Extending optimization to active Mueller polarimeters

J. Scott Tyo

doi:10.1117/12.451958

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25 September 2002 Extending optimization to active Mueller polarimeters

J. Scott Tyo

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Proceedings Volume 4819, Polarization Measurement, Analysis, and Applications V; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.451958
Event: International Symposium on Optical Science and Technology, 2002, Seattle, WA, United States

Abstract

Recent years have seen the development of several new results that predict and explain the optimum configurations for passive Stokes polarimeters. Stokes polarimeters work by analyzing an unknown input Stokes vector by taking its projection on several known polarization states. The polarimeter is optimized when these states are maximally spaced on the surface of the 4-dimensional conical space of allowed polarization states. Active Mueller matrix polarimetry can be thought of as the combination of two passive polarimeters - one to generate the polarization state and one to analyze the scattered state. It is demonstrated here that an active polarimeter has maximal SNR when the polarization state generator and analyzer are each individually optimized.

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J. Scott Tyo "Extending optimization to active Mueller polarimeters", Proc. SPIE 4819, Polarization Measurement, Analysis, and Applications V, (25 September 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.451958

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