Optical characterization of wiregrid micropolarizers designed for infrared imaging polarimetry

We report the optical characterization of a metal wiregrid micropolarizer array for IR imaging polarimetry. The micropolarizers are designed for operation in the 1.5-5.0 microm band with a specially designed thin SiO(2) layer between the silicon substrate and the wiregrids to improve the performance at the shorter wavelengths. Deep-UV projection lithography is used to fabricate 140-nm-deep wiregrids with a 400 nm period. The extinction ratio and the transmission coefficient are measured with a tunable IR laser. A TM transmission coefficient greater than 70% with an extinction ratio greater than 10(4) is achieved for the midwave-IR region while maintaining an extinction ratio better than 10(2) for the near-IR region above 1.5 microm.