In electrodynamics, circular polarization of an electromagnetic wave is a polarization state in which, at each point, the electromagnetic field of the wave has a constant magnitude and is rotating at a constant rate in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the wave.
In electrodynamics, the strength and direction of an electric field is defined by its electric field vector. In the case of a circularly polarized wave, the tip of the electric field vector, at a given point in space, relates to the phase of the light as it travels through time and space. At any instant of time, the electric field vector of the wave indicates a point on a helix oriented along the direction of propagation. A circularly polarized wave can rotate in one of two possible senses: clockwise or right-handed circular polarization (RHCP) in which the electric field vector rotates in a right-hand sense with respect to the direction of propagation, and counter-clockwise or left-handed circular polarization (LHCP) in which the vector rotates in a left-hand sense.
Circular polarization is a limiting case of elliptical polarization. The other special case is the easier-to-understand linear polarization. All three terms were coined by Augustin-Jean Fresnel, in a memoir read to the French Academy of Sciences on 9 December 1822. Fresnel had first described the case of circular polarization, without yet naming it, in 1821.
The phenomenon of polarization arises as a consequence of the fact that light behaves as a two-dimensional transverse wave.
Circular polarization occurs when the two orthogonal electric field component vectors are of equal magnitude and are out of phase by exactly 90°, or one-quarter wavelength.
In a circularly polarized electromagnetic wave, the individual electric field vectors, as well as their combined vector, have a constant magnitude, and with changing phase angle. Given that this is a plane wave, each vector represents the magnitude and direction of the electric field for an entire plane that is perpendicular to the optical axis.
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Polarization (also polarisation) is a property of transverse waves which specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the wave. A simple example of a polarized transverse wave is vibrations traveling along a taut string (see image); for example, in a musical instrument like a guitar string. Depending on how the string is plucked, the vibrations can be in a vertical direction, horizontal direction, or at any angle perpendicular to the string.
In optics, polarized light can be described using the Jones calculus, discovered by R. C. Jones in 1941. Polarized light is represented by a Jones vector, and linear optical elements are represented by Jones matrices. When light crosses an optical element the resulting polarization of the emerging light is found by taking the product of the Jones matrix of the optical element and the Jones vector of the incident light. Note that Jones calculus is only applicable to light that is already fully polarized.
Optical rotation, also known as polarization rotation or circular birefringence, is the rotation of the orientation of the plane of polarization about the optical axis of linearly polarized light as it travels through certain materials. Circular birefringence and circular dichroism are the manifestations of optical activity. Optical activity occurs only in chiral materials, those lacking microscopic mirror symmetry. Unlike other sources of birefringence which alter a beam's state of polarization, optical activity can be observed in fluids.
Learn the basics of plasma, one of the fundamental states of matter, and the different types of models used to describe it, including fluid and kinetic.
Ce cours a pour objectif de familiariser les étudiants avec les principaux concepts, instruments et techniques de la télédétection environnementale. Les interactions ondes/matière, les différents type
Information is processed in physical devices. In the quantum regime the concept of classical bit is replaced by the quantum bit. We introduce quantum principles, and then quantum communications, key d
This code is used for developing the project entitled “Study on conformal antennas, proof of concept prototype for a UAV”, from the aspects of theory, design, and implementation. This code aims to speed up the investigation of an arbitrary phased array ant ...
A dual-shot technique based on the field basis addition of two statistically independent speckle patterns is developed to recover an input polarization through a scattering layer. It is proposed theoretically, and demonstrated both numerically and experime ...
In this work, we present a concept that leverages the strong piezoelectric polarization field in InGaN, which counteracts the external electric field at reverse bias. We show that despite the smaller InGaN band-gap and lower critical electric field, its st ...