Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-1999
Abstract
A division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter that uses a parallel-slab multiple-reflection beam splitter was described recently [Opt. Lett. 21, 1709 (1996)]. We provide a general analysis and an optimization of a specific design that uses a fused-silica slab that is uniformly coated with a transparent thin film of ZnS on the front surface and with an opaque Ag or Au reflecting layer on the back. Multiple internal reflections within the slab give rise to a set of parallel, equispaced, reflected beams numbered 0, 1, 2, and 3 that are intercepted by photodetectors D0, D1, D2, and D3, respectively, to produce output electrical signals i0, i1,i2, and i3, respectively. The instrument matrix A, which relates the output-signal vector I to the input Stokes vector S by I = AS, and its determinant D are analyzed. The instrument matrix A is nonsingular; hence all four Stokes parameters can be measured simultaneously over a broad spectral range (UV–VIS–IR). The optimum film thickness, the optimum angle of incidence, and the effect of light-beam deviation on the measured input Stokes parameters are considered.
Journal Name
Applied Optics
Recommended Citation
Aed M. El-Saba, Rasheed M. A. Azzam, and Mustafa A. G. Abushagur, "Performance Optimization and Light-Beam-Deviation Analysis of the Parallel-Slab Division-of-Amplitude Photopolarimeter," Appl. Opt. 38, 2829-2836 (1999)
Comments
This paper was published in Applied Optics and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://www.opticsinfobase.org/ao/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-38-13-2829. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.