Passive broadband full Stokes polarimeter using a Fresnel cone

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Polarimetry
• Light-Matter Interactions

Background:

• Light polarization provides crucial information about its origin and interactions.
• Conventional polarimeters often use birefringent or rotating elements, limiting wavelength range and stability.
• A need exists for robust, broadband, and cost-effective polarimetry techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a static, single-shot polarimeter.
• To demonstrate its performance across the visible spectrum.
• To explore its potential applications in advanced imaging and spectroscopy.

Main Methods:

• Development of a static polarimeter utilizing a Fresnel cone.
• This design is a spatial analogue to rotating quarter-wave plate methods.
• Characterization of polarization states (elliptical and linear) and degree of polarization.

Main Results:

• Achieved average angular accuracy of 2.9° for elliptical and 3.6° for linear polarization.
• Determined the degree of polarization with an accuracy of 0.12 for elliptical and 0.08 for linear states.
• Demonstrated broadband performance across the visible spectrum.

Conclusions:

• The Fresnel cone-based polarimeter is robust, cost-effective, and stable.
• It offers a viable alternative to traditional polarimeters.
• Potential applications include hyper-spectral polarimetry and scanning microscopy.