The interpretation of HAUP measurements: a study of the systematic errors

Abstract

The HAUP method for determining the linear optical properties of crystals is critically reconsidered. The expressions that describe the method are re-derived rigorously and the fitting procedures that have been used by several authors are reviewed. The systematic errors, being crucial in HAUP measurements, are investigated by means of experiments on test samples. The understanding of both the origin and the behaviour of these errors leads to an improvement of the fitting procedures and of the interpretation of the data. In this way, the reliability and the sensitivity of the HAUP method have been increased, which should provide a means by which to reconsider contradictory results of previous experiments, excluding systematic errors as a source of the dispute.