Development of microscopic measurement system for electro-optic effect

This paper reports a microscopic electro-optic (EO) effect measurement system that is based on the Senarmont method and enables measurement of the EO coefficients (Kerr coefficients) of submillimeter-sized crystalline materials. In this study, an estimation of the electric field applied to the crystalline sample was performed with a finite-element method because the parallel plate electrodes were required to be on the same side of the sample surface. Reproducible values of the EO coefficients of submillimeter-sized (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 transparent ceramics were obtained only if this estimation was taken into account. This system will effectively increase the speed of searches for new EO materials.