Effects of optical activity to Mueller matrix ellipsometry of composed waveplates

Abstract

Mueller matrix ellipsometry has been used to precisely characterize quartz waveplates for demanding applications in the semiconductor industry and high precision polarimetry. We have found this experimental technique to be beneficial to use because it enables us to obtain absolute and precise measurement of retardation in a wide spectral range, waveplate orientation, and compound waveplate adjustment. In this paper, the necessity of including the optical activity in the Mueller matrix model and data treatment is demonstrated. Particularly, the optical activity of the quartz influences the adjustment of misalignment between the perpendicularly oriented waveplates of the compound biplate. We demonstrate that omitting the optical activity from the model leads to inaccurate values of the misalignment. In addition, the depolarization effects caused by a finite monochromator bandwidth is included in the model. Incorporation of the optical activity to the Mueller matrix model has required a development of rigorous theory based on appropriate constitutive equations. The generalized Yeh’s matrix algebra to bianisotropic media has been used for the calculation of the eigenmodes propagation in chiral materials with reduced symmetry. Based on the applied method, the authors have proposed approximated analytical form of the Mueller matrix representing optically active waveplate and biplate and provided discussion on the analytical and numerical limits of the method.

Broadband Mueller ellipsometer as an all-in-one tool for spectral and temporal analysis of mutarotation kinetics

“…Therefore, we propose to apply the dispersion model that combines an optics-based approach based on oscillator models, 34,35 accounts for material symmetry defining the shape of material (permittivity, gyration) tensors, 36,37 and employs rigorous wave-equation-based calculations of the polarization eigenmodes, 38,39 The model separates the gyration tensor element g 11 from the medium refraction index n , both described by phenomenological constants , , A i , B i , of which the first two had set as the fitting parameters. The constants A i , B i describing n of water were taken from ref.…”

“…Therefore, we propose to apply the dispersion model that combines an optics-based approach based on oscillator models, 34,35 accounts for material symmetry dening the shape of material (permittivity, gyration) tensors, 36,37 and employs rigorous wave-equation-based calculations of the polarization eigenmodes, 38,39…”

“…It takes approximately 30 s for concentrations of C a = C = 0.25 M. The rst ellipsometric measurement was taken aer 300 s. We monitored the temperature T inside the cuvette throughout the process with the accuracy of 0.5 °C for the following 12 hours, at which point the experiment was terminated. Therefore, we propose to apply the dispersion model that combines an optics-based approach based on oscillator models, 34,35 accounts for material symmetry dening the shape of material (permittivity, gyration) tensors, 36,37 and employs rigorous wave-equation-based calculations of the polarization eigenmodes, 38,39…”

“…The experimental data (blue curves) are in agreement with the model (red curves). Eqn (2) does not constitute an optimal model for subsequent minimization against the experimental data, since the difference n L − n R incorporates the effective cumulative response of both medium refractive index dispersion n and chirality dispersion.Therefore, we propose to apply the dispersion model that combines an optics-based approach based on oscillator models,34,35 accounts for material symmetry dening the shape of material (permittivity, gyration) tensors,36,37 and employs rigorous wave-equation-based calculations of the polarization eigenmodes,38,39…”