Pockels Cell Q-Switch Operation

The Pockels cell should be rotationally oriented so that the fast and slow axes that are induced by
application of a voltage to the Pockels cell are at ±45° to the polarization direction of the input
light beam. This can be done by rotation of the Pockels cell so that the direction in which the
electrode contacts point is aligned either parallel or perpendicular to the polarization direction of
the laser. For example, if the electrodes point straight up, then either vertically polarized or
horizontally polarized light will be rotated by 90° when the half-wave voltage is applied to the
electrode contacts.

For proper operation, one will need to align the optic axis of the crystal to the laser beam
direction. With no voltage applied to the crystal, the optic axis direction can be found by using,
in order, a polarized input beam, scatterer, crystal, analyzer, and viewing card. When the
analyzer (polarizer) is set to pass light of a polarization perpendicular to that of the input
polarization direction, the transmitted intensity pattern will consist of concentric light and dark
rings with a single superimposed vertical dark line and a single horizontal dark line along the
direction of the polarizer and analyzer pass directions. The scatterer, which can be a piece of
lens tissue placed close to the crystal input face, produces the off axis rays that allow one to see
the interference pattern of light and dark on the viewing card. Otherwise, the low-divergence
laser beam would sample only a small portion of the entire field pattern so that the transmitted
laser beam would be a uniform lightness or darkness. By tilting the crystal appropriately, one
can align the center of the interference pattern, and hence the optic axis, to the direction of the
laser beam.

Typically, the Pockels cell is used in either a half-wave or a quarter-wave mode.

When used in the half-wave mode, the Q-switch rotates the polarization of the input beam by
ninety degrees. More generally, a linear polarization is rotated by twice the angle between the
polarization direction of the light and a fast or slow axis of the crystal. Hence, any desired
rotation can be attained while operating the Pockels cell at the half-wave voltage.

When used in the quarter wave mode, the Q-switch converts the linear polarization of the input
beam into circularly polarized light. By using a mirror to send the beam back through the crystal
along the same path while the quarter-wave voltage is applied, the polarization of the outgoing
light is at ninety degrees to the polarization of the incoming light. The quarter-wave mode of
operation has the advantage that the applied voltage is one-half the voltage required for half-
wave mode operation.

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