A Novel Method for Enhancing Goos-Hänchen Shift in Total Internal Reflection

Due to the tiny shift in order of optical wavelength for Goos-Hǎnchen （GH） shift, it is very difficult to directly measure and apply the GH shift. We develop a new method for enhancing GH shift of both TE and TM polarized waves. The method is based on a total reflection prism made of BK9 glass combined with a precise measurement of the resulting spatial displacement with a one-dimensional charge coupled device （CCD）. Measurements are performed to examine the validity of the method. Experimental and theoretical results indicate the feasibility of the method with an enhancement in optical wavelenghth shift at millimetre scale. The method is advantageous to application the GH shift in the optical domain, and is also meaningful for measuring even smaller changes in the refractive index of a liquid.     

Research on the temperature characteristics of optical fiber refractive index

The delay of optical signal is determined by the refractive index and length of optical fiber, and temperature would have an intense influence on the index. To establish the relationship between refractive index and temperature, the temperature characteristics of refractive index was analyzed and the thermo-optical coefficient equation was derived according to the polarization of the induced electric dipole moment in SiO₂ optical fiber. A measuring system based on optical fiber delay was carried out to measure the index within the temperature range of −30 °C to 70 °C and the experimental result was compared with the theoretical result. The final result shows that the relationship between refractive index and temperature is linear in the temperature range of discussion.     

Temperature Influence on Divergence Angles of Quartz Crystal Wollaston Prism

We propose a structural angle and main refractive indices as two key factors to understand the temperature influence on the divergence angles of the Wollaston prism. The temperature influence on the divergence angles of quartz crystal Wollaston prism is studied theoretically. The results show that divergence angles decrease with increasing temperature, while the divergence angle of e-light decrease more quickly than that of o-light. The testing system is established to verify the above results, and the experimental results are in agreement well with the theoretical analysis.     

Measurement of Refractive Index for High Reflectance Materials with Terahertz Time Domain Reflection Spectroscopy

A method to measure the refractive index for high reflectance materials in the terahertz range with terahertz time domain reflection spectroscopy is proposed. In this method, the THz waveforms reflected by a silicon wafer and high reflectance sample are measured respectively. The refractive index of the silicon wafer, measured with the THz time domain transmission spectroscopy, is used as a reference in the THz time domain reflective spectroscopy. Therefore, the complex refractive index of the sample can be obtained by resorting to the known reflective index of the silicon and the Fresnel law. To improve the accuracy of the phase shift, the Kramers-Kronig transform is adopted. This method is also verified by the index of the silicon in THz reflection spectroscopy. The bulk metal plates have been taken as the sample, and the experimentally obtained metallic refractive indexes are compared with the simple Drude model.     

Height distribution on a rough plane and specularly diffracted light amplitude are Fourier transform pair

In this report we show that the amplitude of specularly diffracted light from a plane rough surface as a function of incident angle cosine is Fourier transform of the height distribution on the surface. Therefore, an even height distribution function, which is the case for many rough surfaces, can be obtained by measuring the specularly diffracted light intensities. Also, it is observed that for polychromatic illumination the spectrum of the specularly diffracted light is modified and the modification depends on roughness, incident angle, and wavelength. It is also shown that, for a fixed incident angle, the height distribution on the rough plane is Fourier transform of the spectral modifying function. Experimental studies on some surfaces of different roughnesses, prepared by grinding sheet-glasses by powders of different grain sizes, show that the corresponding height distributions are Gaussian and the rms heights obtained by the two approaches are quite consistent.     

Tunable grating-assisted surface plasmon resonance by use of nano-polymer dispersed liquid crystal electro-optical material

This paper reports on the experimental observation of the displacement of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) excited by a metallic diffraction grating. This effect is achieved by the use of an electro-optical material composed of nano-sized droplets of liquid crystals dispersed in a host polymer. The average refractive index of this material in the form of a thin film on the undulated metal surface can be modified with the application of an external electric field and to tune the wavelength at which the SPR excitation leads to a reflection minimum. The theoretical design and experimental demonstration of the principle of this component are described.     

Generation and Modulation of Phase Difference of Output Intensities in a Feedback Nd:YAG Laser with an Extracavity Waveplate Rotated

External anisotropic feedback effects on the phase difference behaviour of output intensities in a microchip Nd：YAG laser are presented. By rotating a quarter wave plate placed in the external cavity, the angle between laser initial polarization direction and o-axis of the wave plate is tuned from -45°to 45°, which results in variable extra-cavity birefringence along two orthogonal detection directions. With only one optical path and one wave plate, laser intensities of the two orthogonal directions, both modulated by the external cavity length, are output with a tunable phase difference, which can be continuously changed from zero to twice as large as that of the waveplate. Experimental results as well as a theoretical analysis based on Fabry-Perot cavity equivalent model and the refractive index ellipsoid, are presented. The potential applications of this phenomenon are also discussed.     

利用垂直邻边入射法测量三棱镜的折射率简

提出垂直邻边入射法测量折射率。从理论上分析了该方法的测量公式,通过实验测定了不同波长的光对于样品的折射率。与最小偏向角法相比,垂直邻边入射法不需要确定临界位置,在实际研究中更容易施行。     

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.     

In situ measurement of group refractive index using tandem low-coherence interferometer

The group refractive index of BK-7 glass material is accurately measured using a tandem low-coherence interferometer, which is composed of a Mychelson interferometer and a Fizeau interferometer, within a combined standard uncertainty of 8.4 ppm. The experimental results are compared with the value calculated from the conventional data base on the phase refractive index, within a difference of about 4.7 ppm. This new method is applicable to in situ measurement due to the principle of its common optical path.     

Determining particle size distribution and refractive index in a two-layer tissue phantom by linearly polarized light

We report a new method for measuring particle size distribution (PSD) and refractive index of the top layer in a two-layer tissue phantom simulated epithelium tissue by varying the azimuth angle of incident linearly polarized light. The polarization gating technique is used to decouple the single and multiple scattering components in the returned signal. The theoretical model based on Mie theory is presented and a nonlinear inversion method - floating genetic algorithm - is applied to inverting the azimuth dependence of component of polarization light backscattered. The experiment results demonstrate that the size distribution and refractive index of the scatters of the top layer can be determined by measuring and analyzing the differential signal of the parallel and perpendicular components from a two-layer tissue phantom. The method implies to detect precancerous changes in human epithelial tissue.     

发光光弹性涂层折射率测量方法

涂层的折射率是发光光弹性涂层方法采用斜射法应变分离时不可缺少的参数之一. 通过对发光光弹性涂层受斜入射光波激发时, 发射光波沿入射光波原路径返回振幅变化的理论分析, 提出一种基于发光涂层光学菲涅耳响应的折射率在线测量方法. 实验测量了罗丹明B为发光染料的发光光弹性涂层在入射角为60°、波长为465 nm光波激发下的涂层折射率. 测量结果表明: 新的折射率测量方法是可行的, 对于其他用途的发光涂层折射率测量同样适用. 关键词： 折射率 光学测量 光学涂层 光致发光     

Between right- and left-handed media

We report analytical calculations for the propagation of electromagnetic radiation through an inhomogeneous layer whose refractive index varies in one-dimension situated between bulk right- and left-handed media. Significant field localization is generated in the layer that is caused by the coherent superposition of evanescent waves. The strength of the field localization and the transmission properties of the layer are investigated as a function of the layer width, losses and defects in the refractive index; the former two being modelled by continuous changes, and the latter by discontinuous changes, in the index profile.     

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.     

Variation of attenuated total reflection due to the birefringence of liquid crystals by excitation of surface plasmons

Attenuated total reflection (ATR) is a prominent effect in examining the excitation of surface plasmons. The Kretschmann–Raether and Otto configurations are implemented to generate surface plasmons and to examine the change of the refractive index of liquid crystals (LCs) by an applied field. A mixture of nematic and cholesteric liquid crystals is sandwiched between two glass substrates coated with conducting films. The minimum ATR angle changes by only 1° as the applied voltage increases to as much as 30 V (corresponding to 6×10⁵ Vm^-1), which does not agree with the calculation based on field-induced refractive-index change. This fact suggests that the orientation of LC molecules adjacent to an electrode surface is unaffected by the external field because of the strong-anchoring effect. A Jones-matrix simulation together with a multilayered structure of a LC clearly adduces this fact. Received: 30 November 2001 / Revised version: 1 February 2002 / Published online: 14 March 2002     

Investigation of one-dimensional photonic crystals composed of dispersive materials

One-dimensional photonic crystals (1DPCs) composed of dispersive materials (including negative refractive index materials, negative μ materials, and negative ? materials) are proposed. The dependence of the band gaps on the angle of incidence and thickness scale are investigated by using the transfer matrix method. Simulation results show that the band gaps of these dispersive material 1DPC are insensitive to the thickness scale. The defect modes of these doped 1DPCs behave specially when the thickness of the defect layer, the angle of incidence and the thickness scale of PC change.     

Experimental determination of the band structure of photonic crystals of colloidal silica spheres

A photonic band structure of colloidal crystals of silica spheres is analytically determined by a band model with three fitting parameters: the sphere size, the effective refractive index, and the band-gap. Optical properties of the crystals annealed at various temperatures were characterized by a procedure similar to X-ray diffraction technique, and the width of photonic band-gap measured from the transmission spectra experimentally servers as an additional check on the validation of the model. The photonic band structures defined by the band-gap, the refractive index, and the Brillouin zone are obviously superior to the use of the Bragg's expression involving simple zone folding.     

Direct measurement of dispersion of the group refractive indices of quartz crystal by white-light spectral interferometry

We present a white-light spectral interferometric technique employing a low-resolution spectrometer for a direct measurement of the dispersion of the ordinary and extraordinary group refractive indices of a quartz crystal over the wavelength range approximately from 480 to 860 nm. The technique utilizes a dispersive Michelson interferometer with the quartz crystal of known thickness to record a series of spectral interferograms and to measure the equalization wavelength as a function of the displacement of the interferometer mirror from the reference position, which corresponds to a balanced non-dispersive Michelson interferometer. We confirm that the measured group dispersion agrees well with that described by the dispersion equation proposed by Ghosh. We also show that the measured mirror displacement depends, in accordance with the theory, linearly on the theoretical group refractive index and that the slope of the corresponding straight line gives precisely the thickness of the quartz crystal.     

Impact of the sublinear photoconductivity law on the interpretation of holographic results in BaTiO3

Thick holographic refractive index gratings are written in nominally pure and in iron doped BaTiO₃ crystals. The phase shift between refractive index grating and light pattern is studied as a function of an externally applied electric field by a direct phase shift measuring technique. The choice of the method is suggested by a theoretical analysis which allows for the effect of a nonlinear relation between photoconductivity and light intensity on the holographic writing process.