Stokes polarimeter for pulsed radiation based on a series of Brewster plates

摘要

This paper discusses the design of a compact pulsed Stokes polarimeter with a linear series of Brewster plates as polarizers. A technique for tuning and calibrating the polarimeter is described. The error in measuring the azimuth (about 1 degrees), ellipticity (almost 10), and the degree of polarization (of the order of 2) of IR radiation (lambda = 1.06 mu m) having a width of 0.03-1.0 mu s is estimated. The results are presented of measuring the polarization characteristics of a pulsed Nd laser with self-Q-switching and in the free-lasing regime. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America.