title: Optimized Mueller polarimeter with liquid crystals.
abstract: We demonstrate a Mueller polarimeter in which the polarization-state generator and analyzer are both composed of a linear polarizer and two liquid-crystal variable retarders. The polarimeter is designed to optimize the accuracy of the final results by minimization of the condition numbers of the modulation and analysis matrices. The polarimeter calibration, a difficult task by conventional procedures, is achieved easily by use of the eigenvalue method of Compain et al. [Appl. Opt. 38, 3490 (1999)]. The overall polarimeter performance is tested with a linear polarizer at various angles and a compensator at various retardations.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorie de Physique des Interfaces et des Couches Minces, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 7647, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France. martino@leonardo.polytechnique.fr
authors.forename: Antonello
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Martino
authors.forename: Yong-Ki
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Enric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garcia-Caurel
authors.forename: Blandine
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Laude
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Drévillon