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Design Of A Resonant Optical Cavity For Imaging Magneto-Optically Active Thin Film Samples, Cody Robert Brelage

Graduate Theses - Physics and Optical Engineering

This document describes the design and fabrication of an optical resonator system to investigate magneto-optic properties of thin film samples. This system uses an open-air optical resonator to enable photons to make multiple passes through each thin film and thus increase the magnitude of the Faraday rotation that each sample imposes onto the light that exits the system. This system promises many future experiments to study the magneto-optic properties of thin film and nano-particle samples. Using an optical resonator to enhance Faraday rotation should enable an improved signal-to-noise ratio in taking measurements and images with a photodetector.