Module 26: Polarization-I

Lecture 26: Polarization-I

We have learnt that light is an electromagnetic wave that can have different
states of polarization. In this chapter we shall discuss how to produce polarized
light and manipulate the polarization state.

26.1

Natural Radiation

Figure 26.1: The electric field in an ordinary light

What is the polarization state of the light from a natural source like the
sun or from an incandescent lamp? Such sources may be thought of as a
collection of a large number of incoherent sources. The radiation is the sum
~ of the
of the contributions from all of these sources. The electric field E
resulting light wave varies randomly (Figure 26.1) in the plane perpendicular
to the direction in which the wave propagates. This randomly polarized light
is referred to as unpolarized light.

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CHAPTER 26. POLARIZATION-I

E

z
x

Figure 26.2: A linear polarizer producing a polarized light along the y direction

26.2

Producing polarized light

There are devices called polarizers which produce linearly polarized light. Figure 26.2 shows a polarizer placed in the path of light travelling along the z
~ of the incident light can oscillate in any direction in
axis. The electric field E
~ component parallel to the
the x y plane. The polarizer permits only the E
transmission axis of the polarizer to pass through. Here we consider a polarizer whose transmission axis is along the y direction. So the light that emerges
from the polarizer is linearly polarized along the y axis.The intensity of the
polarized light, produced in this way, is half of the intensity of the incident
unpolarized light.

Figure 26.3: Consecutive polarizers

We next consider two polarizers whose transmission axes have an angle

between them as shown in Figure 26.3. The light is linearly polarized after
the first polarizer with
~ t) = E0 cos(t kz)j
E(z,

(26.1)

26.2. PRODUCING POLARIZED LIGHT

163

~ compoand intensity I0 = E02 /2. The second polarizer allows only the E
nent along its transmission axis to pass through. The light that emerges is
linearly polarized along e the transmission axis of the second polarizer. The
transmitted wave is
~ t) = E0 cos cos(t kz)
E(z,
e

(26.2)

The amplitude of the wave goes down by cos and the intensity is I =
E02 cos2 /2 = cos2 I0 . We see that linearly polarized light of intensity I0
has intensity I0 cos2 after it passes through a polarizer. Here is the angle
between the transmission axis of the polarizer and the polarization direction
of the incident light. This is known as Maluss Law.
There are essentially four methods to produce polarized light from unpolarized light: [a.] Dichroism [b] Scattering [c.] Reflection [d.] Birefringence.

26.2.1

Dichroism or selective absorption

~ component perpendicular to the transmisA dichroic polarizer absorbs the E

sion axis. Unpolarized light gets converted to polarized light. A wire mesh
polarizer is an example. Consider unpolarized light incident on a wire mesh
as shown in Figure 26.4.

Figure 26.4: A wire mesh polarizer

~ component parallel to the wires in the mesh sets up currents in
The E
the wires and this component is not allowed to go through the mesh. The
perpendicular component is allowed to go through unaffected. The light that
emerges is linearly polarized perpendicular to the wires in the mesh. It is
relatively easy to construct a wire mesh with a few mm spacing, and this is
a very effective polarizer for radiowaves and microwaves. Microscopic wire
meshes produced by depositing gold or aluminium act like a polarizer for
infrared waves.
There are dichroic crystals like tourmaline. These crystals have a preferred
~ component perpendirection called the optic axis. For incident light the E
dicular to the optic axis is strongly absorbed, the component parallel to the

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CHAPTER 26. POLARIZATION-I

Tourmaline

Optic axis

Figure 26.5: A dichroic crystal

optic axis is allowed to pass through as shown in the Fig. 26.5. The light
that emerges is linearly polarized parallel to the optic axis. The absorption
properties of such crystals have a strong wavelength dependence whereby the
crystal appears coloured.
In 1938 E.H. Land invented the polaroid H-sheet, possibly the most commonly used linear polarizer. A sheet of polyvinyl alcohol is heated and stretched
in a particular direction causing the long-chained hydrocarbons to get aligned.
The sheet is then dipped into ink that is rich in iodine. The sheet absorbs
iodine which forms chains along the polymer chains. These iodine chains act
~ comlike conducting wires and the whole sheet acts like a wire mesh. The E
ponent parallel to the chains is absorbed, and the light that passes through
is linearly polarized in the direction perpendicular to that in which the sheet
was stretched.

26.2.2

Scattering

~ field of the incident

If an unpolarized light is incident on a molecule, the E
light induces a dipole moment in the molecule. This oscillating dipole sends
out radiation in different directions. This is the process of scattering.
The incident light can be decomposed into two orthogonal linear polarizations respectively parallel and perpendicular to the plane of the page as shown
in Figure 26.6. An observer O located at 90 to the incident direction observes
the scattered light. The dipole produced by the parallel component of the
~ does not produce any E
~ at the observer O. The observer O receives
incident E
radiation only from the dipole oscillations perpendicular to the plane of the paper. The scattered radiation received at O is linearly polarized perpendicular
to the plane of the paper.
During daytime the sky appears illuminated because of the sunlight scattered by the atmosphere (Figure 26.7). The scattered light is polarized by
the mechanism discussed here. The polarization is maximum (although not
completely plane polarized) when the light is scattered at 90 to the incident

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26.2. PRODUCING POLARIZED LIGHT

Parallel

Perpendicular

P
P
E

E
Observer

Observer

Figure 26.6: Scattering of light by a molecule

Z

Sun

Atmosphere

Sunlight (unpolarised)

Y
E

Scattering centre

B
k

Earth

Scattered light
(polarised)

Figure 26.7: Polarization by scattering

direction. It is less partially polarized at other scattering angles.

26.2.3

Reflection

Light reflected from the surface of dielectric materials like glass or water is
~ compopartially linearly polarized. We decompose the incident light into E
nents parallel and perpendicular to the plane of the paper as shown in Figure
26.8.
To model the reflection at the surface we assume that the dielectric is a
collection of dipoles which are set into oscillation by the electric field of the
radiation inside the dielectric. The reflected wave is produced by the combined
radiation of these oscillating dipoles. In the situation where
r + t = 90

(26.3)

~ parallel to the plane of the paper is

the dipole produced by the component of E
aligned with the direction of the reflected wave. As a consequence the intensity
of the reflected wave is zero for this component of linear polarization. The
reflected wave is linearly polarized perpendicular to the plane of the paper.
The angle of incidence at which this occurs is called the Brewsters angle

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CHAPTER 26. POLARIZATION-I

Parallel

Perpendicular
E

Figure 26.8: Polarization by reflection

B (Figure 26.9)(also known as polarization angle). This can be calculated

using
ni sin B = nr sin t

(26.4)

where ni is the refractive index of the medium containing the incident and
the reflected rays and nr is the refractive index of the medium containing the
refracted ray. And t = 90 B whereby
ni sin B = nr cos B
and
tan B =

nr
ni

(26.6)

This is known as Brewsters Law.

(26.5)

/2

Figure 26.9: Brewsters angle

26.2. PRODUCING POLARIZED LIGHT

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Problems
1. Linearly polarized light with intensity I is normally incident on a polarizer. The plane of polarization of the incident light is at 30 to the
transmission axis of the polarizer. What is the intensity of the transmitted light?
2. Calculate the Brewsters angle B for glass n = 1.5.