The Polarisation Effects of Light Reflection from the Interface with a Uniaxial Crystal

Abstract

In this paper, the boundary conditions for plane electromagnetic waves at the interface between an isotropic medium and a uniaxial crystal have been obtained and analyzed. Elements of the reflection matrix that relates components of the electric field of the reflected wave back to those of the incident electromagnetic wave have been determined. Using the elements of the reflection matrix, we show that the possibility exists for polarization of light to be preserved upon reflection at the interface with anisotropic media. The conditions for the Jones vectors conservation upon reflection from the surface of a uniaxial crystal are obtained. The existence of the Brewster effect at the interface with such an anisotropic medium has been studied and verified. The Brewster’s polarizations have been shown to be almost p-polarizations with just little admixture of s-polarization.