Snapshot Mueller matrix spectropolarimeter

We present a new snapshot technique for performing spectrally resolved Mueller matrix polarimetry. The basic approach is an extension of the channeled spectropolarimetry technique, employing frequency-domain interferometry to encode polarization information into modulation of the spectrum.     

Snapshot imaging Mueller matrix polarimeter using polarization gratings

A snapshot imaging Mueller matrix polarimeter (SIMMP) is theoretically described and empirically demonstrated through simulation. Spatial polarization fringes are localized onto a sample by incorporating polarization gratings (PGs) into a polarization generator module. These fringes modulate the Mueller matrix (MM) components of the sample, which are subsequently isolated with PGs in an analyzer module. The MM components are amplitude modulated onto spatial carrier frequencies which, due to the PGs, maintain high visibility in spectrally broadband illumination. An interference model of the SIMMP is provided, followed by methods of reconstruction and calibration. Lastly, a numerical simulation is used to demonstrate the system's performance in the presence of noise.     

基于双折射晶体的快拍穆勒矩阵成像测偏原理分析

针对传统穆勒矩阵成像测偏仪包含活动部件,需进行多次测量,容易产生测量误差,不能对运动目标或动态场景进行同时、实时测量等问题,提出了一种以改进型萨瓦偏光镜为核心分光器件的快拍Mueller矩阵成像测偏技术(MSP-SMMIP).它不含任何活动部件,能通过单次快拍测量获取目标强度图像和全部16个穆勒矩阵阵元图像.它主要由偏振态产生和偏振态分析两部分组成,偏振干涉条纹通过偏振态产生光路后定位于测试样品上,随后这些条纹通过空间载频将样品的Mueller矩阵分量编码,经偏振态分析光路成像于焦平面上.采用斯托克斯矢量-穆勒矩阵形式阐明了光场偏振态被MSP-SMMIP调制的过程,给出了其像面干涉图表达式,讨论了Mueller矩阵反演和系统定标的方法.基于CCD相机参数分析了系统的光学指标.通过数值模拟实验给出模拟测量结果,通过定性和定量评价测量结果表明该系统的可行性.MSP-SMMIP技术具有稳态、快拍、结构简洁、易定标、可同时实时获取目标强度图像和全部Mueller矩阵阵元图像的显著特点.     

Two-dimensional depth-resolved Mueller matrix of biological tissue measured with double-beam polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

A double-beam polarization-sensitive system based on optical coherence tomography was built to measure the Mueller matrix of scattering biological tissue with high spatial resolution. The Jones matrix of a sample can be determined with a single scan and subsequently converted into an equivalent nondepolarizing Mueller matrix. As a result, the system can be used to measure the Mueller matrix of an unstable sample, such as soft tissue. The polarization parameters of a porcine tendon, including magnitude and orientation of birefringence and diattenuation, were extracted by decomposition of the measured Mueller matrix.     

Numerical study of the characterization of forward scattering Mueller matrix patterns of turbid media with triple forward scattering assumption

We propose a triple forward scattering model to numerically investigate the forward scattering Mueller matrix of a turbid medium. The calculated results show that the Mueller matrix based on the triple scattering model can completely describe the basic symmetries and azimuthal structures of the forward scattering Mueller matrix of a turbid medium. The results show that the forward scattering Mueller matrix is characterized with special symmetric structure compared with backscattering Mueller matrix patterns. The method will extend the investigation to light scattering mechanism from cells and to diagnosis of diabetes and other blood related diseases.     

随机介质背散射二维Mueller矩阵的数值模拟与分析

推导了随机介质背散射Mueller矩阵的直接计算公式,并运用矢量Monte Carlo方法进行了数值模拟.结果表明随机介质背散射二维Mueller矩阵方位关系随散射系数的减小而增强,而与微粒大小关系不大;Mueller矩阵元素绝对值的空间分布随径向呈近似指数规律衰减,矩阵元素的方位变化具有周期性.对称系统的二维Mueller矩阵的花样图中仅有7幅独立,其余9幅可通过对称、旋转变换得到.     

Differentiating characteristic microstructural features of cancerous tissues using Mueller matrix microscope

Polarized light imaging can provide rich microstructural information of samples, and has been applied to the detections of various abnormal tissues. In this paper, we report a polarized light microscope based on Mueller matrix imaging by adding the polarization state generator and analyzer (PSG and PSA) to a commercial transmission optical microscope. The maximum errors for the absolute values of Mueller matrix elements are reduced to 0.01 after calibration. This Mueller matrix microscope has been used to examine human cervical and liver cancerous tissues with fibrosis. Images of the transformed Mueller matrix parameters provide quantitative assessment on the characteristic features of the pathological tissues. Contrast mechanism of the experimental results are backed up by Monte Carlo simulations based on the sphere–cylinder birefringence model, which reveal the relationship between the pathological features in the cancerous tissues at the cellular level and the polarization parameters. Both the experimental and simulated data indicate that the microscopic transformed Mueller matrix parameters can distinguish the breaking down of birefringent normal tissues for cervical cancer, or the formation of birefringent surrounding structures accompanying the inflammatory reaction for liver cancer. With its simple structure, fast measurement and high precision, polarized light microscope based on Mueller matrix shows a good diagnosis application prospect.     

Calculations of Backscattering Mueller Matrices for Turbid Media with a Sphere Queue Model

A sphere queue model is introduced to calculate Mueller matrices of turbid media. Combined with the single scattering approximation, the backscattering Mueller matrices of turbid media can be computed rapidly by Mie theory. The numerical results agree with the azimuthal dependences of backscattering Mueller matrices＇ patterns from turbid media, which indicates that the major contribution to the Mueller matrices＇ patterns comes from the single scattering of the sphere queue, and the multiple scattering considered as a high-order correction does not change the patterns. The numerical analysis reveals that the contrast of Mueller matrices＇ patterns will decrease with increase of the concentration of media and the distance from the incident point.     

掺杂对随机分布团簇粒子缪勒矩阵的影响

文章分析了不同含量的杂质对随机分布团簇粒子缪勒矩阵的影响.利用Bruggeman有效介质理论得到了含有不同体积份额杂质的硅酸盐粒子的等效复折射率.采用离散偶极子近似方法对包含有不同化学成分的随机分布团簇粒子的缪勒矩阵进行了数值计算,给出了各个缪勒矩阵元素的散射角分布曲线,探讨了不同含量的杂质对随机分布团簇粒子缪勒矩阵的影响.研究表明,掺杂对随机分布团簇粒子的缪勒矩阵存在着不同程度的影响,并且此影响随着粒子尺度参数的变化而显著变化. 关键词： 团簇粒子 缪勒矩阵 Bruggeman有效介质理论 离散偶极子近似方法     

Mueller matrix for characterization of one-dimensional rough perfectly reflecting surfaces in a conical configuration

Theoretical results of the use of a Mueller matrix to characterize a one-dimensional rough perfectly reflecting, single-scattering surface in a conical configuration are presented. The conical Mueller matrix (CMM) is derived from the known Mueller matrix of this kind of surface in the plane of incidence [the plane Mueller matrix (PMM)]. The key argument is that, as the PMM is considered to be a Mueller-Jones matrix, an appropriate rotation of the complex amplitude matrix provides the conic Mueller matrix.     

Characterization of grating structures by Mueller polarimetry in presence of strong depolarization due to finite spot size

In this paper, we present an approach based on Mueller polarimetry for dimensional characterization of periodic structures with sample sizes smaller than the illuminating beam spot. The relevant theoretical background based on Mueller matrix formalism is presented. The sample, a photoresist grating box surrounded by silicon substrate, was measured in conical configuration by means of a spectroscopic Mueller polarimeter whose beam was illuminating both the grating and the substrate. By translating the boundary between these two regions through the beam we could follow the depolarization effect related to the incoherent superposition of the light reflected by the grating and the substrate. The grating’s optical response was modeled by rigorous coupled-wave analysis. The optimized geometrical parameters of the grating (the line width, the grating depth, and the side-wall angle) show very good consistency for all sample positions with 15% or more of the spot area covered by the grating. Another source of depolarization, the finite spectral resolution of the polarimeter was also taken into account in the analysis, leading to a good quantitative agreement with the sharp “depolarization lines” observed in the measured Mueller spectra.     

Error in determining Mueller matrix elements and its effect on solution of the inverse problem of polarimetry

We present an analysis of the errors in measurement of the Mueller matrix elements in polarimeters that are a combination of different types of Stokes polarimeters in the detection channel and controllable polarization converters in the probing channel. As polarization converters for the probing radiation, we consider a phase plate having four different angular positions in measuring the complete Mueller matrix and a linear polarizer having different angular positions in measuring the structural parts of an incomplete 4 × 3 Mueller matrix. We have shown that the error in determining the Mueller matrix elements is distributed nonuniformly over the matrix. The nature of the error distribution over the elements and its values are different for different combinations of detection and probing channels of the polarimeter, and depend on the anisotropy of the test object. The latter dictates the choice of the optimal layout for a Mueller polarimeter for studying media with the same or different types of anisotropy and the choice of Mueller matrix elements used to solve the inverse problem of determining the anisotropy parameters.     

混浊介质二维后向漫散射穆勒矩阵的测量

研制了一套实验系统用于测量混浊介质的后向漫散射穆勒矩阵.在系统中,激光被调制成所需偏振态,聚焦于混浊介质表面.利用CCD相机配合相应的偏振元件,测量入射点周围区域的后向散射光中特定偏振态的能量空间分布,并由测量值计算出介质的后向漫散射穆勒矩阵.描述了系统的组成、测量原理以及方法,分别测量了消偏振分光棱镜的反射穆勒矩阵和浓度1.5％的脂肪乳溶液的后向漫散射穆勒矩阵.实验证明:该系统能够完全消除样品表面镜面反射光的干扰,精确的测量混浊介质的后向漫散射穆勒矩阵;并可望用于生物组织的研究中.     

含葡萄糖的混浊介质的Mueller矩阵模拟与分析

利用矢量Monte Carlo算法结合葡萄糖的旋光特性模拟了含糖混浊介质的背散射Mueller矩阵.数值模拟表明:含糖混浊介质的背散射Mueller矩阵元素中除Mll、M14、M41、M44外的其它元素花样均发生龙卷风状的不同程度的扭曲,其中M24、M34、M42、M43的扭曲程度更为显著.研究发现M24、M34、M4...     

基于Mueller矩阵成像椭偏仪的纳米结构几何参数大面积测量

为了实现有效的工艺监控, 在批量化纳米制造中对纳米结构的关键尺寸等几何参数进行快速、低成本、非破坏性的精确测量具有十分重要的意义. 光学散射仪目前已经发展成为批量化纳米制造中纳米结构几何参数在线测量的一种重要手段. 传统光学散射测量技术只能获得光斑照射区内待测参数的平均值, 而对小于光斑照射区内样品的微小变化难以准确分析. 此外, 由于其只能进行单点测试, 必须要移动样品台进行扫描才能获得大面积区域内待测参数的分布信息, 从而严重影响测试效率. 为此, 本文将传统光学散射测量技术与显微成像技术相结合, 提出利用Mueller矩阵成像椭偏仪实现纳米结构几何参数的大面积快速准确测量. Mueller矩阵成像椭偏仪具有传统Mueller矩阵椭偏仪测量信息全、光谱灵敏度高的优势, 同时又有显微成像技术高空间分辨率的优点, 有望为批量化纳米制造中纳米结构几何参数提供一种大面积、快速、低成本、非破坏性的精确测量新途径.     

The Mueller matrix formalism in diffraction phenomena

Electromagnetic diffraction at the edge of a plane screen is described by the use of the Mueller matrix. The transformation law is found for the Stokes parameters of the incident and diffracted wave by applying the Mueller method to several cases of diffraction.     

Spectroscopic Mueller matrix polarimeter using four-channeled spectra

A Mueller matrix polarimeter acquired for four-channeled spectra is proposed. Both the polarizing and analyzing optics of this system consist of a linear polarizer and a high-order retarder. The polarizing elements can modulate the polarization states in the wavenumber space. By applying a Fourier transform method to a single-channeled spectrum, nine elements of the Mueller matrix can be deconvoluted without modifying the configuration of either the polarizing or analyzing optics. It is thus possible to determine the wavelength dependence of all the Mueller matrix elements from four-channeled spectra obtained using four different configurations for the polarizing and analyzing optics. The performance of this method is evaluated by measuring polarization properties, such as retardance, azimuthal angle, and linear diattenuation, from the obtained Mueller matrix in wavenumber space.     

Mueller matrix differential decomposition

We present a Mueller matrix decomposition based on the differential formulation of the Mueller calculus. The differential Mueller matrix is obtained from the macroscopic matrix through an eigenanalysis. It is subsequently resolved into the complete set of 16 differential matrices that correspond to the basic types of optical behavior for depolarizing anisotropic media. The method is successfully applied to the polarimetric analysis of several samples. The differential parameters enable one to perform an exhaustive characterization of anisotropy and depolarization. This decomposition is particularly appropriate for studying media in which several polarization effects take place simultaneously.     

Structure of Deterministic Mueller Matrices and Their Reconstruction in the Method of Three Input Polarizations

The method of reconstruction of complete deterministic Mueller matrices for the structures of incomplete matrices, which are measured in the method of three input polarizations, has been developed. The method is based on reconstruction of the corresponding Jones matrices for the given structures of incomplete Mueller matrices.