| This dissertation describes the development of a Mueller Matrix Imaging Polarimeter (MMIP), a new instrument that measures polarization properties associated with multiple ray paths through optical systems and samples; it determines experimentally what polarization ray tracing algorithms calculate. The output is a Mueller matrix image, a data base from which all polarization characteristics of the sample may be determined. The MMIP is a rotating retarder Stokes polarimeter which includes a polarization state generator.; In one configuration, it measures the Polarization Aberration Matrix of an optical system, a Mueller matrix as a function of pupil coordinate. From the Polarization Aberration Matrix, the diattenuation, retardance and depolarization along an array of ray paths are determined. It can measure the polarization uniformity across a sample aperture or a sample's dependence on angle of incidence.; In another configuration, it measures a Point Spread Matrix, a Mueller matrix relating the polarization state (Stokes vector) of a point object to the distribution of intensity and polarization state across the image.; The depolarization of a liquid crystal TV (LCTV) is calculated from its measured Mueller matrix and found to vary between 2% and 9% as a function of applied voltage, angle of incidence and incident polarization state. In addition, it is shown that if illuminated with its eigenpolarization state, the LCTV modulates phase-only for a large dynamic range of video voltages. The Point Spread Matrix of a 4-F optical system with a LCTV position in its pupil is measured, and spatial variations of polarization are observed across the Point Spread Function. The linear retardance of a PLZT modulator is found to spatially vary in certain regions across its aperture. The Polarization BRDF of near-angle scatter from a diamond turned mirror is measured, revealing as much as 40% depolarization in the scattered light. The Polarization Aberration Matrix of an injection molded plastic lens is measured, producing maps of the retardance and thus the strain birefringence. Finally, six figures of merits are measured for several polarizing beam splitter cubes, showing a systematic variation of linear polarization orientation across its field of view. |
