Triple Wollaston-prism complete-Stokes imaging polarimeter
Venue
Optics Letters, vol. 38 (2013), pp. 3874-3877
Publication Year
2013
Authors
BibTeX
Abstract
Imaging polarimetry is emerging as a powerful tool for remote sensing in space
science, Earth science, biology, defense, national security, and industry.
Polarimetry provides complementary information about a scene in the visible and
infrared wavelengths. For example, surface texture, material composition, and
molecular structure will affect the polarization state of reflected, scattered, or
emitted light. We demonstrate an imaging polarimeter design that uses three
Wollaston prisms, addressing several technical challenges associated with moving
remote-sensing platforms. This compact design has no moving polarization elements
and separates the polarization components in the pupil (or Fourier) plane,
analogous to the way a grating spectrometer works. In addition, this concept
enables simultaneous characterization of unpolarized, linear, and circular
components of optical polarization. The results from a visible-wavelength prototype
of this imaging polarimeter are presented, demonstrating remote sensitivity to
material properties. This work enables new remote sensing capabilities and provides
a viable design concept for extensions into infrared wavelengths.
