Application of Faraday Rotator Reflector and Faraday Rotator Transmitter to Profilometry and Tomography

Abstract

The polarization compensation of a Faraday rotator reflector was quantitatively measured while applying mechanical stress to an optical fiber. A novel device called a Faraday rotator transmitter was developed to illuminate a sample. It was confirmed that the installation of both a Faraday rotator reflector and a Faraday rotator transmitter in a fiber-optic interferometer greatly improves the accuracy of film thickness measurements compared with measurements obtained using an interferometer that employed polarization-maintaining optical fibers.