Retardance measurement by spatially probing the sample with optical vortices

Modern optical systems utilize various degrees of freedom, such as polarization, for shaping and controlling the light. Common representative of such a component is spatial light modulator (SLM), consisting of liquid crystal display, allowing for imposing predetermined retardation with given orientation of optical axis of anisotropy. Therefore, it is widely used for polarization coded phase shifting, polarization splitting of wavefront in digital holography etc. Narrowing tolerance in optical experiments puts higher demands on precise setting of the modulator and the parameters set. Consequently, measuring such devices and their parameters is essential for proper functionality. We present a single shot, common path method for measuring retardance map of the modulator, based on spatial probing the modulator with point images of spatially coherent light source and transforming them to optical vortices.