Polarized Light Microscopy

Abstract This chapter describes the qualitative and quantitative techniques of polarized light microscopy. It includes a description of the types of polarized light, how polarized light can be created, and how it can be exploited to investigate and identify unknown crystalline samples. The phenomenon of birefringence is defined and discussed. Included is an extensive description of the behavior of linear polarized light as it passes into a birefringent medium. Having described the generation and properties of linear polarized light, the chapter continues on to the concept of polarized light microscopy. This section describes how the addition of polarizing filters can create a qualitative polarized light microscope to easily identify the presence of birefringent substances. The chapter ends with a discussion of quantitative polarized light microscopy, or the identification of birefringent substances through the use of an additional optical device such as a full-wave retardation plate and the Michel-Lévy Color Chart.