Considerations in polarimeter design

J. Scott Tyo

doi:10.1117/12.406642

15 November 2000 Considerations in polarimeter design

J. Scott Tyo

Proceedings Volume 4133, Polarization Analysis, Measurement, and Remote Sensing III; (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.406642
Event: International Symposium on Optical Science and Technology, 2000, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

The relationship between system condition and SNR in reconstructed Stokes parameter images is investigated for rotating compensator, variable retardance, and rotating analyzer Stokes vector polarimeters. A variety of optimal configurations are presented for each class of systems. The operation of polarimeters is discussed in terms of a 4-dimensional vector space, and the concept of non-orthogonal bases, frames, and tight frames are introduced to describe this class of devices. While SNR is an important consideration, performance of a polarimeter in the presence of systematic error is also important. Here, the relationship between system condition and error performance is investigated, and it is shown that an optimum system from the point of view of SNR is not always an optimum system with respect to error performance. Finally, the concepts used to optimize Stokes vector polarimeters are extended to be useful for full Mueller matrix polarimeters.

Citation Download Citation

J. Scott Tyo "Considerations in polarimeter design", Proc. SPIE 4133, Polarization Analysis, Measurement, and Remote Sensing III, (15 November 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.406642

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available