Direct measurement of the electrogyratory effect in bismuth silicon oxide

A direct measurement of the electrogyratory effect in bismuth silicon oxide is performed at wavelengths of 633, 543, and 442 nm. We experimentally measured the electrogyratory effect separately from the electro-optic effect. For externally applied electric fields ranging from 0 to 60 kV/cm, the contribution due to the electrogyratory effect is found to be negligible with respect to the contribution due to the electro-optic effect. Since devices employing bismuth silicon oxide typically require applied electric fields in this range, the electric field dependence of the rotary power is shown not to perturb the desired operation.