Ultracompact focal plane snapshot spectropolarimeter.

ABSTRACT

We present, to the best of our knowledge, a new focal plane snapshot full Stokes spectropolarimeter. The technique uses a wave plate array in combination with a birefringent interferometer to acquire four independent spectropolarimetric modulated subinterferograms in a single shot. Then, the full wavelength associated Stokes parameters are reconstructed using the inverse Fourier transforms and a simple matrix operation. The principle of the described model is investigated, and demonstration experiments are carried out. The experiments indicate that it not only provides snapshot spectropolarimetric data acquisition but also presents the advantages of being high throughput and ultracompact.