We demonstrate light polarization control over a broad spectral range by a uniform layer of vanadium dioxide as it undergoes a phase transition from insulator to metal. Changes in refractive indices create unequal phase shifts on s- and p-polarization components of incident light, and rotation of linear polarization shows intensity modulation by a factor of 103 when transmitted through polarizers. This makes possible polarization rotation devices as thin as 50 nm that would be activated thermally, optically or electrically.
On the basis of diffraction transformations of wave fields, a mathematical model of a speckle interferometer of transverse displacements of a scattering object has been developed and numerical modeling of speckle-modulated interference patterns and signals at the output of the interferometer has been performed. Numerical calculations of the spatial distribution of complex amplitudes of wave fields in an interferometer were used for modeling when the displaced scattering surface was illuminated by two obliquely incident laser Gaussian beams. A statistical numerical experiment was performed to determine the measurement error of the scattering surface displacement caused by the change of realizations of interfering speckle fields. The simulation results are in good agreement with the results of experimental studies of transverse displacements in the range up to 600 micrometers. Keywords: interferometry, diffraction, interference, laser interferometer, speckle interferometry, interference pattern, speckle modulation, computer simulation.
The thickness change of a film is measured optically using self-interference of a single laser beam incident at the edge of the film. Theory suggests that when a half-plane phase shift is applied to a Gaussian laser beam, interference fringes appear in the near and far field, in which position varies with the amount of phase shift. By measuring fringe pattern displacement, we demonstrate detection of thickness changes in chitosan films induced by temperature rises of a few degrees centigrade. With a laser at 543 nm, the minimum detectable thickness change is 0.8 nm in ideal conditions (quarter wave films), corresponding with a phase shift of 0.02 rad, and the minimum detectable film thickness is ∼30 nm. Potential use for surface temperature measurements is discussed.
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