Dichroism measurements in forensic fibre examination

Abstract A number of pigmented fibre samples were examined with plane polarized light on their dichroic behaviour by optical light microscopy (OLM) and microspectrophotometry with plane polarized light (MSP-PPL). It was found that about half of the samples show a strong dichroic effect and another 20% have a weak dichroism. Both regular (80%) and inversed dichroic effects (20%) occur. The dichroic characteristics of pigmented fibres can be compared to these of sheet polarizers. It is suggested that the dichroic behaviour of pigmented fibres depends strongly on the crystal structure (shape of the pigment grains) and the draw ratio (orientation of the polymer chains).