Combined Jones–Stokes Polarimetry and Its Decomposition into Associated Anisotropic Characteristics of Spatial Light Modulator

Abstract

Jones–Stokes polarimetry is a robust in vitro polarimetric technique that can be used to investigate the anisotropic properties of a birefringent medium. The study of spatially resolved Jones matrix components of an object is a heuristic approach to extract its phase and polarization information. However, direct interpretation of Jones matrix elements and their decomposition into associated anisotropic properties of a sample is still a challenging research problem that needs to be investigated. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate combined Jones–Stokes polarimetry to investigate the amplitude, phase, and polarization modulation characteristics of a twisted nematic liquid crystal spatial light modulator (TNLC-SLM). The anisotropic response of the SLM is calibrated for its entire grayscale range. We determine the inevitable anisotropic properties viz., diattenuation, retardance, isotropic absorption, birefringence, and dichroism, which are retrieved from the measured Jones matrices of the SLM using Jones polar decomposition and a novel algebraic approach for Jones matrix decomposition. The results of this study provide a complete polarimetric calibration of the SLM within the framework of its anisotropic characteristics.

Spatial Light Modulators and Their Applications in Polarization Holography

“…Let us consider the SLM is designed to modulate the phase of light along the vertically polarized (y-polarized) light. The phase delay experienced by the SLM is given as [32] φ Here, n o and n e are the refractive indices for the slow and fast axis of the LC-SLM respectively and d is the thickness of the LC cell. The relative rotation of LC molecules of SLM for applied pixel voltage (grayscale) is shown in Figure 3.…”

“…The Jones matrix elements contain the vital information of the SLM, including the amplitude, phase, and anisotropic properties (birefringence, dichroism, retardance, etc. ), which can be easily decomposed using the Jones decomposition methods [32,47]. However, Jones matrix cannot provide the polarization information of the medium, containing depolarization.…”

“…The curvature of cover glass and silicon backplane polishing of SLM may also cause a significant nonuniformity in SLM display. This non-homogeneity in the SLM display gives rise to a [32]).…”

“…(a) Schematic of polarization-sensitive digital holography for reflective LC-SLM (LC-R 720, holoeye), and (b) recorded fringe pattern and corresponding Fourier spectrum. [HWP: Half-wave plate, L: Lens, BS: Beam splitter, PBS: Polarization beam splitter, CCD: Charge coupled device, BD: Beam dump, M: Mirrors] (adapted from[32]).…”

“…Figure 7. Recorded interference patterns for +45°polarized incident light (a-c), for À45°polarized incident light (d-f) at grayscales 5 (a, d), 180 (b, e), and 255 (c, f) of LC-SLM respectively (adapted from[32]). …”