A simple Experimental Arrangement for

Studying Elliptically polarised Light

Abstract

A plane polarised light has been converted into an elliptically polarised light by
total internal reflection in a glass prism. This has been studied with a spectrometer
and two polaroids. The phase difference introduced between the perpendicular and
the horizontal components of the light introduced by the total internal reflection
has been measured.
Introduction
It is well known that plane polarised light can be polarised elliptically by total
internal reflection in glass. Fresnel’s rhomb is based precisely on this principle.
However, a Fresnel’s rhomb is not easily available in undergraduate laboratories.
Here, in this experiment, we have produced elliptically polarised light by total
internal reflection in a glass prism with all three of its faces polished. We have
polarised light linearly coming out of the collimator of a spectrometer by a polaroid
and allowed it to fall on a face of a prism at a suitable angle. The light emerging
after suffering a total internal reflection is studied with a polaroid attached to the
telescope of the spectrometer. We measure the phase difference introduced between
the components of light perpendicular and parallel to the plane of incidence. This
is compared to the theoretical value. This simple experiment can be set up easily
in any undergraduate laboratory.
Theory of The Experiment
If a beam of plane polarised light with its plane of polarisation making an
angle with the vertical is allowed to reflect totally from one face of a glass prism
where the plane of incidence is horizontal as shown in fig.1, then the vertical and
horizontal componentsa of light undergo phase changes of different amounts. If δs
and δp refer to the phase changes introduced on the total internal reflection to the

1
vertical and horizontal components respectively then δ = δs − δp is given by [1]
q
1
δ cosθi sin2 θi − n2
tan = (1)
2 sin2 θi

Here θi is the angle of incidence on the reflecting surface of the prism with θi > θcr
where θcr is the critical angle for total reflection. n is the refractive index of the
prism material with respect to the sorrounding air medium. The absolute refractive
indices of these media are n2 and n1 as shown in fig.1
Suppose that the light that enters the first surface of the prism is plane po-
larised with its plane of polarisation making an angle θc with the vertical as shown
in fig.2. B is the amplitude of the beam that enters the prism. We can write the
time dependence of the electric field as it comes out of the third face of the prism
after suffering total internal reflection at the second surface as

x = asinωt (2)

y = bsin(ωt + δ) (3)

where
a = Bsinθc fp (4)

b = Bcosθc fs (5)

Here ω is the frequency of the incident light and the f factors are the fraction
of the amplitude that passes out after two transmissions at the two faces of the
prism. The fraction for the parallel component is given by

2n1 cosi1 2n2 cosr2

fp = . (6)
n2 cosi1 + n1 cosr1 n1 cosr2 + n2 cosi2

and the fraction for the perpendicular component is given by

2n1 cosi1 2n2 cosr2

fs = . (7)
n1 cosi1 + n2 cosr1 n2 cosr2 + n1 cosi2

2
The locus of the tip of the electric vector as it emerges from the prism is obtained
from equations 2 and 3 and is given by
x2 y 2 2xy
+ 2 − cosδ = sin2 δ (8)
a2 b ab
which is the equation of an ellipse whose major axis is tilted by an angle θ with
respect to the x axis as shown in fig.3. This angle, as is shown in the next section,
is given by
2cosδ
tan2θ = a (9)
b
− ab
In the case of normal incidence at the first surface of the prism with i1 = 0 the
fractions fp and fs are same and we get a simple result
tan2θt
cosδ = (10)
tan2θc
Study of the Ellipse
We draw co-ordinate axes x0 and y 0 along the major and the minor axes of the
ellipse. The transformation equations for going from (x, y) to the (x0 , y 0 ) system
are
x = x0 cosθ − y 0 sinθ (11)

y = x0 sinθ + y 0 cosθ (12)

The equation of the ellipse in terms of x0 and y 0 should not have a term containing
a product of x0 and y 0 . Equating the coefficient of this term to zero we arrive at
the equation 9 and the equation of the ellipse looks like
2 2
x0 y0
+ =1 (13)
p2 q2
where
b
q2 a
cos2 θ + ab sin2 θ − cosδsin2θ
= b (14)
p2 a
sin2 θ + ab cos2 θ + cosδsin2θ
The eccentricity  of the ellipse is given by
s
q2
= 1− (15)
p2

3
We work with an equilateral prism of refractive index n and angle A which has all
three of its faces polished. If the angle of incidence on the first surface be i1 , the
angle of incidence on the reflecting surface θi is given by

sini1
θi = A − sin−1 (16)
n

For a given prism of refractive index n, the angle of incidence at the first surface
has a maximum above which there is no total internal reflection. This angle is
given by
im = sin−1 (n.sinA.cosθcr − cosA) (17)

where θcr is the critical angle for total internal reflection given by sin−1 n1 .