Retrieving intrinsic polarization anisotropies of nanostructures using differential Mueller matrix polarimetry

TL;DR

This paper introduces a differential Mueller matrix polarimetry method to accurately characterize intrinsic polarization anisotropies in complex nanostructures, overcoming limitations of conventional techniques.

Contribution

It develops a robust framework combining Mueller matrix decomposition with experimental validation to decouple and quantify multiple polarization effects in nanophotonic systems.

Findings

Differential Mueller matrix decomposition accurately retrieves intrinsic polarization parameters.

Coupled linear and circular anisotropies produce artifacts in conventional measurements.

The method distinguishes intrinsic chiral responses from geometric phase effects.

Abstract

Accurate characterization of polarization dependent light matter interactions in nanostructured systems is paramount for the development of chiral metasurfaces. It is also often challenging, because multiple anisotropic mechanisms, such as linear and circular diattenuation, birefringence, and depolarization can coexist and couple with one another. Conventional ellipsometric and chiro optical techniques typically assume isolated polarization effects and can therefore yield inaccurate estimates of the intrinsic polarization parameters. Here, we demonstrate that Mueller matrix polarimetry combined with a differential Mueller matrix decomposition provides a robust framework for retrieving the intrinsic polarization response of complex nanophotonic systems. Using plasmonic gammadion arrays and media with multiple polarization anisotropies as multi modal chiral platforms, we show that simultaneous linear and circular anisotropies produce coupled signatures in the Mueller matrix, leading to significant artifacts in conventional polarization observables. Through analytical modeling and experimental measurements, we quantify these artifacts and demonstrate that a differential decomposition accurately decouples and retrieves the underlying polarization parameters. The presented approach also successfully probes the polarization anisotropic effects in inhomogeneous media enabling a clear discrimination between the intrinsic chiral optical response and geometric phase effects arising from spin orbit interaction of light in momentum resolved scattering. These results establish differential Mueller matrix polarimetry as a powerful tool for rigorous characterization of polarization phenomena in nanostructured photonic systems and polarization engineered metasurfaces.