Polarimeter and corresponding measuring method
US6177995A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 7, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jan 23, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 7, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01J4/00
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A polarimeter includes a prism (32) for separating the incident light beam (21) having a Stokes vector (S) into a reflected beam (22) and a transmitted beam (23), the prism not inducing any interferential effect and the transmitted beam being subjected to at least a reflection internal to the prism. The polarimeter also include two final separators (3, 4) for separating respectively each of the reflected beam and the transmitted beam into at least two final beams (25-28), detecting means (5-8) for measuring the intensity levels of the final beams and a processing unit (9) producing the Stokes vector of the light to be measured. Preferably, the reflections internal to the prism (32) are either total reflections, or reflections on a thick absorbing layer. The invention also includes a method for measuring light beam polarization states.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.