Polarization opticsreview

Circularpolarization

Huygens’ work laid the foundation for understanding polarization, although the term “polarization” itself was not coined until later. His insights were instrumental in explaining various optical phenomena, including the behavior of light as it interacts with different materials, such as crystals and lenses.

When polarization is referenced to an optical component’s optical axis, the states are referred to as “S” and “P” states. These stand for perpendicular (S) and parallel (P). The “S” stands for “senkrecht” which is German, and translates to “perpendicular” in English.

s-polarization vs ppolarization

The original discovery of polarization of light is attributed to the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens in the 17th century. In 1690, Huygens proposed that light consists of waves that propagate through a medium, much like waves in water. He observed that when light passes through certain materials or is reflected at certain angles, its oscillations become aligned in a specific direction.

Where theta is the angle between the polarization axis of the polarizer and the polarization direction of the incident light, I_0 is the incident light source power, and I_{transmitted} is the transmitted power.

Otherwise, if polarization is being referenced in a general way we use the terms “horizontal” and “vertical” with some surface (such as a breadboard) being the reference.