Liquid-crystal micropolarimeter array for full Stokes polarization imaging in visible spectrum.

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Full Stokes polarization imaging provides comprehensive light polarization information.
• Existing polarization imaging systems often lack resolution or spectral range.
• Metal-wire-grid polarizers (MWGP) offer high extinction ratios and transmittance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, model, fabricate, and optically characterize a novel micropolarimeter array.
• To enable real-time full Stokes polarization imaging in the visible spectrum.
• To integrate liquid-crystal (LC) technology with MWGPs for advanced polarization control.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication involved patterning a liquid-crystal layer on a visible-regime MWGP.
• Ultraviolet sensitive sulfonic-dye-1 was used for LC photoalignment.
• The array was designed to create micrometer-scale LC polarization rotators, neutral density filters, or quarter-wave retarders.

Main Results:

• The micropolarimeter array successfully acquired all components of the Stokes vector.
• Major principal transmittance reached 75%, and the extinction ratio was 1100.
• Superior optical characteristics of the MWGP were maintained.

Conclusions:

• The developed liquid-crystal micropolarimeter array enables full Stokes polarization imaging in the visible spectrum.
• The device retains the high performance of MWGPs.
• Integration with CMOS image sensors is feasible for real-time applications.