Jl. Pezzaniti et Ra. Chipman, LINEAR-POLARIZATION UNIFORMITY MEASUREMENTS TAKEN WITH AN IMAGING POLARIMETER, Optical engineering, 34(6), 1995, pp. 1569-1573
Four types of polarizers are experimentally evaluated and compared for
the uniformity of their transmission axis orientations and the contra
st ratio and their spatial variation. Representative samples of calcit
e Glan-Thompson polarizers, polarizing beamsplitters, silver glass pol
arizers, and stretched polymer polarizers are characterized at 850 nm
using a rotating polarizer imaging polarimeter. The sample Glan-Thomps
on polarizers show the highest contrast ratios and greatest uniformity
of transmission axis. Silver glass polarizers and stretched polymer p
olarizers show intermediate contrast ratios, but all samples of both s
how a systematic variation of the transmission axis orientation with a
magnitude of several tenths of a degree, The polarizing beamsplitter
cube samples have very good uniformity of transmission axis but the sm
allest contrast ratios with noticeable spatial variations of contrast.