title: Phase-shifting method with a normal polariscope.
abstract: In many laboratories of universities and industrial organizations, commercial polariscopes have the feature that the relative position of the two quarter-wave plates is fixed. This is due to the requirement of transforming a plane polariscope to a circular polariscope with greater precision and ease. Unfortunately, these polariscopes cannot implement Patterson and Wang's [Strain 27, 49-56 (1991)] phase-shifting algorithm because this algorithm requires that the second quarter-wave plate and the analyzer of the circular polariscope be capable of independent rotation. A new phase-shifting method that can be applied under these constraints is proposed. A comparative study with Patterson and Wang's [Strain 27, 49-56 (1991)] algorithm shows very good agreement. Furthermore, it is shown that four phase steps are sufficient to determine both the isoclinic and the isochromatic parameters.
authors.affiliation: Strength of Material Laboratory, School of Mechanical & Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. masundi@ntu.edu.sg
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Asundi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Boay