Comparative Studies of Circularly Polarized Light with Phase Shift in Sagnac and Mach-Zehnder Interferometers

Phase shift plays a vital role in the analysis of interference and manipulation of polarization behavior in interferometric techniques. The Sagnac interferometer (SI) is initially studied due to its ability to withstand external environmental factors, including noise, temperature, and other interferences. However, the real impact of these factors is not demonstrated. To address this, comparative studies are conducted involving both mathematical theories, simulations, and physical experiments of Sagnac and Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI), both utilizing a phase shift. The purpose is to explore the SI advantages over the MZI in a series of experiments with both interferometers to validate the superior configuration. Numerical simulations of the total electric field are performed at the output of these interferometers. By adjusting the orientation of a half-wave plate from 45 and 135 degrees at a step of 90 degrees, the interference fringe pattern and respective signal are generated. These simulation parameters are then implemented experimentally, and the results from both approaches are carefully analyzed and compared. It is shown that the light reflection through the SI setup makes it more tolerant to noise compared to the MZI. Consequently, these results confirm that the image intensity and pixel level of the SI are higher than that of the MZI, potentially leading to greater brightness for the simplified image analysis.