Static full-Stokes Fourier transform imaging spectropolarimeter capturing spectral, polarization, and spatial...

Area of Science:

• Optical Engineering
• Polarimetry
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Full-Stokes imaging spectropolarimetry is crucial for analyzing polarized light across spatial and spectral dimensions.
• Existing methods often face limitations in speed, spectral resolution, or system complexity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a static full-Stokes Fourier transform imaging spectropolarimeter.
• To detail an optimized design integrating a liquid-crystal polarization modulator (LPM) and a birefringent shearing interferometer (BSI).

Main Methods:

• Utilized a high-speed time-division architecture LPM with ferroelectric liquid crystals and wave plates for four polarization states.
• Employed a BSI with birefringent crystal plates for broadband interference and precise spectral recovery.
• Verified signal reconstruction through simulations and experimental validation.

Main Results:

• Achieved decoding of polarization information at each wavelength along the spatial dimension of a 2D data array.
• Demonstrated high signal-to-noise ratio for full-Stokes polarimetric information.
• Verified efficient signal reconstruction with high spectral resolution.

Conclusions:

• The proposed spectropolarimeter offers a compact and efficient approach for high-dimensional optical measurements.
• The integrated LPM and BSI design enables fast and high-precision spectral recovery.
• This technology advances capabilities in polarization-sensitive imaging and spectral analysis.