Experiment of Optical Axis Angle of Electro-Optic Crystal by Conoscopic Interference and X-ray Diffraction Method

摘要

Owing to the advantages of low loss, high spatial uniformity and high damage threshold, plasma electrode pockels cell (PEPC) is the key element of multi-pass amplifying technology in large laser facilities. Properties of PEPC is directly affected by the optical axis angle of the electro-optic crystal. Therefore, high precision measurement of the optical axis angle is indispensable. X-ray diffraction analysis method is a traditional way to determine the direction of optical axis of crystal, which is presented. By using conoscopic interference technique, a measurement system for optical axis angle of electro-optic crystal is introduced. The principle of conoscopic interference method is described in detail, and a series of techniques are implied in this measurement system to improve the accuracy. The optical axis angle two different electro-optic crystal is measured by X-ray diffraction analysis method and our conoscopic interference measurement system, respectively. The absolute error is less than 0.01mrad, while the relative error is nearly 2%.