Optimum Angles for a Mueller Matrix Polarimeter

Author

Amrit Ambirajan
Dwight C. Look, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

The four optimum rotation angles for a Mueller matrix polarimeter consisting of a quarter wave plate in conjunction with a linear polarizer, are found. This is done by using the determinant and condition numbers of the system measurement matrix as objective functions in a minimization procedure. The four angles so found result in the polarimeter's estimate of the incident Stokes vector to have a minimum sensitivity with respect to fluctuations in the detected flux and errors in the angular position of the optical components constituting the polarimeter. Four optimal angles are presented. These four angles also retain a simplicity of form for the measurement matrix.

Recommended Citation

A. Ambirajan and D. C. Look, "Optimum Angles for a Mueller Matrix Polarimeter," Proceedings of SPIE, SPIE -- The International Society for Optical Engineering, Jan 1994.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1117/12.186680

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Geometry; Light Polarization; Matriux Algenra; Measurements; Optimization

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 1994 SPIE -- The International Society for Optical Engineering, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 1994