Visualization of light polarization forms in the laser conoscopic method

The laser conoscopic method enables visual estimation of radiation polarization. Visually identifying the forms of light polarization is convenient at the stage of pre-characterizing the polarization properties of the light used. Using the conoscopic patterns of a crystal plate with its entry face perpendicular to its optical axis, it is possible to allocate linearly polarized, circularly polarized, and elliptically polarized radiation. There are two typical appearances of conoscopic patterns, which correspond to two different intervals of phase shift: 0 < δ < π/2 and 3π/2 < δ < 2π, and π/2 < δ < π and π < δ < 3π/2 are characteristic of elliptically polarized radiation.