Mueller matrix polarimetry using full Poincaré beams

• Published in: Optics and lasers in engineering Vol. 122; pp. 134 - 141
• Main Authors: Suárez-Bermejo, Juan Carlos, González de Sande, Juan Carlos, Santarsiero, Massimo, Piquero, Gemma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2019
• Subjects: Full Poincaré beams; Polarimetry; Polarization; Full Poincaré beams; Polarization; Polarimetry
• ISSN: 0143-8166; 1873-0302
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optlaseng.2019.05.030

•The use of full Poincaré beams (FPBs) for Mueller matrix polarimetry is proposed. FPBs contain all possible totally polarized states of polarization across their transverse section, so they can be considered as parallel state of polarization generators. Here we propose to use a particular kind of FPBs (that can be generated in a simple and inexpensive way) to measure the Mueller matrix of any sample, provided it is homogeneous at least within the beam spot size. The optimum measurement conditions are obtained and the main sources of error are analysed in detail. The proposed method is experimentally tested by measurement of wave plates and dichroic polarizers. Experimental results are presented for six different samples. The differences between the elements of the measured Mueller matrices and the theoretically expected ones are below 0.04 for all wave plate configurations and below 0.009 for the dichroic polarizer at two different orientations. To our knowledge, this work presents the first experimental determination of Muller matrices by using FPBs as polarization state generators. Full Poincaré beams (FPBs) are proposed for polarimetric applications. Such beams present all states of totally polarized light across their transverse section at once and therefore can be considered as parallel polarization state generators. A simple setup, including a FPB as input light, has been designed and implemented to measure the Mueller matrix of a homogeneous sample. The FPB is generated by focusing a linearly polarized laser beam onto the front face of a uniaxial crystal, having its optic axis along the propagation direction of the beam. Measurement of the polarization state of the input and output beams at four different positions are sufficient to obtain a complete polarimetric characterization of the sample. A quantitative analysis of the main error sources is also presented. To experimentally validate the proposed approach, retarders and linear polarizers are used as test samples. The polarization states of the input and output fields are measured using a commercial polarimeter. An excellent agreement is found between experimental and theoretical Mueller matrices.