A practical design of a simple retardance meter.
A working design of a simple retardance meter is indicated. The device permits direct, quick, and accurate measurement of the retardance, for example, of an oriented polymeric film which is intended for use as a phase changer plate in the production of elliptically polarized light. The method involves the direct compensation of the sample's retardance using the calibrated retardance of a mica crystal which is variably tilted about one of its two principal planar axes. Several suggestions relating to the optical design, assembly, and calibration of the device are included.
Makas
A S
AS
Research Department, Polaroid Corporation,Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.