Abstract

The critical angle method for refractive index measurement has attracted considerable attention. Precisely obtaining the critical angle is vital to the measurement process. Two advanced algorithms capable of improving the resolution of critical angle refractive index measurement systems are demonstrated. It is experimentally verified that the two algorithms improve the measurement resolution and retain linearity in the entire measurement range. The algorithm analyzes the data near the critical angle to achieve high precision, and this approach provides a notable improvement over the traditional algorithm. We perform verification experiments using liquid samples with low concentration differences, and the RI changes of these samples cannot be identified by traditional algorithms. The proposed algorithm is superior to the traditional method, which yields a resolution of less than ${10}^{-5}$ refractive index unit (RIU). The repeatability test shows that the uncertainty is ${10}^{-5}$ RIU (99.7% confidence).

© 2019 Optical Society of America

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