Electro-optical effects in anisotropic crystals: I. The Pockels effect

Abstract

The perturbation-theory method is proposed to calculate the induced anisotropy optical effects in crystals with different symmetries. On its basis, the influence of the Pockels effect on the light propagation in crystals with different symmetries is analyzed using Fedorov’s approach of invariant vector fields. This approach has many advantages over known methods in calculating different versions of Pockels effect application for different purposes. Calculation schemes are presented that make it possible to select longitudinal and transverse versions of electro-optical sensors and modulators, which can be used, in particular, to design optical measuring transformers and electric field sensors in high-voltage power lines.