Abstract

In this paper it is shown experimentally that when a voltage is applied to the Z direction to a basal section of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate the crystal becomes biaxial. The normal to the plate is the bisector of the axes and the plane of the axes is inclined at 45° to the crystallographic axes. The location of the axial plane is independent of the magnitude of the voltage. The retardation along the normal is directly proportional to the voltage and is independent of the thickness of the basal section. Photographs are shown of the interference pattern obtained with polarized light when voltage is applied to the crystal.

The behavior of the crystal plate with an alternating voltage is also described. Between polarizers the crystal can operate as a light valve both for short pulses as in a camera shutter or for complex sound waves as in a sound-on-film device. It is shown that with circular polarized light 74 percent sinusoidal modulation introduces only 3 percent harmonic distortion.

© 1949 Optical Society of America

The Electro-Optic Effect in Uniaxial Crystals of the Dihydrogen Phosphate (XH₂PO₄) Type. IV. Angular Field of the Electro-Optic Shutter*

Bruce H. Billings
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 42(1) 12-20 (1952)

The Electro-Optic Effect in Uniaxial Crystals of the Type X H₂PO₄. I. Theoretical

Bruce H. Billings
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 39(10) 797-801 (1949)

The Electro-Optic Effect in Uniaxial Crystals of the Dihydrogen Phosphate Type.*,† III. Measurement of Coefficients

Robert O’B. Carpenter
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 40(4) 225-229 (1950)

Reflection and Transmission Formulas for a Film on a Backing Plate

Frank Matossi
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 39(11) 928-929 (1949)

Linear Electro-Optic Effects in KH₂PO₄ and Its Isomorphs

James H. Ott and T. R. Sliker
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54(12) 1442-1444 (1964)