Abstract

Reorientation of the optical elements in a standard experimental setup that utilizes a Babinet compensator to measure the anomalous dispersion of a birefringent medium results in a useful trade-off between the intensity and visibility of the polarization fringes produced by the apparatus. The fringe pattern is analyzed and numerical results are presented that illustrate the nature of the trade-off and its application to measurements near the center of a strong absorption line.

© 1973 Optical Society of America

Instrumentation for Combined Dispersion and Absorption Measurements in the VUV

F. P. Banfield, M. C. E. Huber, W. H. Parkinson, and E. F. Tubbs
Appl. Opt. 12(6) 1279-1285 (1973)

Quantitative test for concave aspheric surfaces using a Babinet compensator

A. K. Saxena
Appl. Opt. 18(16) 2897-2901 (1979)

The Formation of Fringes in a Babinet Compensator

H. G. Jerrard
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 39(12) 1031-1035 (1949)

Measurement of the Coherence of a Single Laser Pulse

J. A. Blodgett and R. A. Patten
Appl. Opt. 12(9) 2147-2152 (1973)

Measurement of Refractive Index Change with Temperature Using Thermal Self-Phase Modulation

Y. Kohanzadeh, Kwing Wai Ma, and J. R. Whinnery
Appl. Opt. 12(7) 1584-1587 (1973)