Strain-Dependent Birefringence Of Elastic Polymers

The optical parameters (refractive index, absorption coeffi ci nt) of opaque dielectric materials can be measured with terahertz (THz) Time-Domain spectroscopy (TDS). By us ing a THz beam of known polarization and measuring both components of the transmitted THz field, t is possible to determine the birefringence present in an anisotropic material. In this work we used polarizatio n sensitive (PS) TDS to determine the strain-induced birefringence in stretched elastomers.