Abstract

A polarization-state detector that consists only of a photodetector and no other optical elements is described. The detector surface is partially specularly reflecting and intercepts the light beam of unknown polarization at oblique incidence. The absorbed fraction of incident radiation is modulated by synchronous rotation of the detector, and the corresponding electrical output signal readily determines the elliptic polarization of light except for handedness. A simple calibration procedure for this rotating-detector ellipsometer is given.

© 1985 Optical Society of America

Arrangement of four photodetectors for measuring the state of polarization of light

R. M. A. Azzam
Opt. Lett. 10(7) 309-311 (1985)

Response of the rotating-detector ellipsometer to incident partially polarized light

R. M. A. Azzam
Appl. Opt. 25(23) 4224-4225 (1986)

Photometric ellipsometer for measuring partially polarized light

D. E. Aspnes
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 65(11) 1274-1278 (1975)

Scanning ellipsometer by rotating polarizer and analyzer

L. Y. Chen and David W. Lynch
Appl. Opt. 26(24) 5221-5228 (1987)

Design of a scanning ellipsometer by synchronous rotation of the polarizer and analyzer

Liang-Yao Chen, Xing-Wei Feng, Yi Su, Hong-Zhou Ma, and You-Hua Qian
Appl. Opt. 33(7) 1299-1305 (1994)