Pockels-Cell Drive
Calculate Pockels-cell retardation and ideal crossed-polarizer transmission.
Description
A Pockels-cell drive estimate converts voltage into retardation using a supplied half-wave voltage.
A Pockels-cell drive estimate converts voltage into retardation using a supplied half-wave voltage. Ideal crossed-polarizer transmission follows a sine-squared law.1
Calculate Pockels-cell retardation and ideal crossed-polarizer transmission.
When to use Pockels-Cell Drive
Use this tool to calculate Pockels-cell retardation and ideal crossed-polarizer transmission.
Prepare the optical measurements, geometry, fitted coefficients or caller-selected thresholds requested. Confirm wavelength, radius/diameter, pulse-width, angle and unit conventions before running the calculation.
How to use Pockels-Cell Drive and understand its results
- Prepare the optical measurements, geometry, fitted coefficients or caller-selected thresholds requested. Confirm wavelength, radius/diameter, pulse-width, angle and unit conventions before running the calculation.
- Enter driveVoltageVolts, halfWaveVoltageVolts using the field table and calculation rules, then run the tool.
- Read retardationRadians, crossedPolarizerTransmission, halfWaveFraction. The explanation below defines the units, signs, ordering and any flags or placeholder values.
- If the tool reports an input issue, correct the values and run it again. Apply the stated assumptions when interpreting a successfully returned result.
| Input field | Meaning | Value type; see rules below | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| driveVoltageVolts | Applied drive voltage (V) | number | Required |
| halfWaveVoltageVolts | Half-wave voltage (V) | number; minimum: 0 | Required |
Enter finite signed drive and positive half-wave voltage. Return fraction, radians and transmission.
fraction=drive/Vπ; retardation=πfraction; transmission=sin²(retardation/2) Units, indexing, boundary conditions and exceptional cases are defined in the calculation rules above.
| Output field | Meaning | Value type |
|---|---|---|
| retardationRadians | Electro-optic retardation (rad) | number |
| crossedPolarizerTransmission | Ideal crossed-polarizer transmission | number; minimum: 0; maximum: 1 |
| halfWaveFraction | Drive as a fraction of half-wave voltage | number |
{
"input": {
"driveVoltageVolts": 1,
"halfWaveVoltageVolts": 2
},
"output": {
"retardationRadians": 1.5707963267948966,
"crossedPolarizerTransmission": 0.4999999999999999,
"halfWaveFraction": 0.5
}
}Limitations and assumptions
No polarization misalignment, voltage bandwidth, extinction leakage or wavelength calibration is included.
Numeric inputs must be finite. Follow the calculation-specific rules for overflow, underflow and exceptional cases. Missing required fields, extra fields, wrong value types and violations of the calculation rules are input errors.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Use Half-Wave Plate Polarization: Calculate ideal linear-polarization rotation through a half-wave plate. For a complementary task, use Q-Switch Diffraction Efficiency: Calculate measured first-order acousto-optic diffraction efficiency.
References
-
Pockels-Cell Drive — tool.io
Similar or alternative tools
- Half-Wave Plate Polarization
Calculate ideal linear-polarization rotation through a half-wave plate.
- Q-Switch Diffraction Efficiency
Calculate measured first-order acousto-optic diffraction efficiency.