# A Chip-scale, Full-Stokes Polarimeter

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a compact, chip-scale full-Stokes polarimeter on silicon that offers high performance, stability, and scalability, enabling new applications in polarization analysis.

## Contribution

It presents a novel integrated silicon photonic polarimeter that replaces bulky optical components with on-chip interferometers and polarization splitters.

## Key findings

- High accuracy in polarization measurement
- Compact and scalable chip design
- Potential for high-speed imaging applications

## Abstract

The polarization of light conveys unique information that can be exploited by crucial applications. The bulky and costly discrete optical components used in conventional polarimeters limit their broad adoption. A compact, low-cost polarimeter would bring this functionality into a myriad of new scenarios and revolutionize its exploitation. Here we present a high-performance, full-Stokes polarimeter on a silicon chip. A surface polarization splitter and on-chip optical interferometer circuit produce the analysis matrix of an optimally conditioned polarimeter. This solid-state polarimeter is a system-on-a-chip with exceptional compactness, stability, and speed that could be used singly or in integrated arrays. Large arrays can increase the speed and resolution of full-Stokes imaging; therefore, our design provides a scalable polarimeter solution.