10.57647/jtap.2026.2004.07

Real-time polarization tuning in Mach-Zehnder interferometer using electro-optically modulated twist angles of nematic liquid crystal

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  • Rajneesh Joshi1,
  • Gyaprasad Gyaprasad*2,
  1. Department of Physics, Government Degree College Danya, 263622 Almora, Uttarakhand, India
  2. Department of Physics, Government Degree College Jaithra, 207249 Etah, Uttar Pradesh, India

Received: 2025-08-02

Revised: 2025-08-18

Accepted: 2025-10-31

Published Online: 2026-04-17

Copyright (c) 2026 Rajneesh Joshi, Gyaprasad Gyaprasad (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

1.
Joshi R, Gyaprasad G. Real-time polarization tuning in Mach-Zehnder interferometer using electro-optically modulated twist angles of nematic liquid crystal. J Theor Appl phys. 2026 Jan. 1;. Available from: https://oiccpress.com/jtap/article/view/18821
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Abstract

We propose a theoretical framework to dynamically control the degree of polarization of light by using the superposition of incoherent orthogonally polarized beams in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer incorporating a twisted nematic liquid crystal cell in one of its arms. The liquid crystal acts as an elecro-optically controlled polarization rotator, where the applied electric field changes the twist of molecules inside the nematic liquid crystal, thereby altering the plane of polarization. This controllable voltage dependent polarization rotation causes manipulation of the output degree of polarization. The resulting system allows real-time, tunable control over the degree of polarization, offering advantages over traditional static or reflection-based approaches, which often suffer from intensity losses or manual errors. We also observe that in the interference of fully coherent orthogonally polarized beams through a similar configuration, the degree of polarization is always equal to 1, whereas the orientation of linear state of polarization is changed with voltage.

Keywords

  • Polarization of light,
  • Degree of polarization,
  • Twisted nematic liquid crystal
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