Wavelength encoded polarization measurements for simultaneous spectral and polarimetric characterization in near field

Abstract

We report a scheme for polarization sensitive near field imaging of nanostructured samples by making use of broadband polarized near field illumination and detection of polarization states of scattered light by a spectrally encoded analyzer. The analyzer comprising a combination of polarizer, a multi-order waveplate and a broadband quarter waveplate allows analysis of the spectrally encoded polarization states of scattered light for characterization of the polarization properties of nano structures from a single image scan. The scheme was validated by measuring the near field polarization parameters of silver nanowires. The approach allows simultaneous measurement of polarization characteristics as well as spectral features of the nano materials.