Time-resolved and steady-state electric birefringence imaging with a slow-scan video camera is used to study orientation during DNA agarose gel electrophoresis. The hydrodynamically induced gel distortion is shown to be the major source of birefringence under electrophoresis running conditions and to generate a birefringence image that approximates the image of the DNA concentration gradient in...

PURPOSE To evaluate the acute effects of laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) upon the synthesis of proteoglycans (PGs) and collagen fibril organization in human corneal explants. METHODS Human corneas that had been rejected for transplants were obtained at Banco de Olhos of Hospital São Paulo. For each eye pair, one cornea was submitted to refractive surgery, and the other was used as its ma...

Fiber Bragg gratings inscribed with a femtosecond laser using the point-by-point (PbP) technique have polarization dependent grating strength (PDGS) and exhibit birefringence. In this paper we quantify the dependence of these two properties on the ellipticity, position in the core and size of the micro-voids at the center of each refractive index modulation. We demonstrate that the effective mo...

Abstract Pearlescence and iridescence, which are a class of light diffusion effects that exhibit sharp viewing-angle-dependent brightness colors, important material properties for notification purposes lighting devices. Here we report elastomeric materials with self-organized periodic birefringent patterns these optical effects, additional dynamic reversible tunability. A stack micron-thick lay...

PURPOSE Thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer and changes in retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) birefringence may both precede clinically detectable glaucomatous vision loss. Early detection of RNFL changes may enable treatment to prevent permanent loss of vision. Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) can provide objective information on RNFL thickness and birefringence...

We experimentally observe polarization-locked vector solitons in a passively mode-locked fiber laser. The vector soliton pulse is composed of components along both principal polarization axes of the linearly birefringent laser cavity. For certain values of birefringence and pulse energy these components propagate with a constant relative optical phase of 6p/2, and hence the pulse has a fixed el...

In this thesis, nonlinear birefringence in optical fibers has been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Good agreement has been found between experiment and theory. Its applications in ultrafast optical pulse shaping has been discussed. A more efficient scheme of pulse shaping based on nonlinear birefringence has been proposed and analyzed. It was found that the ellipticity of in...

We demonstrate a direction controllable linearly polarized laser from a dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) in a homogeneous cell coated with a metallic mirror on the inner side of a glass substrate. Due to coherent superposition of two orthogonal polarization states, the output laser light becomes linearly polarized and its output energy is greatly enhanced. Moreover, the linear polariz...

Thermal stress can induce birefringence in a laser medium, which can cause depolarization of the laser. The depolarization effect will be very severe in a high-average-power laser. Because the depolarization will make the frequency doubling efficiency decline, it should be compensated. In this paper, the thermal characteristics of two kinds of materials are analyzed in respect of temperature, t...