Abstract

The measurement of natural optical activity by means of specular light reflection can provide an alternative method for spectroscopy of chiral materials that is in some cases (e.g., for thin films and opaque materials) more advantageous than current methods based on light transmission. The Fresnel amplitudes for specular reflection of light from a naturally chiral, birefringent medium are derived on the basis of a theory that takes account of spatial dispersion in both the electric and the magnetic material relations. Previous derivations neglecting the light-induced magnetization result in Fresnel amplitudes that violate the law of energy conservation (Poynting’s theorem). The differential reflection of left- and right-circularly polarized light by chiral uniaxial media is examined as a function of angle incidence and shown to peak near Brewster’s angle. The measurement of the differential circular reflection may possibly be best accomplished by photoelastic modulation of the probe-beam polarization followed by synchronous detection; the experimental prospect for achieving this is discussed.

© 1990 Optical Society of America

Experimental configurations using optical phase modulation to measure chiral asymmetries in light specularly reflected from a naturally gyrotropic medium

M. P. Silverman, N. Ritchie, G. M. Cushman, and B. Fisher
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Reflection and refraction at the surface of a chiral medium: comparison of gyrotropic constitutive relations invariant or noninvariant under a duality transformation

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Wave propagation through a medium with static and dynamic birefringence: theory of the photoelastic modulator

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Interferometric enhancement of chiral asymmetries: ellipsometry with an optically active Fabry–Perot interferometer

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