title: Ortho-Babinet polarization-interrogating filter: an interferometric approach to polarization measurement.
abstract: A novel, interferometric, polarization-interrogating filter assembly and method for the simultaneous measurement of all four Stokes parameters across a partially polarized irradiance image in a no-moving-parts, instantaneous, highly sensitive manner is described. In the reported embodiment of the filter, two spatially varying linear retarders and a linear polarizer comprise an ortho-Babinet, polarization-interrogating (OBPI) filter. The OBPI filter uniquely encodes the incident ensemble of electromagnetic wave fronts comprising a partially polarized irradiance image in a controlled, deterministic, spatially varying manner to map the complete state of polarization across the image to local variations in a superposed interference pattern. Experimental interferograms are reported along with a numerical simulation of the method.
authors.affiliation: Optical Sciences Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. jayv@u.arizona.edu
authors.forename: Jay S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Van Delden