Electro-optic control of correlations in speckle statistics

Abstract
We describe an experiment in which the statistical properties of speckle are modified reproducibly through the use of the electro-optic effect in a birefringent liquid crystal. By adjustment of the voltage applied to a specifically designed liquid-crystal cell, the correlation between the ordinary and the extraordinary waves (which are orthogonally polarized) is varied from almost complete correlation to almost complete decorrelation. The correlation’s statistics vary smoothly between the limits of single-speckle-pattern statistics (complete correlation) and the statistics for the intensity addition of two uncorrelated speckle patterns (complete decorrelation). The combined speckle pattern is observed and compared with theory.

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