US 12,460,973 B2
Devices and methods for determining polarization characteristics from partial polarimetry
Meredith Kupinski, Tucson, AZ (US)
Assigned to Arizona Board of Regents on Behalf of the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (US)
Appl. No. 18/562,229
Filed by Arizona Board of Regents on Behalf of the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (US)
PCT Filed May 24, 2022, PCT No. PCT/US2022/030646
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 17, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/251159, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 1, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/362,430, filed on Apr. 4, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/192,395, filed on May 24, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0240986 A1, Jul. 18, 2024
Int. Cl. G01J 4/04 (2006.01); G01N 21/21 (2006.01)
CPC G01J 4/04 (2013.01) [G01N 21/211 (2013.01); G01N 2021/214 (2013.01); G01N 2021/217 (2013.01)] 24 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for estimating polarization characteristics of a material, the method comprising:
illuminating the material with incident light, the incident light being unpolarized or having a particular polarization state;
conducting a first polarimetric measurement of the material based on interaction of the incident light with the material, the first polarimetric measurement detecting light having a first polarization state;
conducting a second polarimetric measurement of the material based on interaction of the incident light with the material, the second polarimetric measurement detecting light having a second polarization state that is orthogonal to the first polarization state, wherein the interaction of the incident light with the material as part of one or both of the first or the second polarimetric measurements includes a depolarizing interaction;
determining an estimated coherency matrix eigenvalue and an estimated Mueller matrix throughput parameter using the first and the second polarimetric measurements; and
determining an estimate of a full depolarizing Mueller matrix associated with the material by extrapolating a reduced-rank Mueller matrix to obtain all sixteen elements of the estimated full depolarizing Mueller matrix that identifies the polarization characteristics of the material.