Development of birefringence imaging analysis method for observing cubic crystals in various phase transitions

Abstract

Optical birefringence imaging systems demonstrate a high potential for comprehensively investigating various phase transitions. To completely demonstrate such abilities, the temperature dependence of birefringence (Δn) was measured in Δn ≃ 0 materials (i.e., cubic crystals with imperfect crystallization) via a background subtraction method. As a result, highly accurate birefringence imaging at 384 × 288 pixels was obtained using phase transition processes as well as varying temperatures visually characterized by the spatial distribution of not only the retardance level but also the optical fast-axis azimuth.