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High-speed Continuous-wave Stimulated Brillouin Scattering Spectrometer for Material Analysis

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Differential schlieren-interferometry with a simple adjustable Wollaston-like prism.

Matthew M Biss¹, Gary S Settles, Matthew E Staymates

¹Gas Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. mmb290@psu.edu

|January 22, 2008

Summary

This study presents an adjustable polycarbonate prism for shearing and differential schlieren-interferometry. The prism mimics a Wollaston prism, offering adjustable beam divergence for optical systems.

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Area of Science:

Optics and Photonics
Materials Science

Background:

Traditional Wollaston prisms are essential for birefringent beam splitting.
Shearing and differential schlieren-interferometry require precise control over beam divergence.

Purpose of the Study:

To characterize an adjustable Wollaston-like prism made of polycarbonate for shearing and differential schlieren-interferometry.
To demonstrate its performance with both laser and white-light illumination.

Main Methods:

Mechanical loading was applied to a polycarbonate prism to induce birefringence.
The prism's performance was evaluated in shearing-interferometry setups, replacing the conventional knife-edge.
Light-beam-divergence angles were measured under varying bending moments.

Main Results:

The polycarbonate prism exhibited behavior identical to a classical Wollaston prism under mechanical load.
A linear relationship was established between applied bending moment and beam-divergence angle.
Adjustable beam divergence was achieved over a range of 0-24 arc minutes.

Conclusions:

The developed polycarbonate prism is an effective and inexpensive alternative for shearing and differential schlieren-interferometry.
Its adjustable nature provides flexibility in optical system design and performance tuning.