Optical Anisotropy of Silicon Single Crystals

Abstract

The birefringence of Si single crystal was measured for He-Ne laser light of wavelength $\ensuremath{\lambda}=1.15$ \ensuremath{\mu} propagating along $〈110〉$ directions, and found to be $\ensuremath{\Delta}n={n}_{〈110〉}\ensuremath{-}{n}_{〈100〉}=(5.04\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.12)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}$. For $〈100〉$ and $〈111〉$ directions of propagation, no birefringence was observed. The magnitude and symmetry of the observed optical response as well as the spectral dependence of birefringence are in good agreement with the theory of spatial dispersion in cubic crystals.