Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Physics and Astronomy
Committee Chair
Don A. Gregory
Committee Member
Roderick B. Davidson II
Committee Member
Kirk A. Fuller
Committee Member
Seyed M. Sadeghi
Research Advisor
Don A. Gregory
Subject(s)
Polarization (Light)--Measurement, Angular momentum, Polariscope, Spectrum analysis--Instruments--Design and construction
Abstract
Vortex retarders are unique optical elements that create a uniform electric field phase retardance, but the traditional fast axis varies azimuthally over the area of the optic. This affects the radial and azimuthal polarization components of the incoming beam. The vortex retarders discussed here generate TEM10 and TEM20 Laguerre-Gaussian beams. While several varieties of these TEM10 and TEM20 vortex retarders exist, designed to function at specific wavelengths–and a few studies have reported their use at those wavelengths–almost no data exists detailing their polarimetric properties outside those wavelengths. Using a Mueller matrix spectropolarimeter with dual-rotating retarders, the polarization properties of four commercially available zero-order half-wave vortex retarders have been measured across a broad wavelength range of 300-1100nm. This data contributes to a more complete description of the spectral properties of these popular retarders.
Recommended Citation
James, Ella Elizabeth, "Spectropolarimetric properties of vortex retarders" (2024). Theses. 715.
https://louis.uah.edu/uah-theses/715