Dynamic Mueller matrix polarimetry using generalized measurements

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel single-shot Mueller matrix polarimetry method using a Poincaré beam and generalized measurements, enabling dynamic and stable characterization of media's polarization response over time.

Contribution

It introduces a new single-shot polarimetry technique based on generalized measurements with a Poincaré beam, suitable for real-time applications.

Findings

Accurate Mueller matrix determination of homogeneous media.

Stable device alignment for up to 8 hours after calibration.

Excellent agreement with traditional Stokes measurements.

Abstract

Mueller matrices provide a complete description of a medium's response to excitation by polarized light, and their characterization is important across a broad range of applications from ellipsometry in material science to polarimetry in biochemistry, medicine and astronomy. Here we introduce single-shot Mueller matrix polarimetry based on generalized measurements performed with a Poincar\'e beam. We determine the Mueller matrix of a homogeneous medium with unknown optical activity by detecting its optical response to a Poincar\'e beam, which across its profile contains all polarization states, and analyze the resulting polarization pattern in terms of four generalized measurements, which are implemented as a path-displaced Sagnac interferometer. We illustrate the working of our Mueller matrix polarimetry on the example of tilted and rotated wave plates and find excellent agreement with predictions as well as alternative Stokes measurements. After initial calibration, the alignment of the device stays stable for up to 8 hours, promising suitability for the dynamic characterization of Mueller matrices that change in time.