Experimental observation of the Imbert-Fedorov transverse displacement after a single total reflection

We describe a simple experimental setup with which to observe the transverse shift-also known as the Imbert-Fedorov effect-that circularly or elliptically polarized optical beams undergo after a single total internal reflection on a dielectric plane. A comparison between a theoretical model based on the conservation of energy and experimental measurements shows good agreement simultaneously for longitudinal (Goos-Hanchen) and transverse (Imbert-Fedorov) displacements. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America.