title: Integrated spectral-polarization imaging sensor with aluminum nanowire polarization filters.
abstract: Current division-of-focal-plane polarization imaging sensors can perceive intensity and polarization in real time with high spatial resolution, but are oblivious to spectral information. We present the design of such a sensor, which is also spectrally selective in the visible regime. We describe its extensive spectral and polarimetric characterization. The sensor has a pixel pitch of 5 µm and an imaging array of 168 by 256 elements. Each element comprises spectrally sensitive vertically stacked photodetectors integrated with a 140 nm pitch nanowire linear polarizer. The sensor has a maximum measured SNR of 45 dB, extinction ratio of ~3.5, QE of 12%, and linearity error of 1% in the green channel. We present sample spectral-polarization images.
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, One Brookings Drive, Saint Louis, Missouri 63130, USA. mkulkarni@go.wustl.edu
authors.forename: Meenal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kulkarni
authors.forename: Viktor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gruev
mesh_terms: D000535:Aluminum / Q000737:chemistry*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D018511:Systems Integration; D014159:Transducers
chemical_list: D000535:Aluminum