Eel 4410 Fields and Waves: Nezih Pala, Florida International University Online
Eel 4410 Fields and Waves: Nezih Pala, Florida International University Online
Eel 4410 Fields and Waves: Nezih Pala, Florida International University Online
The polarization of a uniform plane wave describes the locus traced by the tip of the E vector (in
the plane orthogonal to the direction of propagation) at a given point in space as a function of
time.
In the most general case, the locus of the tip of E is an ellipse, and the wave is said to be
elliptically polarized. Under certain conditions, the ellipse may degenerate into a circle or a
straight line, in which case the polarization state is called circular or linear, respectively.
with then
Inclination Angle
Magnitude of E
Linear Polarization: or
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For ax = ay = a and δ = π /2, the total electric field phasor and the
corresponding instantaneous field become
Remember
𝑒𝑒 𝑗𝑗𝜋𝜋/2 = 𝑗𝑗
The polarization ellipse shown in the figure has its major axis with length aξ along the aξ -
direction and its minor axis with length aη along the η-direction. The rotation angle γ is defined
as the angle between the major axis of the ellipse and a reference direction, chosen here to be
the x-axis, with γ being bounded within the range -π/2 ≤ γ ≤ π/2. The shape of the ellipse and
its handedness are characterized by the ellipticity angle χ, defined as
𝑎𝑎𝜂𝜂 1 + for left-handed rotation
tan 𝜒𝜒 = ± =±
𝑎𝑎𝜉𝜉 𝑅𝑅 – for right-handed rotation
Elliptical Polarization: General Case
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The quantity R = aξ/aη is called the axial ratio of the polarization ellipse, and it varies
between 1 for circular polarization and ∞; for linear polarization. The polarization angles γ
and χ are related to the wave parameters ax ay and δ by
where ψ0 is an auxiliary angle defined by
Positive values of χ, corresponding to sin δ > 0, are associated with left-handed rotation, and
negative values of χ, corresponding to sin δ < 0, are associated with right-handed rotation.
Wire-grid Polarizer
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Electromagnetic waves which have a component of their electric fields aligned parallel
to the wires induce the movement of electrons along the length of the wires and the
wave is reflected backwards along the incident beam.
Waves with electric fields perpendicular to the wires, the electrons cannot move very far
across the width of each wire; therefore, little energy is reflected, and the incident wave
is able to pass through the grid.
Circular polarizer involves placing a quarter-wave plate after a linear polarizer and
directing unpolarized light through the linear polarizer. The linearly polarized light leaving
the linear polarizer is transformed into circularly polarized light by the quarter wave plate.
The transmission axis of the linear polarizer needs to be half way (45°) between the fast
and slow axes of the quarter-wave plate.
Quarter-wave plate is made of a birefringent material. When in the wave plate, the light
travels at different speeds depending on the direction of its electric field. This means that
the horizontal component which is along the slow axis of the wave plate will travel at a
slower speed than the component that is directed along the vertical fast axis.
© Nezih Pala [email protected] EEL4410 Fields and Waves
Example 7-3: Polarization State
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Upon specifying the amplitudes and phases of the x- and y-components of E, the user can
observe the trace of E in the x-y plane (Module 7.2) as well as the 3-D profile of the E vector
over a specified length span (Module 7.3).
http://em.eecs.umich.edu/ch7/mod2/Polarization.html
CD Modules 7.2 & 7.3 Polarization I & Polarization II
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http://em.eecs.umich.edu/ch7/mod3/Polarization2.html