Resonant Optical Faraday Rotator

Abstract

Faraday rotation of the plane of polarization of light can be greatly enhanced by placing the Faraday rotating material in a resonant cavity. The transmission characteristics of a resonant rotator are analyzed, and observation of resonant rotation is reported. Under suitable conditions, the resonant rotation can be two orders of magnitude larger than the single-pass Faraday rotation. Bandwidth limitations are discussed, and a resonant rotation-bandwidth product is determined.