100 kHz Mueller polarimeter in reflection configuration

Abstract

A new setup is proposed to perform high-speed Mueller polarimetry by spectral coding of polarization in a reflection configuration. The system uses a swept laser source and a photodiode, which results in a simple optical setup that allows measurement of Mueller matrices at 100 kHz repetition rate. A special focus is made on the influence of the cube beam splitter polarimetric response, which is essential to measurements in a reflection configuration. The instrument is first validated on reference samples for single-point measurements, and the effect of a proper system calibration is also demonstrated on polarimetric images. The device is intended to be implemented within a laser scanning microscope to perform multimodal imaging (confocal/multiphoton and Mueller polarimetry).