Measurement of phase retardation in a liquid crystal variable wave retarder using a polarizing triangular interferometer

The purpose of this study aims to investigate a new method for measuring the phase retardation caused by the induced birefringence from a liquid crystal sample. The method uses a polarizing triangular interferometer whose arrangement requires just a few optical devices. The liquid crystal phase retarder under investigation is inserted into an optical path of the triangular interferometer. The modified interference beam, therefore, is used to characterize the sample property. The method is proved to be effective and suitable for the measurements of polarization related parameters of the optical devices.