We present a method for using liquid-crystal variable retarders (LCVR’s) with continually varying voltage to measure the Stokes vector of a light beam. The LCVR's are usually employed with fixed retardance values due to the nonlinear voltage-retardance behavior that they show. The nonlinear voltage-retardance relationship is first measured and then a linear fit of the known retardance terms to the detected signal is performed. We use known waveplates (half-wave and quarter-wave) as devices to provide controlled polarization states to the Stokes polarimeter and we use the measured Stokes parameters as functions of the orientation of the axes of the waveplates as an indication of the quality of the polarimeter. Results are compared to a Fourier analysis method that does not take into account the nonlinear voltage-retardance relationship and also to a Fourier analysis method that uses experimental voltage values to give a linear retardance function with time. Also, we present results of simulations for comparison.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
March 2014
Research Article|
March 12 2014
Stokes polarimetry using analysis of the nonlinear voltage-retardance relationship for liquid-crystal variable retarders
J. M. López-Téllez;
J. M. López-Téllez
a)
Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico,
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Apdo. Postal 70-186, México D.F., 04510, Mexico
Search for other works by this author on:
N. C. Bruce
N. C. Bruce
Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico,
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Apdo. Postal 70-186, México D.F., 04510, Mexico
Search for other works by this author on:
Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 033104 (2014)
Article history
Received:
November 29 2013
Accepted:
February 20 2014
Citation
J. M. López-Téllez, N. C. Bruce; Stokes polarimetry using analysis of the nonlinear voltage-retardance relationship for liquid-crystal variable retarders. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 1 March 2014; 85 (3): 033104. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4867458
Download citation file:
Pay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Citing articles via
An instrumentation guide to measuring thermal conductivity using frequency domain thermoreflectance (FDTR)
Dylan J. Kirsch, Joshua Martin, et al.
Overview of the early campaign diagnostics for the SPARC tokamak (invited)
M. L. Reinke, I. Abramovic, et al.
Optical prechamber-equipped high-pressure large-bore optical combustor for fundamental combustion studies
Daipayan Sen, Sayan Biswas
Related Content
Nonideal optical response of liquid crystal variable retarders and its impact on their performance as polarization modulators
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B (December 2019)
Optimization of the response time measuring method for liquid crystal variable retarders
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B (December 2019)
Red- and blue-detuned magneto-optical trapping with liquid crystal variable retarders
Rev. Sci. Instrum. (February 2022)
Troubleshooting spectral artifacts from biplate retarders for reliable Stokes spectropolarimetry
Rev. Sci. Instrum. (October 2023)
Experimental method to characterize the retardance function of optical variable retarders
Am. J. Phys. (February 2015)