Apresentamos neste trabalho uma nova técnica de medida dos termos não-lineares do coeficiente de absorção (beta) e do índice de refração (n_2). Esta nova técnica, denominada Varredura Z de Reflexão Inclinada, aumenta a sensibilidade da Varredura Z de Reflexão em cerca de 30 vezes pelo emprego de um feixe polarizado com incidência inclinada sobre a amostra em estudo. Para uma polarização paralela ao plano de incidência, temos um máximo de sensibilidade nas proximidades do ângulo de Brewster para materiais transparentes, ou do ângulo de mínima reflexão em materiais absortivos. Conseguimos por este método medir variações do índice de refração da ordem de 10^{-4} em absorvedores saturáveis (Aluminato de Gadolínio - GdAlO_{3}:Cr^{+3}). Tais medidas não seriam possíveis sem o aumento obtido na sensibilidade e o uso de uma alta resolução no sistema de aquisição (melhor que 0,1% em intensidade). / We present in this work a new technique that we developed for the measurements of nonlinear coefficients of the absorption (beta) and from the refractive index (n_2). The use of a polarized beam in this new technique (Reflection Z-Scan with Inclined Incidence) increases the set-up sensibility of the conventional RZ-Scan measurement in 30 times. For parallel polarization of the beam to the incidence plane, we can see an increase in the measurement sensibility as the incident light angle approaches the Brewster angle for transparent materials, or the minimum reflection angle for an absorbing material. We have measured changes in the refractive index as small as 10^{-4} in saturable absorber (Gadolinium Aluminate - GdAlO_{3}:Cr^{+3}). Such measurements would not be possible without the development of the sensitivity enhancement achieved by this technique and a high amplitude resolution on the data acquisition system, as small as 0.1%.

Apresentamos neste trabalho uma nova técnica de medida dos termos não-lineares do coeficiente de absorção (beta) e do índice de refração (n_2). Esta nova técnica, denominada Varredura Z de Reflexão Inclinada, aumenta a sensibilidade da Varredura Z de Reflexão em cerca de 30 vezes pelo emprego de um feixe polarizado com incidência inclinada sobre a amostra em estudo. Para uma polarização paralela ao plano de incidência, temos um máximo de sensibilidade nas proximidades do ângulo de Brewster para materiais transparentes, ou do ângulo de mínima reflexão em materiais absortivos. Conseguimos por este método medir variações do índice de refração da ordem de 10^{-4} em absorvedores saturáveis (Aluminato de Gadolínio - GdAlO_{3}:Cr^{+3}). Tais medidas não seriam possíveis sem o aumento obtido na sensibilidade e o uso de uma alta resolução no sistema de aquisição (melhor que 0,1% em intensidade). / We present in this work a new technique that we developed for the measurements of nonlinear coefficients of the absorption (beta) and from the refractive index (n_2). The use of a polarized beam in this new technique (Reflection Z-Scan with Inclined Incidence) increases the set-up sensibility of the conventional RZ-Scan measurement in 30 times. For parallel polarization of the beam to the incidence plane, we can see an increase in the measurement sensibility as the incident light angle approaches the Brewster angle for transparent materials, or the minimum reflection angle for an absorbing material. We have measured changes in the refractive index as small as 10^{-4} in saturable absorber (Gadolinium Aluminate - GdAlO_{3}:Cr^{+3}). Such measurements would not be possible without the development of the sensitivity enhancement achieved by this technique and a high amplitude resolution on the data acquisition system, as small as 0.1%.

We present the development of a far-field magneto-optical Kerr effect microscope. An inverted optical microscope was constructed to accommodate Kerr imaging and atomic force microscopy. In Kerr microscopy, magnetic structure is investigated by measuring the polarization rotation of light reflected from a sample in the presence of a magnetic field. Atomic force microscopy makes use of a probe which is scanned over a sample surface to map the topography. The design was created virtually in SolidWorks, a three-dimensional computer-aided drafting environment, to ensure compatibility and function of the various components, both commercial and custom-machined, required for the operation of this instrument. The various aspects of the microscope are controlled by custom circuitry and a field programmable gate array data acquisition card at the direction of the control code written in National Instrument LabVIEW. The microscope has proven effective for both Kerr and atomic force microscopy. Kerr images are presented which reveal the bit structure of magneto-optical disks, as are atomic force micrographs of an AFM calibration grid. Also discussed is the future direction of this project, which entails improving the resolution of the instrument beyond the diffraction limit through near-field optical techniques. Preliminary work on fiber probe designs is presented along with probe fabrication work and the system modifications necessary to utilize such probes.

The contrast mechanism in Kerr imaging is the apparent angle through which the plane of polarization is rotated upon reflection from a magnetic surface. This can be calculated for a well characterized surface given the polarization state of the incident light. As in traditional optical microscopy, the spatial resolution is limited by diffraction to roughly half the wavelength of the illumination light. The diffraction limit can be circumvented through the use of near-field scanning optical microscopy, in which the illumination source is an evanescent field at the tip of a tapered optical fiber. A novel probe design for near-field optical imaging in reflection mode will be proposed, and experimental work on the development of a near-field Kerr microscope performed up to this point will be presented. The complication in merging these two techniques arises from the complex polarization profile of the evanescent field. This profile can be characterized for a given probe geometry with the use of electromagnetic field modeling software, allowing for subsequent modeling of the polarization profile of the optical response. An algorithm for predicting the optical response to a near-field probe tip from a generalized multilayer thin-film is presented.

No description available.

The laser-induced molecular reorientation effect of guest-host dye-doped liquid crystals in isotropic phase has been studied by measuring the signals of optical Kerr effect using pulsed frequency-doubling Nd:YAG laser as a pumping source. The critical behavior near the isotropic-nematic transition has been observed when the temperature approaches to the phase transition of liquid crystal. The relaxation time constant is about several hundreds of ns as the temperature is far above the clearing point of liquid crystals and that is longer than 1500 ns as the temperature is close to the clearing point of liquid crystals. According to Landau¡¦s second phase transition theory, the interaction between liquid crystal molecules will be increased and the nonlinearity effect of liquid crystal will be enhanced when the temperature is near the clearing point of liquid crystal. The relaxation time constant of molecular reorientation is a function of viscosity and temperature of liquid crystal, the relationship can be fitted as£b0*exp(f/T)*(1/T-T*),where £b0 is the viscosity coefficient and T* is the clearing point of the sample. The optical Kerr signal is found to be proportional to the energy density of pumping source. The optical Kerr signal can be sustained as long as 20£gs when the energy density of pumping source reaches to 1J/cm sq. The enhancement of molecular reorientation effect is also observed by increasing the concentration of dye.

Not available / text

This work is comprised of the study of two magneto-optical phenomena: the Kerr effect and the Faraday effect. Neutron physics experiments often utilize polarized neutrons, and one method to generate or guide polarized neutrons involves the use of a system of magnetic super-mirrors. Experience shows that the magnetization of the super-mirror may decay with time; therefore, we implemented the surface magneto-optical Kerr effect (SMOKE) to study the temporal behavior of the magnetization of a magnetized remnant super-mirror sample, where a sensitivity of 0.1 mrad was obtained. Unique to our set-up was the method in which the various magnetization directions were probed. The sample was magnetized prior to insertion into the set-up, and a high precision rotational stage was used to manually rotate the sample to effectively generate a reversal of the magnetic field. Multiple samples from a larger super-mirror specimen were tested, in which no change in the magnetization was detected for one month after sample magnetization. Further studies could increase the sensitivity of the experiment, potentially rendering the method as an application for real-time magnetization monitoring. Polarized 3He nuclei are often used as an effective polarized neutron target at various laboratories, including Jefferson Lab, through the use of spin-exchange optical pumping in a glass cell constructed of GE-180. Utilizing the nuclear spin optical rotation to measure the Faraday effect of polarized 3He would develop a new procedure for polarization monitoring, establish a powerful tool to diagnose the wall properties and thicknesses of the cells used, and the determination of the frequency independent magnetic component of the polarizability would ultimately lead to the extraction of the spin polarizability of 3He. Furthermore, this study has the future implications of being the pioneer experiment for terrestrial dark matter studies. A new triple modulation technique was devised, where a sensitivity of 60 nrad was obtained, and the first ever extraction of the Verdet constant of GE-180 was recorded, an important factor in wall thicknesses and diagnostic investigations for Jefferson Lab. However, a measurement of the nuclear spin optical rotation of a polarized 3He target was not realized, as the measured polarization suggests a Faraday rotation just below the 60 nrad threshold. Nevertheless, the devised triple modulation method proves to be a very sensitive probe in Faraday effect studies, and additional examination of the polarized target for the production of a larger polarization, should yield a measurement of the nuclear spin optical rotation of polarized 3He.

No description available.

Magnetization dynamics in polycrystalline Permalloy thin films were studied in-situ using a time-resolved magneto-optic Kerr effect microscope (TR-MOKE). The films, in thicknesses from 9 to 22 nm, were thermally evaporated in a high-vacuum (<10⁻⁸ mbar) environment. Two important dynamic parameters of the magnetization, the precessional frequency and effective damping constant α eff, are obtained from the picosecond time-resolved evolution of the magnetization after a magnetic field pulse excitation. For all film thicknesses investigated, the magnetization carried out precessional motion at a frequency of ~2 GHz. The effective damping constant α eff is extracted from the precessional decay time τ. The decay time is obtained by fitting the experimental time trace of the magnetization to a damped sine function of the form M(t)=Mo e -t/τ sin(ωt-φ), where ω is the angular frequency of the precession mode and φ is the initial phase of the precession. For the thinnest film investigated, α eff reaches the value of 0.32, considerably higher than any previously reported values. The physical origin of the increased magnetic damping is discussed in terms of the surface roughness induced extrinsic damping in magnetic thin films, but the experimentally found thickness-dependence of α eff, however, does not agree with the prediction. The discrepancy is attributed to the percolation of Permalloy islands into connected clusters occurring at the thickness of ~18 nm.