such as coordination number, electronic polarizability, field strength of cations, bridging and nonbridging oxygen, and optical basicity are discussed in accordance with the obtained index data. IR spectroscopy is used as a structural probe of the nearest-neighbor environment in the glass network.     

Non-destructive collimation technique for measuring glass constants using a Ronchi grating shearing interferometer

A non-destructive liquid immersion collimation technique in combination with a Ronchi grating shearing interferometer has been used for determining the constants of a transparent glass material, especially when it is in the form of a lens. Due to its simplicity and the fact that it will work equally well at any wavelength, the technique is superior to existing methods for determining the various glass constants (refractive index, Abbe number or v-value, partial dispersion factor etc).The shearing fringes appearing inside a Ronchi-gram are adequate to locate the exact position of the point source which has been treated as the target in the present communication. The fringe-free space in the overlapping region between the two laterally displaced spherical wavefronts indicates the sharply focused position of the target which corresponds to zero defocusing. In this way the target displacements with different liquids are determined.     

基于白光扫描干涉法的光纤折射率分布的测量

提出了一种光纤折射率分布的测量方法,采用白光扫描干涉技术,并在参考镜上构造与光纤样品相同的结构来克服白光相干长度短的限制,优化了光路,提高了干涉条纹间的对比度。采用与白光干涉信号的包络线呈高斯分布的Morlet小波作为小波变换的母小波进行拟合处理,得到光纤与已知折射率的匹配液之间的相对高度。通过计算获得光纤的折射率分布,并对获得的数据采用光纤折射率分布的经典函数进行拟合,得到多模光纤和单模光纤的决定系数分别为0.997 2和0.996 4。最后将实验获得的结果与官方参数进行比较,误差为0.01%,表明该种方法测量的精度较高,完全可以用来测量光纤的折射率。     

Measurement of nonlinear refractive index of ethyl red by interference of capillary

Using the intensity distribution of interference fringes formed by a capillary filled with transparent liquid, the variations in refractive index (RI) of nonlinear optical materials, corresponding to change of the intensity at the centre of fringes for a period, were deduced. With this conclusion, we measured variations in RI of ethyl red (ER) solution excited by a 535-nm-15 mW-laser, and found that the change of RI is 0.00504 and the corresponding effective index of refraction is −1.06 × 10⁻⁹, for which the order of magnitude is same as that measured by Z-scan. The influences on the accuracy of the method, such as temperature, beam and fringe contrast, were analyzed. This is a novel and simple method for measuring the RI of nonlinear optical materials.     

Optical refractometry based on Fresnel diffraction from a phase wedge

A method that utilizes the Fresnel diffraction of light from the phase step formed by a transparent wedge is introduced for measuring the refractive indices of transparent solids, liquids, and solutions. It is shown that, as a transparent wedge of small apex angle is illuminated perpendicular to its surface by a monochromatic parallel beam of light, the Fresnel fringes, caused by abrupt change in refractive index at the wedge lateral boundary, are formed on a screen held perpendicular to the beam propagation direction. The visibility of the fringes varies periodically between zero and 1 in the direction normal to the wedge apex. For a known or measured apex angle, the wedge refractive index is obtained by measuring the period length by a CCD. To measure the refractive index of a transparent liquid or solution, the wedge is installed in a transparent rectangle cell containing the sample. Then, the cell is illuminated perpendicularly and the visibility period is measured. By using modest optics, one can measure the refractive index at a relative uncertainty level of 10(-5). There is no limitation on the refractive index range. The method can be applied easily with no mechanical manipulation. The measuring apparatus can be very compact with low mechanical and optical noises.     

Multi-wavelength holography in Bi12TiO20 crystals: Applications in refractometry

We present a recent development in holography with multimode, large free-spectral range (FSR) diode lasers in photorefractive sillenite crystals. A novel refractometry method based on this type of holographic recording in Bi₁₂TiO₂₀ (BTO) crystals is proposed. The holographic image of a prism-shaped transparent sample appears covered of interference fringes, and as the sample is properly translated, the fringes run along the holographic image. An expression providing the refractive index of the medium as a function of the sample displacement and the correspondent number of running fringes was derived. The refractive indexes of optical (BK7) glass, ethanol, hexan, cumene and aqueous solution of NaCl with different concentrations were measured in order to test the method. The obtained results are in good agreement with the ones reported in literature or measured by us using a commercial Abbe refractometre.     

Diffusion studies in liquids by holographic interferometry

Liquid diffusion coefficients are very important basic data for research and many applications in chemical engineering and in other fields, such as biological systems, pollution control and separation of isotopes. Holographic interferometry technique with accuracy and promptness is one of the most widely used techniques for diffusivity studies. We report an interferometric technique to determine the diffusion coefficient of transparent liquid solutions. As the diffusion progresses with time the refractive indices at different planes in the cell are different, and the characteristic extreme points of the fringe patterns shift outward. The interference fringes was obtained and recorded on a PC using a CCD camera. By judging the interferogram with a computer procedure the concentrations at different planes can be obtained by the relation between concentration and refractive indices, furthermore, the diffusion coefficient can be obtained by calculation. The obtained diffusivity values matched very well with the existing experimental results.     

Determination of the refractive index over a wide wavelength range through time-delay measurements of femtosecond pulses

We present a simple method to measure the refractive index dispersion over a broad wavelength range (0.6-1.6 μm). In a first step, the optical group indices are obtained by measuring the time-retardation of tunable 150 fs laser pulses within a sample relative to air. The refractive index dispersion is then calculated using a Sellmeier equation that describes the measured group index dispersion. We show that our experimental data agree with previously published results to within 2 × 10⁻⁴ for a 3 mm thick sample of fused silica and to within 3 × 10⁻³ for the index n₁ of a 2 mm thick crystal of the highly dispersive and anisotropic organic crystal 4-N,N-dimethylamino-4′-N′-methyl stilbazolium tosylate (DAST).     

Design of an end station for a high current ion implantation system

Single crystal silicon has been implanted with nitrogen and phosphorus ions at MeV energies to fluences between 10¹⁶ and 1.6 × 10¹⁸ ions/cm₂. Infrared transmission and reflection spectra in the range of 1.25 to 40 μm were measured for as-implanted samples and after various annealing treatments. Interference fringes were observed in the IR spectra which are produced by the interference of light which has been multiply reflected between the front surface and the buried layers. By detailed theoretical analyses of the interference fringe structure, we obtained refractive index profiles, which, under suitable interpretation, provide accurate measurements and several quantities of interest. These quantities are the range and straggling of the implanted ions, the depth of disordered layers, and the width of the order-disorder transition. Mechanisms for the refractive index changes which have been identified include amorphization of the implanted silicon, bulk compositional change in the buried layer, localized vibrational mode dispersion, and free electron dispersion. Experimental results and theoretical predictions are presented, demonstrating each of these mechanisms.     

轴对称流场干涉条纹折射率的模拟计算

提出一种获取流场干涉条纹折射率分布的新方法。该方法首先采用不等间隔的环带分割轴对称流场,使折射率变化大的地方获得的数据点密,然后通过对Abel变换进行离散数值计算来获取流场的折射率分布。通过模拟轴对称流场的实时全息干涉条纹证明了该方法不仅简单易行,而且所获取的折射率分布精度高。     

测量棱镜色散规律的方法改进

对目前实验教科书中研究棱镜色散规律常用的方法具有数据多、用时长及技巧性强的不足,提出了一种比较简洁直观的测量棱镜折射率的方法,即直接测量光线的入射角和不同频率光的出射角,用折射定律即可算得各色光的折射率.通过与传统的实验方法相比较,结果表明在准确度上二者是一致的.最后用Matlab拟合出棱镜的色散曲线及公式.     

一维光子晶体光学特性的复平面波展开法研究

应用复平面波展开法对一维光子晶体的光子带隙, 透射特性进行了分析. 通过对色散关系和透射系数的数值计算发现一维光子晶体周期结构个数以及折射率分布对光学晶体透射系数以及光子带隙的影响. 对于含有整数个周期结构的光子晶体有共振点出现在光子帯隙外的频率范围内, 共振点的个数比周期结构个数少1. 带隙倾斜斜率等于折射率的比值. 折射率比值越大, 带隙的范围越大.