Interference with polarized light beams: Generation of spatially varying polarization

TL;DR

This paper presents a method using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer to generate and analyze spatially varying polarization patterns, known as polarization gratings, through superposition of polarized laser beams.

Contribution

It introduces a combined theoretical and experimental approach to create and characterize polarization gratings resulting from beam interference.

Findings

Successful generation of polarization gratings via interferometry

Theoretical description using Stokes parameters matches experimental results

Demonstration of polarization effects on beam interference patterns

Abstract

Using a scheme based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, we propose an analysis of the superposition of polarized laser beams at a given angle. The focus of our study is the spatially varying polarization state of the resulting field, also known as a polarization grating, generated by this setup. Our proposal combines a theoretical description of the resulting field in terms of its Stokes parameters with an experimental demonstration of the existence of such a polarization grating due to the effects of polarization on beam interference experiments.