A system comprising a nonlinear medium (NLM), an optical transduction module, a dual homodyne detector and a processor is provided. The NLM receives at least a pump beam and issues the pump, probe and conjugate beams, where the beams are linearly polarized. Optics route the probe, the conjugate or both beams to the sample. The sample imparts polarization rotation to light that interacts therewith. The optical transduction module imparts to the interacted light an optical phase shift that is a 1:1 transduction of the polarization rotation, where at least one of the probe light or the conjugate light carries the imparted optical phase shift. The processor obtains the optical-phase shift based on respective detection signals from the dual homodyne detector and determines, based on the obtained optical-phase shift, at least one of a Faraday polarization rotation, a Kerr polarization rotation or a spin noise spectrum.

An evaluation method includes a step of disposing a sensitive color plate between two polarization plates disposed in a crossed Nicols shape, a step of disposing a measurement material that is a transparent material containing a nanowire between any of one polarization plate or the other polarization plate of the polarization plates and the sensitive color plate, a step of making white light incident from a side of one of the disposed polarization plates, a step of observing a color of the measurement material from a side of the other polarization plate, and a step of evaluating an orientation direction of the nanowire from the color of the measurement material obtained by observation.

There is provided a method of detecting a change of a state of a liquid comprising the steps of: •providing a liquid detection medium (12) comprising a liquid and having a plurality of anisotropic magnetic particles suspended therein; •applying a modulated magnetic field across at least a portion of the liquid detection medium (12), wherein the magnetic field induces an alignment of the magnetic particles; •introducing electromagnetic radiation (22) into the liquid detection medium (12); •detecting a variable which is modulated by the applied magnetic field, wherein the variable is associated with the interaction of the electromagnetic radiation (22) with the magnetic particles and wherein the change in the state of the liquid causes a variation in the detected variable; and •correlating the variation in the detected variable with the change in the state of the liquid.

An optical detection type chemical sensor includes a light source, a detection element and a photodetector. The detection element is constituted of a laminate in which a multilayer film including a chemical detection layer, an optical interference layer, and a half mirror layer is formed on a transparent substrate. At least one of the layers includes a magnetic material. Light from the light source is applied to the detection element under the condition that the light enters inside of the detection element from the rear surface of the transparent substrate on which the laminate is not formed and multiple reflection occurring in the laminate intensifies the magneto-optical effect. A subject is detected by using the photodetector to detect a magneto-optical signal indicating a change in reflected light from the laminate resulting from a change in an optical property resulting from a reaction in the chemical detection layer.

A method and system for imaging thermodynamic phase of clouds includes obtaining a spatially-resolved polarimetric image of a region of the sky containing a cloud using a multipixel image sensor having multiple channels corresponding to different wavelength bands, determining a value of the Stokes S.sub.1 polarization parameter of incident light on each pixel corresponding to a portion of the image containing the cloud for multiple channels corresponding to different wavelength bands, and determining the thermodynamic phase of the cloud within the image based on the values of the Stokes S.sub.1 polarization parameter. The Stokes S.sub.1 polarization parameter values determined for a first channel corresponding to a first wavelength band is used to determine a liquid thermodynamic phase, and the Stokes S.sub.1 polarization parameter values determined for a second channel corresponding to a second, shorter wavelength band is used to determine an ice thermodynamic phase.

Sub-diffraction limited magneto-optical microscopy, such as Kerr or Faraday effect microscopy, provide many advantages to fields of science and technology for measuring, or imaging, the magnetization structures and magnetization domains of materials. Disclosed is a method and system for performing sub-diffraction limited magneto-optic microscopy. The method includes positioning a microlens or microlens layer relative to a surface of a sample to image the surface of the sample, forming a photonic nanojet to probe the surface of the sample, and receiving light reflected by the surface of the sample or transmitted through the sample at an imaging sensor. The methods and associated systems and devices enable sub-diffraction limited imaging of magnetic domains at resolutions 2 to 8 times the classical diffraction limit.

An optical inspection device for an optical performance test of a display device including a lens part configured to transmit external light, a phase film part configured to change a phase difference of the external light and transmit the external light, and an image processor configured to obtain electrical information of the external light, in which a phase difference of the phase film part is at least 7000 nm.

An optical detection type chemical sensor includes a light source, a detection element and a photodetector. The detection element is constituted of a laminate in which a multilayer film including a chemical detection layer, an optical interference layer, and a half mirror layer is formed on a transparent substrate. At least one of the layers includes a magnetic material. Light from the light source is applied to the detection element under the condition that the light enters inside of the detection element from the rear surface of the transparent substrate on which the laminate is not formed and multiple reflection occurring in the laminate intensifies the magneto-optical effect. A subject is detected by using the photodetector to detect a magneto-optical signal indicating a change in reflected light from the laminate resulting from a change in an optical property resulting from a reaction in the chemical detection layer.

Systems and methods for imaging characteristics of a sample and for identifying regions of damage in the sample are generally described. Some example systems and methods for non-destructive evaluation of regions of material may operate in a direct current (DC) mode in which the system directly images regions of material where weak structural damage has occurred by imaging a self magnetic field generated by a DC electric current coupled through the material. Some example systems may operate in an alternating current (AC) mode to image regions of material where damage has occurred by generating a time varying magnetic field due to AC excitation coils inducing eddy currents in the sample, and imaging a magnetic field generated by the eddy currents around the regions of damage. The systems may use magneto-optical imaging techniques (MOI) to measure and map the magnetic field and channels of current flow in the material, for example.

An apparatus and method for measuring a pretilt angle of a liquid crystal (LC) are disclosed. The method includes irradiating polarized light on an LC cell including a first substrate, a second substrate facing the first substrate, and an LC layer between the first substrate and the second substrate. At least one of the first substrate and the second substrate includes a minute branch electrode. Irradiated light is scanned within a predetermined angle range in a direction not parallel to the minute branch electrode, an intensity of light that is transmitted through the LC cell is detected, and a pretilt angle of the LC is obtained by using a light intensity detection signal corresponding to the transmitted light.