= Electro-optic Kerr effect
The <electro-optic Kerr effect> produces <linear birefringence> proportional to the square of a static applied <electric field>. Defining the <Kerr effect> coefficient $K$ by $\Delta n=\lambda_0 K E^2$, a length $L$ produces <phase retardation> $\delta=2\pi KLE^2$. A switchable <quarter-wave plate> requires $|\delta|=\pi/2$ modulo $2\pi$, with fixed principal axes. This differs from the <Faraday effect>, whose eigenpolarizations are <circular polarizations>.
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