Quantitative measurement of birefringence in transparent films across the visible spectrum
Open accessAbstract
Common transparent polymer films, such as cellophane and household tape, are frequently used as examples of birefringent materials in textbooks and classroom demonstrations. Qualitatively, birefringence is often demonstrated by layering such films between crossed-polarizers. In this work, we describe an inexpensive experimental setup for the quantitative measurement of birefringence in common household films, suitable for senior high school or undergraduate labs. Whereas traditional approaches for polarization-based classroom experiments typically use monochromatic laser light, we encourage the combined use of an incoherent incandescent light source and a portable spectrometer. In addition, we demonstrate how any concomitant thin-film interference effects can be used to separately measure the optical thickness in the most heterogeneous and uniform films. Such measurement can then be used as an independent experimental confirmation of either the film's index of refraction or its thickness, given knowledge of the other. In an effort to provide examples for the data analysis procedures as well as to investigate a range of materials, we measure the birefringence across the visible spectrum of six common household polymer films, including thin kitchen wrap, cellophane, gift basket film, and common adhesive tapes.
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Birefringence is the property of certain materials to exhibit two or more distinct refractive indices when photons propagate along different axes.
“Birefringence is the property of certain materials to exhibit two (or more) distinct refractive indices n when photons propagate along different axes [11, 12].”
In transparent polymer films, the optical axis typically aligns with the edges of the tape.
“In transparent polymer films, the optical axis typically aligns with the edges of the tape.”
The Michel-Lévy chart only provides a single birefringence value, so the measurement is by definition approximate for any material whose birefringence is wavelength-dependent.
“The chart only provides a single birefringence value [13], and so the measurement is by definition approximate for any material whose birefringence is wavelength-dependent [12].”
Previous work has shown that the birefringence of many common transparent adhesive tapes remains nearly constant for parts of the visible spectrum.
“Previous work [12] has shown that the birefringence of many common transparent adhesive tapes remains nearly constant for parts of the visible spectrum”
The birefringence values measured in this experiment remain lower than those reported by Slepkov [12].
“although the values measured in our experiment remain lower than those reported in that study.”
A reduction in birefringence for longer wavelengths has also been observed by Slepkov [12] for some transparent tapes.
“A reduction in birefringence for longer wavelengths has also been observed by Slepkov [12] for some transparent tapes”
Cited by
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- Authors
- Slepkov, A. D.
- Affiliations
- Trent University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Slepkov, Aaron D.
- ORCID
- Slepkov, Aaron D.
- Venue
- American Journal of Physics
- Published
- 2022-08-01
- Volume
- 90
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 625-634
- ISSN
- 0002-9505 (ISSN-L)
- 1943-2909
- OpenAlex
- W4282967353
- Cited by
- 1
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 0.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- American Journal of Physics (publishedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (cc-by)
- Funders
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (RGPIN/4491-2018)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Statistical and Nonlinear Physics › Experimental and Theoretical Physics Studies
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Optical Polarization and Ellipsometry
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Optical measurement and interference techniques
- Keywords
- birefringence, transparent polymer films, cellophane, adhesive tape, thin film interference, optical depth, refractive index, crossed polarizers, visible spectrum, incoherent light, spectrometer, physics laboratory experiments
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