title: Measuring the dispersive properties of liquids using a microinterferometer.
abstract: Using a single-beam, compact interferometer, we measure the refractive index of liquids in the near IR. This highly compact device relies on a silica capillary with a 50 μm inner diameter: it uses a minimal volume of test liquid, isolates the liquid from the humid atmosphere, has broadband operation, and is inherently mechanically stable. These characteristics, in combination with straightforward data acquisition, make it particularly well-suited for measuring the optical properties in the near IR of a wide range of liquids. Using this refractometer, we measure the refractive index of high-index liquids that are expected to be hydroscopic. The accuracy of the refractometer (±0.1%) is demonstrated through measuring the indices of air and pure water. We show that the hydroscopic behavior of the probed liquids has little influence on their optical properties in the near IR.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS), School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. a.casas@physics.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: Alvaro Casas
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Bedoya
authors.forename: Christelle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Monat
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Domachuk
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grillet
authors.forename: Benjamin J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Eggleton
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000737:chemistry*; D008857:Microscopy, Interference / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared
chemical_list: D052578:Ionic Liquids