Abstract

When voltage is put across a crystal of the type X H₂PO₄, the index ellipsoid in the crystal is rotated and the length of the axes changes. Two electro-optic coefficients are necessary to describe the effect in the most general plate of the crystal. The necessity for two coefficients is shown from consideration of the crystal symmetry. The behavior of Z-cut and X-cut plates are treated in detail. For Z-cut plates with the voltage in the Z direction the crystal becomes biaxial with the plane of the optic axes at 45° to the X and Y crystallographic axis. The retardation along the normal to the plate is directly proportional to the voltage and independent of the thickness. The characteristics of the polarization interference pattern for excited X and Z plates are discussed.

© 1949 Optical Society of America

The Electro-Optic Effect in Uniaxial Crystals of the Type XH₂PO₄. II. Experimental

Bruce H. Billings
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 39(10) 802-808 (1949)

The Electro-Optic Effect in Uniaxial Crystals of the Dihydrogen Phosphate (XH₂PO₄) Type. IV. Angular Field of the Electro-Optic Shutter*

Bruce H. Billings
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 42(1) 12-20 (1952)

The Electro-Optic Effect in Uniaxial Crystals of the Dihydrogen Phosphate Type.*,† III. Measurement of Coefficients

Robert O’B. Carpenter
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 40(4) 225-229 (1950)

Linear Electro-Optic Effects in KH₂PO₄ and Its Isomorphs

James H. Ott and T. R. Sliker
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54(12) 1442-1444 (1964)

Electro-Optical Effect of Zincblende

Susumu Namba
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 51(1) 76-79 (1961)