Paper
30 August 2017 A partial Mueller matrix polarimeter using two photoelastic modulator and polarizer pairs
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Abstract
We introduce partial Mueller matrix polarimeter using two photoelastic modulators and polarizer pairs. Photoelastic modulators (PEMs) have been used in various kinds of polarization measurement techniques for many years, for example in polarimetry and ellipsometry. The advantages of instruments using PEMs are their high-sensitivity and highspeed measurement of polarization properties. A polarized light beam passing through the center of the fused silica bar will experience a periodic phase retardation because of the photoelastic effect which is the basis operation of PEM. In the two PEM-polarizer pairs, Mueller matrix elements of a sample are determined based on the analysis of the frequencies of the time-dependent light beam. Each PEM is operated at different resonant frequencies of 59.85 kHz and 50.07 kHz and are oriented 45° apart. The polarization information that are to be represented by Mueller matrix is distributed based on combinations of two resonant frequencies of operating PEMs. Mueller algebra is used to analyze the optical configuration of the proposed system. The changing variables inside the proposed system will be only the orientations of the azimuthal angle of polarizer and analyzer whereas orientations for both PEMs are fixed. Polarization information such as total retardation can be retrieved by using the partial Mueller matrix information based on the proposed polarimeter. Experimental results of a quarter wave plate will be presented showing the characteristics of the implementation.
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Nia Natasha Tipol, Shuichi Kawabata, and Yukitoshi Otani "A partial Mueller matrix polarimeter using two photoelastic modulator and polarizer pairs", Proc. SPIE 10407, Polarization Science and Remote Sensing VIII, 1040713 (30 August 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2272940
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Cited by 2 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
Polarimetry

Polarization

Photoelastic modulators

Polarizers

Wave plates

Fused quartz

Modulation

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