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

Spectroscopic Mueller matrix ellipsometry is becoming increasingly routine across physical branches of science, even outside optics. The highly sensitive tracking of the polarization-related physical properties offers a reliable and non-destructive analysis of virtually any sample at hand. If coupled with a physical model, it is impeccable in performance and irreplaceable in versatility. Nonetheless, this method is rarely adopted interdisciplinarily, and when it is, it often plays a supporting role, which does not take benefit of its full potential. To bridge this gap, we present Mueller matrix ellipsometry in the context of chiroptical spectroscopy. In this work, we utilize a commercial broadband Mueller ellipsometer to analyze the optical activity of a saccharides solution. We verify the correctness of the method in the first place by studying the well-known rotatory power of glucose, fructose, and sucrose. By employing a physically meaningful dispersion model, we obtain 2π-unwrapped absolute specific rotations. Besides that, we demonstrate the capability of tracing the glucose mutarotation kinetics from just one set of measurements. Coupling the Mueller matrix ellipsometry with the proposed dispersion model ultimately leads to the precisely determined mutarotation rate constants and spectrally and temporally resolved gyration tensor of individual glucose anomers. In this view, Mueller matrix ellipsometry may stand as an offbeat yet equal technique to those considered classical chiroptical spectroscopy techniques, which may help open new opportunities for broader polarimetric applications in biomedicine and chemistry.

Effects of optical activity to Mueller matrix ellipsometry of composed waveplates.

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.

High-resolution THz gain measurements in optically pumped ammonia.

This study is aimed at the evaluation of THz gain properties in an optically pumped NH3 gas. NH3 molecules undergo rotational-vibrational excitation by mid-infrared (MIR) optical pumping provided by a MIR quantum cascade laser (QCL) which enables precise tuning to the NH3 infrared transition around 10.3 µm. Pure inversion transitions, (J = 3, K = 3) at 1.073 THz and (J = 4, K = 4) at 1.083 THz were selected. The THz measurements were performed using a THz frequency multiplier chain. The results show line profiles with and without optical pumping at different NH3 pressures, and with different MIR tuning. The highest gain at room temperature under the best conditions obtained during single pass on the (3,3) line was 10.1 dB×m-1 at 26 µbar with a pumping power of 40 mW. The (4,4) line showed lower gain of 6.4 dB×m-1 at 34 µbar with a pumping power of 62 mW. To our knowledge these THz gains are the highest measured in a continuous-wave MIR pumped gas.

Experimental demonstration of magnetoplasmon polariton at InSb(InAs)/dielectric interface for terahertz sensor application.

We experimentally demonstrate surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in the terahertz range in InSb and InAs. The surface plasmon is excited on the interface between a thin polymer film and the semiconductor using a silicon prism in Otto configuration. The low effective mass of InSb and InAs permits tuning of the SPR by an external magnetic field in the transversal configuration. The data show a good agreement with a model. Strong excitation of the surface plasmon is present in both materials, with a shifting of resonance position by more than 100 GHz for the field of 0.25 T, to both higher and lower energies with opposite orientation of the magnetic field. Applicability of the terahertz SPR sensor is discussed, along with modeled design for the Kretschmann configuration.

Effective medium approximation of anisotropic lamellar nanogratings based on Fourier factorization.

Anisotropic lamellar sub-wavelength gratings (nanogratings) are described by Effective Medium Approximation (EMA). Analytical formulas for effective medium optical parameters of nanogratings from arbitrary anisotropic materials are derived using approximation of zero-order diffraction mode. The method is based on Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis (RCWA) combined with proper Fourier factorization method. Good agreement between EMA and the rigorous model is observed, where slight differences are explained by the influence of evanescent higher Fourier harmonics in the nanograting.

Numerical study on the spectroscopic ellipsometry of lamellar gratings made of lossless dielectric materials.

The spectroscopic ellipsometry of lamellar gratings made of lossless dielectric materials is studied numerically by using the rigorous coupled-wave method with the use of Li's Fourier factorization rules [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 13, 1870 (1996)], which are known to improve the convergence on the analyses of metallic gratings. Numerical results show that the calculation method also provides fast convergence on lossless gratings, and accurate values of the ellipsometric angles are obtained in very short computation times. Moreover, estimation of grating parameters is investigated by using a cost function defined by the average distance on the Poincaré sphere, and it is shown that the computation required for accurate estimation is possible in reasonable computation time.

Thickness monitoring of optical filters for DWDM applications.

A method for thickness monitoring and turning-point prediction during deposition of narrow band pass optical filters (NBPF) for dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing (DWDM) applications is proposed. The method is based on a recurrent approach, with relative transmittance .tting, and includes partial coherence and monochromator bandpass e.ects. We show that the partial coherence e.ects in thin .lm structures are signi.cant and can not be neglected. The proposed method is applicable for precise thickness monitoring and deposition control of any complex multilayer coating.

Magneto-optic ellipsometry in exchange-coupled films.

Analytical representations of Jones matrices for the magneto-optic (MO) reflection in (a) a magnetic film on a magnetic substrate separated by a nonmagnetic spacer and (b) two ultrathin magnetic films separated by a nonmagnetic spacer, sandwiched between a nonmagnetic cover and a nonmagnetic substrate with arbitrary and independent orientations of magnetization, are provided. Originally isotropic media subjected to a uniform magnetization are considered. The discussion of MO response is restricted to the terms linear in the off-diagonal permittivity tensor elements, and typical situationsare illustrated numerically. The results are useful for the analysis of the experiments in MO ellipsometry and MO magnetometry of exchange-coupled magnetic ultrathin-film structures.

Matrix description of coherent and incoherent light reflection and transmission by anisotropic multilayer structures.

We propose a matrix method for the description of light reflection and transmission by an anisotropic multilayer system consisting of thin and thick layers. A method based on partial-wave matrix summations is applicable in the field of reflection and transmission photometry and ellipsometry. In the case of a thin anisotropic film, the interference effects were described by use of a coherent summation of Jones matrices. Incoherent intensity summations for a thick weakly anisotropic layer were characterized by use of the coherency vector formalism. Observable quantities or Mueller matrix components were obtained from the matrix describing transformation of the coherence vectors.