Real-Time Jones Matrix Synthesis by Compact Polarization Inline Holographic Microscopy

Abstract

The Jones matrix is a powerful quantitative tool for polarimetric imaging and characterization, where the matrix elements represent the intrinsic optical properties of the anisotropic objects on interaction with the polarized light. Most of the state-of-the-art single-shot Jones-matrix imaging techniques rely on interferometric methods, which makes the design complex with the use of large number of polarization optics and produces space-bandwidth limitations. The simultaneous extraction of Jones matrix elements with a compact system design is still a technical challenge in view of its potential applications in biomedical and real-time characterization scenarios. In this paper, the imaging features of the in-line holography are exploited to develop a compact polarization in-line holography (PIH) system capable of single-shot extraction of Jones-matrix elements. The technique achieves simultaneous orthogonal polarization state generation and corresponding polarization multiplexed in-line hologram detection by utilizing a compact polarization geometry. The imaging compatibility and measurement accuracy of the method is experimentally validated by the real-time synthesis of Jones-matrix elements corresponding to custom designed polarization sensitive samples and standard birefringent resolution target. Furthermore, to demonstrate the application of the system in dynamic imaging, the transient polarization changes of a custom-designed parallel nematic liquid crystal display (LCD) are investigated.