White-light channeled imaging polarimeter using Savart plates and a polarization Sagnac interferometer

A Stokes white-light channeled imaging polarimeter using Savart plates and a polarization Sagnac interferometer (IPSPPSI) is presented, which provides an effective solution to the problem of channel aliasing in broadband polarimeters. The expression for the light intensity distribution and a method to reconstruct polarization information are derived, and an example design for an IPSPPSI is given. The results reveal that a complete measurement of the Stokes parameters in broad band can be achieved with a snapshot on a single detector. The use of dispersive elements like gratings suppresses broadband carrier frequency dispersion so the channels in the frequency domain do not affect each other, ensuring the integrity of information coupled across the channels. Furthermore, the IPSPPSI has a compact structure and does not employ moving parts or require image registration. It shows great application potential in remote sensing, biological detection, and other fields. (c) 2023 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

This paper presents a Stokes white-light channeled imaging polarimeter using Savart plates and a polarization Sagnac interferometer (IPSPPSI), which effectively solves the problem of channel aliasing in broadband polarimeters. The paper derives the expression for the light intensity distribution and a method to reconstruct polarization information, and provides an example design for an IPSPPSI. The results show that a complete measurement of the Stokes parameters in broad band can be achieved with a snapshot on a single detector. The use of dispersive elements like gratings suppresses broadband carrier frequency dispersion so the channels in the frequency domain do not affect each other, ensuring the integrity of information coupled across the channels. Furthermore, the IPSPPSI has a compact structure and does not employ moving parts or require image registration. It shows great application potential in remote sensing, biological detection, and other fields.