POLARIZATION DEVICES A. Polarizers B. Wave Retarders C. Polarization Rotators Augustin Jean Fresnel (1788-1827) advanced a theory of light in which waves exhibit transverse vibrations. The equations describing the partial reflection and refraction of light are named after him. Fresnel also made important contributions to the theory of light diffraction. | Fundamentals of Photonics Bahaa E. A. Saleh Malvin Carl Teich Copyright 1991 John Wiley Sons Inc. ISBNs 0-471-83965-5 Hardback 0-471-2-1374-8 Electronic CHAPTER POLARIZATION AND CRYSTAL OPTICS POLARIZATION OF LIGHT A. Polarization B. Matrix Representation REFLECTION AND REFRACTION OPTICS OF ANISOTROPIC MEDIA A. Refractive Indices B. Propagation Along a Principal Axis C. Propagation in an Arbitrary Direction D. Rays Wavefronts and Energy Transport E. Double Refraction OPTICAL ACTIVITY AND FARADAY EFFECT A. Optical Activity B. Faraday Effect OPTICS OF LIQUID CRYSTALS POLARIZATION DEVICES A. Polarizers B. Wave Retarders C. Polarization Rotators Augustin Jean Fresnel 1788-1827 advanced a theory of light in which waves exhibit transverse vibrations. The equations describing the partial reflection and refraction of light are named after him. Fresnel also made important contributions to the theory of light diffraction. 193 The polarization of light is determined by the time course of the direction of the electric-field vector F r t . For monochromatic light the three components of g Cr t vary sinusoidally with time with amplitudes and phases that are generally different so that at each position r the endpoint of the vector r t moves in a plane and traces an ellipse as illustrated in Fig. a . The plane the orientation and the shape of the ellipse generally vary with position. In paraxial optics however light propagates along directions that lie within a narrow cone centered about the optical axis the z axis . Waves are approximately transverse electromagnetic TEM and the electric-field vector therefore lies approximately in the transverse plane the x-y plane as illustrated in Fig. 1 b . If the medium is isotropic the polarization ellipse is approximately the same everywhere as illustrated in Fig. b . The wave is said to be elliptically polarized. The orientation and ellipticity of the ellipse determine the state of polarization of .
