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Principles of an intracavity polarimeter for measuring small optical anisotropies with an application to diffractive
Applied Optics
|September 24, 2010
Abstract:
An intracavity polarimeter is described that is capable of measuring both weak birefringence and dichroism simultaneously. It uses, for the first time to our knowledge, polarization flips in a quasi-isotropic He-Ne laser. The laser operates at 3.39 µm. Calibration of the polarimeter is carried out by using the anisotropic properties of a tilted plate. As an illustration of the sensitivity, the diffractive anisotropy of an intracavity slit is measured.
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