04-Jun-20 OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS BY MARK FOX LECTURE 11 BY PROF. DR. SAFIA ANJUM CHAPTER 2: CLASSICAL PROPAGATION 2.5.2 Topic 2.5.2 Induced Optical Anisotropy ‘Scanned with Caseanner04-Jun-20 Isotropic materials such as liquids, gases, and glasses are not birefringent. = However, the application of external perturbations can break the symmetry, thereby producing birefringence. + This gives rise to a range of induced optical phenomena associated with strain and electric fields. ‘ Note that the application of a magnetic field induces optical activity rather than birefringence, 25.2 Induce Optical Anisotropy ® The most obvious way to break the symmetry of an isotropic medium is to compress it in one direction. ‘® The resulting strain-induced birefringence is called the photo-elastic effect. ® The effect can readily be observed by placing a piece of stressed glass between crossed polarizers. ‘Scanned with Caseanner04-Jun-20 isotropy + In the absence of strain, the glass should have no effect on the polarization of the light, and so there should be no transmission through the second polarizer. + However, if stress is present, the polarization vector will be altered, and some light will be transmitted. This method is in fact used to detect strain in glasses and other isotropic optical materials. 25.2 Induce Optical Anisotropy + Birefringence can also be induced in an isotropic material by applying an electric field to break the symmetry. © This effect was first discovered by Kerr in the nineteenth century, and is therefore known as the Kerr effect. + Kerr discovered that an isotropic medium behaves as a toniaxial_crystal_when an electric field is applied in the direction transverse to the light direction.”* ‘Scanned with Caseanner04-Jun-20 Kerr Effect n'=ntaE+ a+... Kerr effect term Applied field An applied electvic field vithe Kerr J elfeet, induces birefringencesin an bothervise optically sotropiematerial 2.5.2 Induce Optical Anisotropy The optic axis is parallel to the field, and the induced | birefringence is given by: An = Ake? (251) where A is the vacuum wavelength, K is the Kerr constant, and Ein the field strength. + Since the birefringence is proportional to the square of the field, the Kerr effect is alternatively known as the quadratic electro-_ optic effect. ‘Scanned with Camscanner04-Jun-20 2.5.2 el Anisotropy The quadratic field dependence of the Kerr effect can be understood in simple terms as follows: \ 1. first r of the field breaks the symmet 2. second power induces the refractive index change. X ~ This contrasts with the Pockels effect which is observed nh anisotropic crystals, where symmetry breaking is not required. | , Therefore, a refractive index change proportional to the field automatically produces induced birefringence, giving rise to, linear electro-optic effect. 3 Pockels Cell Electric Fela proauces a bizerringonce tna ist . ‘onal to the magratuoe oF te eetre wig OPO ‘Scanned with Caseanner04-Jun-20 2.5.2 Induce Optical Anisotropy * In addition to the different functional dependence on the field strength, there are a number of other important differences between the linear and quadratic electro-optic effects. 4. The Kerr effect can, in principle, be observed in any medium, but the Pockels effect is only observed in anisotropic crystais | that lack inversion symmetry. 2. The Kerr effect is only observed with transverse fields, but the 3. Since no symmetry breaking is required for the Pockels effect, the fields required to induce a particular value of An are smaller than for the Kerr effect, so that the Kerr effect is usually negligible in an anisotropic medium that exhibits the Pockels effect. + The Kerr effect is normally only studied in isotropic media such as liquids, gases, and glasses, and requires large fields to observe significant ‘Scanned with Caseanner04-Jun-20 Thank you very much for your attention ‘Scanned with Camscanner