Synonyms
Double refraction; Optical anisotropy of polymers
Definition
Birefringence is a phenomenon to cause two refracted rays of light when a ray of light enters an optically anisotropic material. The two rays are, respectively, called the ordinary ray and the extraordinary ray, and their polarizations are orthogonal. Birefringence of polymer is often measured as difference between refractive indices for the two rays. Birefringence of polymers should be controlled for some photonic devices.
Introduction
A polymer molecular chain has a polarizability anisotropy originated from its three-dimensional chemical structure. In completely amorphous state, polarizability anisotropies for repeating units are compensated by each other because the polymer molecular chains are randomly oriented. As a result, the polymer macroscopically becomes optically isotropic and exhibits no birefringence. The polymer, however, exhibits birefringence when the polymer molecular chains are oriented by stress....
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Tagaya, A. (2015). Birefringence of Polymer. In: Kobayashi, S., Müllen, K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Polymeric Nanomaterials. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29648-2_116
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