Abstract
Depolarization is the reduction in degree of polarization which occurs when a light beam interacts with surfaces or optical elements. Depolarization is a scrambling of polarization states. The depolarization of Mueller matrices is studied here by mapping the resultant degree of depolarization for all possible polarized incident states (over the surface of the Poincare sphere). Example Mueller matrices are constructed with a variety of different depolarization properties to demonstrate the different depolarization degrees of freedom. These properties can then be applied to understand measurements of depolarization. A classification is presented where depolarization is considered as occurring before diattenuation, in series with diattenuation, or following diattenuation.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 14-20 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering |
| Volume | 3754 |
| State | Published - 1999 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | Proceedings of the 1999 Polarization: Measurement, Analysis, and Remote Sensing II - Denver, CO, USA Duration: Jul 19 1999 → Jul 21 1999 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Computer Science Applications
- Applied Mathematics
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering