1. Mueller Matrix Polarimetric Imaging Analysis of Optical Components for the Generation of Cylindrical Vector Beams
- Author
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Angel Lizana, Juan Campos, Guadalupe López-Morales, María del Mar Sánchez-López, and Ignacio Moreno
- Subjects
polarimetric camera ,General Chemical Engineering ,Q-plates ,Polarimetry ,radial polarizers ,02 engineering and technology ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,010309 optics ,Inorganic Chemistry ,Optics ,polarimetric imaging ,law ,0103 physical sciences ,lcsh:QD901-999 ,liquid-crystal retarders ,General Materials Science ,Mueller calculus ,Spatial homogeneity ,Physics ,vector beams ,business.industry ,Polarimeter ,Polarizer ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Condensed Matter Physics ,Polarization (waves) ,Imaging analysis ,lcsh:Crystallography ,0210 nano-technology ,business - Abstract
In this work, we performed a Mueller matrix imaging analysis of two commercial optical components usually employed to generate and manipulate vector beams&mdash, a radial polarizer and a liquid-crystal q-plate. These two elements generate vector beams by different polarization mechanisms&mdash, polarizance and retardance, respectively. The quality of the vector beams relies on the quality of the device that generates them. Therefore, it is of interest to apply the well-established polarimetric imaging techniques to evaluate these optical components by identifying their spatial homogeneity in diattenuation, polarizance, depolarization, and retardance, as well as the spatial variation of the angles of polarizance and retardance vectors. For this purpose, we applied a customized imaging Mueller matrix polarimeter based on liquid-crystal retarders and a polarization camera. Experimental results were compared to the numerical simulations, considering the theoretical Mueller matrix. This kind of polarimetric characterization could be very helpful to the manufacturers and users of these devices. more...
- Published
- 2020
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