Snapshot imaging Mueller matrix polarimeter using modified Savart polariscopes.

We present a snapshot imaging Mueller matrix polarimeter using modified Savart polariscopes (MSP-SIMMP). The MSP-SIMMP contains both the polarizing optics and the analyzing optics encoding all Mueller matrix components of the sample into the interferogram by the spatial modulation technique. An interference model and the methods of reconstruction and calibration are discussed. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed MSP-SIMMP, the numerical simulation and the laboratory experiment of a design example are presented. The remarkable advantage of the MSP-SIMMP is easy to calibrate. Moreover, compared with conventional imaging Mueller matrix polarimeters with rotating parts, the advantage of the proposed instrument is simple, compact, snapshot-enabled, and stationary (no moving parts).

Demodulation of polarization information for a spatially modulated snapshot imaging polarimeter based on the coherent demodulation theory.

The snapshot imaging polarimeter (SIP) using spatial modulation can obtain all the Stokes parameters of the target through a single measurement. During demodulating of the polarization information of the target, the reference light calibration method is generally used, including a bandpass filter. In this work, a method to demodulate the target polarization information is proposed, which is based on the coherence demodulation theory. Additionally, this method includes a multiplier and a low-pass filter. Taking a spatially modulated SIP using modified Savart polariscopes as an example, a detailed theoretical analysis of the method is derived, and the computer simulation and experiments are carried out to verify the method's feasibility. To the best of our knowledge, this work provides a novel method for demodulating polarization information of spatially modulated SIPs.