Stabilized transverse zeeman laser as a new light source for optical measurement

The light emitted by a stabilized 633-nm He-Ne transverse Zeeman laser (STZL) is composed of two linearly polarized components that are perpendicular to each other. Optical frequencies of the two components are different, and therefore the light changes its polarization with time. The change is represented on the Poincaré sphere as a spin along the equator containing S(2) and S(3) axes of the sphere. Three types of polarimetry and two types of interferometry using an STZL are proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Comparisons of these techniques with the existing ones are also reported.