Measurement of linear birefringence using a rotating-wave-plate Stokes polarimeter

In this study, a compact polarimeter is developed to measure the linear birefringence property of optical materials. The principal axis angle and the retardance are obtained by a simple signal-processing algorithm, which is derived via Stokes parameters extractions when using an incident light linearly polarized at 45°. There exists an absolute error of 0.0296° on average in the principal axis angle measurement and a relative error of 2.54% in the retardance measurement of a quarter-wave-plate sample with its principal axis ranging from −40° to 40°. The standard deviations for the principal axis angle and retardance measurements are determined to be 0.015° and 0.018°, respectively, while one standard deviation to the average value of the principal axis angle and retardance, respectively, are just 0.066% and 0.020% with high repeatability, and corresponding dynamic ranges of −45° to 45° and −180° to 180°, respectively. Consequently, the developed polarimeter has a potential in linear birefringence measurement, especially in the retardance measurement.