Highly sensitive self-calibrating birefringence measurement based on anisotropic laser feedback polarization effect

Shiwei Deng; Xunda Chang; Jiayu Wang; Yifan Wang; Xin Xu; Kewu Li; Yidong Tan; Guangwei Hu

doi:10.1186/s43074-025-00208-0

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Shiwei Deng, Xunda Chang, Jiayu Wang, Yifan Wang, Xin Xu, Kewu Li, Yidong Tan, Guangwei Hu. Highly sensitive self-calibrating birefringence measurement based on anisotropic laser feedback polarization effect[J]. PhotoniX. doi: 10.1186/s43074-025-00208-0

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Highly sensitive self-calibrating birefringence measurement based on anisotropic laser feedback polarization effect

doi: 10.1186/s43074-025-00208-0

1.
State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
2.
State Key Laboratory of Extreme Environment Optoelectronic Dynamic Testing Technology and Instrument, North University of China, Tai Yuan, 030051, China
3.
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore

Funds: National Natural Science Foundation of China (62405292); Fundamental Research Program of Shanxi Province (202403021222184); Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of CPSF (GZC20240802).

Received Date: 2025-05-26
Accepted Date: 2025-11-05
Rev Recd Date: 2025-10-17

Available Online: 2025-11-14

Abstract

Abstract

Accurate measurements of dual parameters of phase retardance and retardance axis of birefringent materials are of fundamental importance to their fabrication and applications. However, current techniques typically exhibit limited versatility, suffering from high complexity, insufficient accuracy, and low efficiency. In this study, we propose and demonstrate the anisotropic laser feedback polarization effect for birefringent measurement, featuring simultaneous dual-parameter demodulation, unified polarization modulation-analysis architecture, high detection sensitivity, user-friendly operation, and versatile functionality. Importantly, such system can be self-calibrated with its own physical phenomena to reduce the installation derivation. To showcase the powerful effectiveness, we perform the static birefringence, dynamic birefringence variation, and spatial birefringence distribution, which remarkably exhibits the standard deviation of 0.0453° and 0.0939° for phase retardance and retardance axis azimuth, with the limit allowable sample transmittance around 10^–5. This work demonstrates comprehensive applicability across diverse birefringence scenarios, extending the application of anisotropic laser feedback polarization effect, while establishing a novel strategy for birefringence measurement.
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- Laser frequency-shifted feedback')">" data-track="click" data-track-action="view keyword" data-track-label="link">Laser frequency-shifted feedback,
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- Self-mixing interference')">" data-track="click" data-track-action="view keyword" data-track-label="link">Self-mixing interference,
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References(46)

References

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