POLARIZATION :

Methods of Polarization and Detection

 PRESENTATION LAYOUT
Concept of Polarization
Types of Polarization
Methods of achieving Polarization: Production
Detection methods of Polarization
Applications of Polarization
Imagine a rope and you are moving it in xz plane
and then in yz plane.

It can be related to plane polarised light in x-

direction if Electric filed is oscillating in xz plane
What if you start moving
this rope in a circle.

It can be related to
circularly polarised light .
 What if you start moving rope in
random directions in short interval of
time?
It can be related to unpolarised light.
What if you introduce a slit in
the path?

If a longitudinal wave were propagating in string,

amplitude of transmitted wave would have been same for
all orientations.
Electromagnetic
Waves :

The direction of polarisation of an electromagnetic wave has

traditionally been defined to lie along the direction of
oscillation of the electric field.
P1 and P2 are polaroids.

If P1 and P2 are
parallel to each
other, light intensity
will be maximum
after P2.

If P1 and P2 are
perpendicular to
each other, light
intensity is minimum
after P2.
Direction of
propagation
Concept of Polarization
 ORDINARY LIGHT
Electromagnetic wave
Electric field E and magnetic field B are:
o Perpendicular to each other
o In phase
o Also perpendicular to the direction of propagation
 POLARIZATION
Transforming unpolarized light into polarized light
Restriction of electric field vector E in a particular
plane so that vibration occurs in a single plane
Characteristic of transverse wave
Longitudinal waves can’t be polarized; direction of
their oscillation is along the direction of
propagation
Types of Polarization
Plane of vibration
A plane including the direction of light propagation
and the direction of electric field

Plane of polarization
The plane perpendicular to the plane of vibration
LINEAR POLARIZATION
Plane polarized wave
Electric field vector oscillates along a
straight line in one plane
Why only electric field vector is considered
in polarization and not magnetic field
vector?

 Maxwell’s Equation
E=c × B
8
 c is velocity of light(c=3 × 10 m/s),very large value
 E>>>B i.e. Em wave is predominantly an electric
wave
 To change any characteristics of Em wave, including
polarization,E should be affected.
Superposition of plane polarized wave

Two plane polarized waves are added according to

the rules of vector addition
Results in a linear,elliptical or circular polarized wave
depending on the amplitude and the phase shift
between two waves
CIRCULAR POLARIZATION
 Consists of two perpendicular plane Em waves
with equal amplitude and 900 phase difference
 Plane of oscillation rotates around the
propagation axis
 May be right circularly polarized(clockwise) or
left circularly polarized(counterclockwise)
.

Blue wave is resultant circular polarized wave

 .

Superposition of oppositely polarized waves results in to plane

polarized wave
ELLIPTICAL POLARIZATION
 Consists of two perpendicular waves of unequal
amplitude that differ in phase by 900
 The tip of the resultant electric field vector
describes an ellipse in any fixed plane
intersecting and normal to the direction of
propagation
 Circular and linear polarization:special cases of
elliptical polarization
Blue wave is resultant elliptical polarized wave

Green wave is resultant elliptical polarized wave

METHODS OF ACHIEVING POLARIZATION

1. Wire Grid Polarizer

2. Polarization by Reflection: Brewster’s Law
3. Polarization by Double Refraction
4. Polarization by Scattering
The wire grid polarizer :
➢ Very thin Copper wires placed parallel to each other.

➢When an unpolarised light is incident on it, component of electric vector

along the length of the wire is absorbed. Because electrons in wire start
moving in electric field and energy associated with electric field is lost in
Joule heating of wires.

➢Since wires are very thin electric field component along the x-axis passes
through without much attenuation because electrons don't have much
space to move.

➢Therefore, outgoing wave is linearly polarised with electric vector in x-

direction.
It will work ( Ey will be almost completely attentuated) if the spacing
between is ≤λ.

Therefore, this polariser is easy to fabricate for a 3cm microwave because

spacing needed between wires ≤3 cm.

Visible light waves have small wavelength (5 × 10-5 cm), fabricating a

polariser with wire spacing ≤ 5 × 10-5 cm is very difficult. A polaroid is
used for this.
 Polaroids:
➢ Instead of Cu wires,long chain polymer molecules that contain atoms
(such as iodine) which provide high conductivity along the length of the
chain.

➢ These long chain molecules are aligned so that they are almost
parallel to one another.

➢ Because of the high conductivity provided by the iodine atoms, the

electric field parallel to the molecules gets absorbed.

➢A sheet containing such long chain polymer molecules (which are

aligned parallel to one another) is known as a Polaroid.
When a light beam is incident on such a Polaroid, the
molecules (aligned parallel to one another) absorb the
component of electric field which is parallel to the direction
of alignment because of the high conductivity provided by
the iodine atoms; the component perpendicular to it
passes through.

Thus the aligned conducting molecules act similar to the

wires in the wire grid polarizer, and since the spacing
between two adjacent long chain molecules is small
compared to the optical wavelength, the Polaroid is usually
very effective in producing linearly polarized light
 The lines show the direction of polarisation.

If you start rotating the analyser, at 90o and 270o, the

transmitted intensity will be minimum.

The transmitted intensity will be maximum when analyser

is at angle of 0o and 180o.
Polarisation by Reflection:
Brewster discovered that there is a particular angle of
incidence at which, if unpolarised light is incident on glass
or dielectric material, the reflected light is polarised.

This particular angle of incidence is also known as

Brewster angle and is given by :
−1 n2
θ=θ =tan
p ( )
n1

Using a polaroid, reflected light can be checked for

polarisation. Intensity of reflected light should be zero
twice in one complete rotation.
Polarisation by Reflection:
 If an unpolarized light is incident at
Brewster angle, then the reflected
beam will be linearly polarized with its
electric vector perpendicular to the
plane of incidence.
Reflected
Unpolarized light polarized light

θ θ
p
p

Air

Glass

θ
r
If an wave polarised in plane of paper is incident
at Brewster angle, then there will be no
reflected beam!

polarized wave

No reflected
θ wave
p

Air

Glass

θ
r
Brewster angle is −1 n2
θ p=tan ( )
given by : n1

If wave is incident from air to glass, n = 1. Therfore,

1

θp =tan − 1(n 2 )⇒ tan (θ p )=n2

sin(θ p )
=n 2
cos(θp)
sin(θ p )
Applying Snell's law : =n 2
sin (θr )
sin (θp ) sin (θp)
From both of these equations: =
sin (θr )
⇒sin(θr )=cos(θp cos(θ p
) ⇒sin(θ) )=sin (90o −(θ ))
r p
o o
⇒θ r =90 −θp ⇒θr +θ p =90
 Reflected
polarized light
Unpolarized light

θ θ
p
p

Air

90o Glass

θ
r
Intensity of reflected polarised light can
be increased by using a pile of plates.
Polarization by Double Refraction
1.Method of Selective absorption
2. Total Internal reflection in Nicol Prism
1.Method of Selective absorption(Dichroism)
 Polarisation by double
refraction :
● If beam of light is passed through certain crystal like
calcite (CaCO3) or quartz (SiO2), it splits into two beams.
These substances are called doubly refracting or
birefringent.
One of refracted beams obeys Snell's law and is called Ordinary ray (O-
ray). The other beam doesn't obey Snell's law and is called Extraordinary
ray (E-ray).
Polarization by double refraction
(Birefringence)

𝑐
𝑣𝑜 =
𝑛𝑜

𝑐
𝑣𝑒 =
𝑛𝑒 2 sin2 𝜃 + 𝑛𝑜 2 cos 2 𝜃

Positive crystal: quatrz, rutile, ice, zinc oxide

Negative crystal: calcite, tourmaline, sodium nitrate 41

● The E-ray travels in the crystal with a speed that varies with direction and is
described by ellipsoid. The O-ray travels in the crystal with a constant speed
in all direction and is described by spheroid.

● The refractive index for O-rays is constant and is direction dependent for E-
rays.

● In the case of Calcite and Quartz crystal, there is one direction in which there
is no double refraction. This direction is called optic axis or principal axis.
There are also biaxial crystals, no double refraction occurs in two specific
directions.

● O-rays and E-rays are polarised in a direction perpendicular to each other.

And O-rays are polarised perpendicular to plane containing optical axis.
 The optic axis of a calcite crystal
denoted by dotted line AB. Any
ray of ordinary unpolarised light
incident along the optic axis or
parallel to this axis does not split
up into two rays.

The plane containing the optic axis and the perpendicular to the pair of opposite faces of the
crystal is known as principal section for that pair of faces of the crystal. Since the crystal has
six faces, for each pair of opposite faces of the crystal, there are three principal sections
Wavefront of O- and E-rays :

S is the point from where light is starting at same time in double

refracting crystal.
For negative uniaxial crystals (like calcite) in which the velocity of O-ray is
less than the velocity of E-ray, sphere lies inside the ellipsoid. However, for
positive uniaxial crystals (like quartz) the ellipsoid lies inside the sphere
since in this case the velocity of O-ray is greater than the velocity of E-ray.

V <V V >V
o e
o e
Positive crystal
Negative crystal
o wavefront Optic axis e wavefront

S
Ve

Vo
Nicol Prism : Based on double refraction

Nicol prism is an optical device which is used for

producing and analyzing plane polarized light in practice.

Calcite crystal is cut along a diagonal and cemented back

together with special cement called Canada balsam.

 = 1.65836,  = 1.55,  = 1.48641

o canada balsam e

Birefringence (B) = | -  |
e o
where  and  are the refractive indices experienced by
e o
the extraordinary and ordinary rays, respectively.
Length three times of its width

Its end faces PQ and RS are cut such that the angles in
the principal section become 68° and 112° in place of 71°
and 109° ( naturally occurring crystal).
 Working of Nicol Prism :
➢When a beam of unpolarised light is incident on the face
P′Q, it gets split into O-ray and E-ray.
➢These two rays are plane polarised rays, whose
vibrations are at right angles to each other. The refractive
index of Canada balsam cement being 1.55 lies between
those of ordinary and extraordinary (1.65836 and 1.4864,
respectively).
➢Canada Balsam layer acts as an optically rarer medium
for the ordinary ray and it acts as an optically denser
medium for the extraordinary ray.
➢When ordinary ray of light travels in the calcite crystal and
enters the Canada balsam cement layer, it passes from denser
to rarer medium.
➢Moreover, the angle of incidence is greater than the critical
angle, the incident ray is totally internally reflected from the
crystal and only extraordinary ray is transmitted through the
prism.
➢Therefore, fully plane polarised wave is generated with the
help of Nicol prism.
Nicol Prism as a Polariser and an Analyser :
➢ Inorder to produce and analyse the plane polarised light,
two nicol prisms are arranged.
➢When a beam of unpolarised light is incident on the nicol
prism, emergent beam from the prism is obtained as plane
polarised, and which has vibrations parallel to the principal
Section.
➢This prism is therefore known as polariser. If this
polarised beam falls on another parallel nicol prism P2,
whose principal section is parallel to that of P1, then the
incident beam will behave as E-ray inside the nicol prism
P2 and gets completely transmitted through it.
➢ This way the intensity of emergent light will be maximum.
➢Now the nicol prism P2 is rotated about its axis, then we
note that the intensity of emerging light decreases and
becomes zero at 90° rotation of the second prism (Fig. b).
➢In this position, the vibrations of E-ray become
perpendicular to the principal section of the analyser (nicol
prism P2).
➢Hence, this ray behaves as O-ray for prism P2 and it is
totally internally reflected by Canada balsam layer. This
fact can be used for detecting the plane polarised light and
the nicol prism P2 acts as an analyser.
➢If the nicol prism P2 is further rotated about its axis, the
intensity of the light emerging from it increases and
becomes maximum for the position when principal section
of P2 is again parallel to that of P1 (Fig. c). Hence, the
nicol prisms P1 and P2 acts as polariser and analyser,
respectively.
Polarization by Scattering
Malus’ Law
 Polarisation by double
refraction :
● If beam of light is passed through certain crystal like
calcite (CaCO3) or quartz (SiO2), it splits into two beams.
These substances are called doubly refracting or
birefringent.
One of refracted beams obeys Snell's law and is called Ordinary ray (O-
ray). The other beam doesn't obey Snell's law and is called Extraordinary
ray (E-ray).
Polarization by double refraction
(Birefringence)

𝑐
𝑣𝑜 =
𝑛𝑜

𝑐
𝑣𝑒 =
𝑛𝑒 2 sin2 𝜃 + 𝑛𝑜 2 cos 2 𝜃

Positive crystal: quatrz, rutile, ice, zinc oxide

Negative crystal: calcite, tourmaline, sodium nitrate

59
 Wave Plate: Half Wave Plate and Quarter Wave Plate
A wave plate or retarder is an optical device that alters the polarization state of a
light wave travelling through it.

HWP QWP
 
( o  e )t  ( o  e )t 
2 4
Thickness of Phase retardation plate

Path difference = extra time taken

by slow moving wave to travel
thickness ‘t’ in birefringent crystal
t X speed of light outside.

𝑡 𝑡
Path difference = − 𝑐 = 𝑡 𝜇 𝑜 − 𝜇𝑒
𝑣𝑜 𝑣𝑒

For full-wave plate, Path difference = λ = 𝑡 𝜇𝑜 − 𝜇𝑒

 𝒕𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 = λ/(𝝁𝒐 ~𝝁𝒆 )
For half-wave plate, Path difference = λ/2 = 𝑡 𝜇𝑜 − 𝜇𝑒
 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇 = λ/2(𝝁𝒐 ~𝝁𝒆 )
For quarter-wave plate, Path difference = λ/4 = 𝑡 𝜇𝑜 − 𝜇𝑒
 𝒕𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓 = λ/4(𝝁𝒐 ~𝝁𝒆 ) 63
Phase retardation plates

64
Detection Methods
Application Of Polarization
• A polarizer or polariser is an optical filter that lets light waves of a
specific polarization pass through while blocking light waves of other polarizations.
• It can filter a beam of light of undefined or mixed polarization into a beam of well-
defined polarization, that is polarized light.
• The common types of polarizers are linear polarizers and circular polarizers.
• Polarizers are used in many optical techniques and instruments, and polarizing filters
• It has applications in photography and LCD technology.
• Polarizers can also be made for other types of electromagnetic waves besides light,
such as radio waves, microwaves, and X-rays.