Gas-phase optical activity measurements using a compact cavity ringdown polarimeter

We present a compact polarimeter, which can perform sensitive measurements of optical rotation in vapor. The operation of the polarimeter is based on a Cavity Ring-Down scheme which employs two signal reversals, which increase sensitivity and reduce noise, allowing the realization of sensitive measurements in the presence of spurious birefringence. We describe the operation of the polarimeter, give the basic equations for the signal analysis and retrieval of optical rotation angle, and present measurements that demonstrate a sensitivity of similar to 80 mu deg/pass.