Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface to the second English edition
- Preface to the first edition
- Introduction
- 1 Abbe's sine condition
- 2 Fourier optics
- 3 Effect of polarization on diffraction in systems of high numerical aperture
- 4 Gaussian beam optics
- 5 Coherent and incoherent imaging
- 6 First-order temporal coherence in classical optics
- 7 The van Cittert–Zernike theorem
- 8 Partial polarization, Stokes parameters, and the Poincaré sphere
- 9 Second-order coherence and the Hanbury Brown–Twiss experiment
- 10 What in the world are surface plasmons?
- 11 Surface plasmon polaritons on metallic surfaces
- 12 The Faraday effect
- 13 The magneto-optical Kerr effect
- 14 The Sagnac interferometer
- 15 Fabry–Pérot etalons in polarized light
- 16 The Ewald–Oseen extinction theorem
- 17 Reciprocity in classical linear optics
- 18 Optical pulse compression
- 19 The uncertainty principle in classical optics
- 20 Omni-directional dielectric mirrors
- 21 Linear optical vortices
- 22 Geometric-optical rays, Poynting's vector, and the field momenta
- 23 Doppler shift, stellar aberration, and convection of light by moving media
- 24 Diffraction gratings
- 25 Diffractive optical elements
- 26 The Talbot effect
- 27 Some quirks of total internal reflection
- 28 Evanescent coupling
- 29 Internal and external conical refraction
- 30 Transmission of light through small elliptical apertures
- 31 The method of Fox and Li
- 32 The beam propagation method
- 33 Launching light into a fiber
- 34 The optics of semiconductor diode lasers
- 35 Michelson's stellar interferometer
- 36 Bracewell's interferometric telescope
- 37 Scanning optical microscopy
- 38 Zernike's method of phase contrast
- 39 Polarization microscopy
- 40 Nomarski's differential interference contrast microscope
- 41 The van Leeuwenhoek microscope
- 42 Projection photolithography
- 43 Interaction of light with subwavelength structures
- 44 The Ronchi test
- 45 The Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor
- 46 Ellipsometry
- 47 Holography and holographic interferometry
- 48 Self-focusing in nonlinear optical media
- 49 Spatial optical solitons
- 50 Laser heating of multilayer stacks
- Index
- References
17 - Reciprocity in classical linear optics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 January 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface to the second English edition
- Preface to the first edition
- Introduction
- 1 Abbe's sine condition
- 2 Fourier optics
- 3 Effect of polarization on diffraction in systems of high numerical aperture
- 4 Gaussian beam optics
- 5 Coherent and incoherent imaging
- 6 First-order temporal coherence in classical optics
- 7 The van Cittert–Zernike theorem
- 8 Partial polarization, Stokes parameters, and the Poincaré sphere
- 9 Second-order coherence and the Hanbury Brown–Twiss experiment
- 10 What in the world are surface plasmons?
- 11 Surface plasmon polaritons on metallic surfaces
- 12 The Faraday effect
- 13 The magneto-optical Kerr effect
- 14 The Sagnac interferometer
- 15 Fabry–Pérot etalons in polarized light
- 16 The Ewald–Oseen extinction theorem
- 17 Reciprocity in classical linear optics
- 18 Optical pulse compression
- 19 The uncertainty principle in classical optics
- 20 Omni-directional dielectric mirrors
- 21 Linear optical vortices
- 22 Geometric-optical rays, Poynting's vector, and the field momenta
- 23 Doppler shift, stellar aberration, and convection of light by moving media
- 24 Diffraction gratings
- 25 Diffractive optical elements
- 26 The Talbot effect
- 27 Some quirks of total internal reflection
- 28 Evanescent coupling
- 29 Internal and external conical refraction
- 30 Transmission of light through small elliptical apertures
- 31 The method of Fox and Li
- 32 The beam propagation method
- 33 Launching light into a fiber
- 34 The optics of semiconductor diode lasers
- 35 Michelson's stellar interferometer
- 36 Bracewell's interferometric telescope
- 37 Scanning optical microscopy
- 38 Zernike's method of phase contrast
- 39 Polarization microscopy
- 40 Nomarski's differential interference contrast microscope
- 41 The van Leeuwenhoek microscope
- 42 Projection photolithography
- 43 Interaction of light with subwavelength structures
- 44 The Ronchi test
- 45 The Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor
- 46 Ellipsometry
- 47 Holography and holographic interferometry
- 48 Self-focusing in nonlinear optical media
- 49 Spatial optical solitons
- 50 Laser heating of multilayer stacks
- Index
- References
Summary
An informal survey of some colleagues and students revealed that the notion of reciprocity in optics is not widely appreciated. One colleague even justified the prevailing ignorance by drawing a parallel between reciprocity in optics and complementarity in quantum mechanics: “Both are true statements which have little, if any, practical value in their respective domains.” This chapter is an attempt at explaining the concept of reciprocity, clarifying some associated misconceptions, and pointing out its practical applications.
Non-reciprocity of Faraday rotators
No one disputes that a Faraday rotator is a non-reciprocal element. The usual argument goes as follows. Let a linearly polarized beam of light be fully transmitted through a polarizing beam-splitter (PBS) before being directed through a 45° Faraday rotator, as shown in Figure 17.1. If the beam is reflected back (by an ordinary mirror, for example), it retraces its path through the rotator and emerges with its polarization vector rotated by a full 90°. At the PBS, therefore, the returning beam will be deflected away from its original path. (This, in fact, is a well-known method of isolating laser diodes from spurious reflections within a given system.) Since the reflected light does not return on its original path, and since the PBS is believed to be reciprocal, the argument is taken as proof of the non-reciprocity of the Faraday rotator.
Although it is true that Faraday rotators are non-reciprocal, there is a flaw in the above argument, which will become clear upon inspection of the system of Figure 17.2.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Classical Optics and its Applications , pp. 224 - 239Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009