General methods for optimized design and calibration of Mueller polarimeters

A Mueller polarimeter always comprises a polarization state generator (PSG) and a polarization state analyzer (PSA), whose configurations determine the modulation and analysis matrices W and A, involved in the linear relationship between the raw measurement matrix B and the Mueller matrix M of the sample under study. At constant noise in the raw data B, the noise in M is minimized when the condition numbers of both A and W are optimized [E. Compain et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 68 (1997) 2671; S. Tyo, Appl. Opt. 41 (2002) 619]. This result provides a quite general criterion for the optimization of instrument design. Typically, this optimization leads to PSG and PSA configurations, which may be difficult to calibrate accurately by usual procedures. This key issue is easily solved by the quite general eigenvalue calibration method [E. Compain et al., Appl. Opt. OT 38 (1999) 3490]. The usefulness of this approach for the development of innovative polarimeters is illustrated with two instruments. One of these comprises a photoelastic modulator and a division-of-amplitude prism, and features a high dynamical range over a broad spectrum, while the other, based on liquid crystal variable retarders, is better suited for imaging applications in the visible and the near infrared.