Mueller matrix imaging polarimetry: an overview

Russell A. Chipman; Elizabeth A. Sornsin; J. Larry Pezzaniti

doi:10.1117/12.246186

16 August 1996 Mueller matrix imaging polarimetry: an overview

Russell A. Chipman, Elizabeth A. Sornsin, J. Larry Pezzaniti

Proceedings Volume 2873, International Symposium on Polarization Analysis and Applications to Device Technology; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.246186
Event: International Symposium on Polarization Analysis and Applications to Device Technology, 1996, Yokohama, Japan

Abstract

The design and operation of a Mueller matrix imaging polarimeter (MMIP) are presented. The instrument is configurable to operate in transmission, reflection, retroreflection, and variable-angle scattering to make a wide variety of polarimetric measurements. The sample may be a single element such as a lens, polarizer, retarder, spatial light modulator, or beamsplitter; the tested sample may also be an entire polarization-critical optical system containing many elements. The MMIP instrument combines a dual-rotating retarder polarimeter with high-resolution imaging capacity. Well-calibrated known polarized light states are incident upon the sample and the exiting state is precisely analyzed. By measuring a series of different generated and analyzed state, the Mueller matrix can be determined. `Decomposing' the measured Mueller matrix into retardance, diattenuation, and depolarization components can give a complete description of the sample's effect on an arbitrary light state. In one system configuration, the MMIP measures the polarization of a set of ray paths through a sample. Another configuration measures the sample's point spread matrix, a Mueller matrix relating the polarization state of a point object to the distribution of intensity and polarization across the image. The MMIP instrument and measurement capabilities are described along with an assortment of previous results.

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Russell A. Chipman, Elizabeth A. Sornsin, and J. Larry Pezzaniti "Mueller matrix imaging polarimetry: an overview", Proc. SPIE 2873, International Symposium on Polarization Analysis and Applications to Device Technology, (16 August 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.246186

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