Analysis, optimization and implementation of a variable retardance based polarimeter

Abstract

We present a comprehensive analysis, optimization and implementation of a Stokes polarimeter based on two liquid crystals acting as variable retarders. For the optimization process, the Conditional Number or the Equally Weighted Variance indicators are applied and compared as a function of different number of polarization analyzers. Moreover, some of the optimized polarimeter configurations are experimentally implemented and the influence of small experimental deviations from the optimized configuration values on the amplification of the Stokes component error is also studied. Some experimental results obtained by using the implemented polarimeters, when measuring different incidence states of polarization, are provided.