PARALLEL-SLAB DIVISION-OF-AMPLITUDE PHOTOPOLARIMETER

A division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter (DOAP) is described that uses a dielectric parallel-slab (PS) beam splitter that is coated with a h igh-reflectance metal on one side at oblique incidence. The instrument matrix of the PS DOAP is nonsingular, hence all four Stokes parameter s can be measured simultaneously over a broad (UV-visible-IR) spectral range. The parallel, evenly spaced, reflected beams simplify interfac ing of the PS DOAP with linear photodetector arrays for both single-wa velength and spectroscopic polarimetry. The PS DOAP has several degree s of freedom that can be controlled for optimum performance. (C) 1996 Optical Society of America