Generalized theory and application of Stokes parameter measurements made with a single photoelastic modulator

Liu, YW; Jones, GA; Peng, Y; Shen, T

Abstract

We report in this paper a generalized theory that describes the interaction between a monochromatic light beam and an optical system that includes one photoelastic modulator, one analyzer, and one photodetector. Based on the theory, a detailed four-step procedure is presented, which allows a precise measurement of the four Stokes parameters. An analysis of the systematic and random errors arising from the four-step measurements is also given as well as a calibration procedure that involves the use of a general retardation plate. As a practical application the procedure is used to analyze the magneto-optical properties of magnetic thin films grown on GaAs(001) substrates.

Citation

Liu, Y., Jones, G., Peng, Y., & Shen, T. (2006). Generalized theory and application of Stokes parameter measurements made with a single photoelastic modulator. Journal of Applied Physics, 100(6), 063537. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2353894

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 15, 2006
• Deposit Date: Aug 23, 2007
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 23, 2007
• Journal: Journal of Applied Physics
• Print ISSN: 0021-8979
• Publisher: AIP Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 100
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 063537
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2353894
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2353894
• Related Public URLs: http://www.aip.org/; http://jap.aip.org/