One-shot carrier fringe polarimeter in a double-aperture common-path interferometer

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Quantum Optics
• Optical Metrology

Background:

• Polarimetry is crucial for characterizing optical fields.
• Existing methods for measuring the state of polarization (SOP) can be complex or require multiple measurements.
• A need exists for a simple, robust, and single-shot polarimetry technique.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel, simple, robust, and highly stable polarimeter.
• To demonstrate single-shot measurement of the state of polarization (SOP) of an optical field.
• To validate the mathematical and experimental feasibility of the proposed method.

Main Methods:

• Superposition of an unknown SOP optical field with a reference SOP optical field.
• Utilizing a double aperture common-path interferometer (DACPI).
• Acquiring two interferograms with adjustable carrier frequency in a single shot, analyzed via Fourier analysis.

Main Results:

• The DACPI enables single-shot acquisition of two interferograms.
• Each interferogram contains information about the unknown SOP through varying visibility and phase-step.
• Fourier analysis successfully measures any SOP without prior knowledge of the carrier frequency.

Conclusions:

• The proposed polarimeter offers a simple, robust, and stable solution for single-shot SOP measurement.
• The technique is mathematically sound and experimentally verified.
• This method advances optical metrology by simplifying polarization analysis.