title: Principles of an intracavity polarimeter for measuring small optical anisotropies with an application to diffractive dichroism.
abstract: An intracavity polarimeter is described that is capable of measuring both weak birefringence and dichroism simultaneously. It uses, for the first time to our knowledge, polarization flips in a quasi-isotropic He-Ne laser. The laser operates at 3.39 µm. Calibration of the polarimeter is carried out by using the anisotropic properties of a tilted plate. As an illustration of the sensitivity, the diffractive anisotropy of an intracavity slit is measured.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ait-Ameur
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stéphan
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paddon
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: May