Effects of typical liquid-crystal retarder errors on optimized Stokes polarimeters

Area of Science:

• Optical engineering
• Polarimetry
• Materials science

Background:

• Liquid crystal variable retarders (LCVRs) are crucial components in Stokes polarimeters for manipulating polarization states.
• Non-uniform retardance and fast-axis orientation in LCVRs introduce significant errors.
• The condition number (CN) is used to optimize polarimeters but often neglects LCVR spatial variations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of LCVR errors on the optimization of Stokes polarimeters.
• To investigate how LCVR imperfections affect polarimetric measurements based on different experimental parameters.
• To propose a method for selecting optimal experimental parameters to mitigate non-ideal LCVR effects.

Main Methods:

• Simulating Stokes polarimeters with introduced errors in LCVR induced retardance and fast-axis orientation.
• Calculating the condition number (CN) to assess the impact of these errors on polarimeter optimization.
• Applying propagation error theory to identify optimal experimental configurations.

Main Results:

• LCVR errors significantly impact the optimization of Stokes polarimeters, with varying effects depending on experimental parameters.
• The severity of polarimetric measurement errors is directly linked to the specific LCVR imperfections and the polarimeter's design.
• Optimized polarimeters show different sensitivities to LCVR errors, highlighting the need for parameter-specific error analysis.

Conclusions:

• Spatial variations in LCVRs critically affect Stokes polarimeter performance and optimization.
• Propagation error theory provides a framework for selecting experimental parameters to minimize the detrimental effects of LCVR non-idealities.
• This research offers a pathway to enhance the accuracy and reliability of Stokes polarimeters in practical applications.