This paper describes a simple method of measuring refractive indices of liquids with a small hollow prism. When a He-Ne laser beam is sent to the liquid filled prism it is angularly deviated or deflected. If different liquids are injected in the prism, one at a time, the angular position of the emerging beam changes. These angular positions are detected by an optical fiber that samples a small area of the Gaussian beam cross section. A calibration curve relating intensity as a function of the liquid refractive index is obtained.

Date Published: 6 March 2014
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 8976, Microfluidics, BioMEMS, and Medical Microsystems XII, 89761D (6 March 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2036788

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8976:
Microfluidics, BioMEMS, and Medical Microsystems XII
Bonnie L. Gray; Holger Becker, Editor(s)