Journal
OPTICS EXPRESS
Volume 18, Issue 22, Pages 23095-23103Publisher
Optica Publishing Group
DOI: 10.1364/OE.18.023095
Keywords
-
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
A fast multichannel Stokes/Mueller polarimeter with no mechanically moving parts has been designed to have close to optimal performance from 430 - 2000 nm by applying a genetic algorithm. Stokes (Mueller) polarimeters are characterized by their ability to analyze the full Stokes (Mueller) vector (matrix) of the incident light (sample). This ability is characterized by the condition number,., which directly influences the measurement noise in polarimetric measurements. Due to the spectral dependence of the retardance in birefringent materials, it is not trivial to design a polarimeter using dispersive components. We present here both a method to do this optimization using a genetic algorithm, as well as simulation results. Our results include fast, broad-band polarimeter designs for spectrographic use, based on 2 and 3 Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals, whose material properties are taken from measured values. The results promise to reduce the measurement noise significantly over previous designs, up to a factor of 4.5 for a Mueller polarimeter, in addition to extending the spectral range. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available