WAVEFRONT-DIVISION POLARIMETRIC ANALYSIS METHOD AND DEVICE, SPECTROPOLARIMETER, POLARIMETRIC CAMERA AND OPTICAL MICROSCOPE USING SUCH A DEVICE

摘要

The invention relates to an accurate and robust wavefront-division polarimetric analysis device, allowing the quasi-instantaneous measurement of the polarisation states of a luminous object. The wavefront-division polarimetric analysis device of the invention can be used to produce a plurality of light beams, all polarised according to different polarisation states, from a single upstream light beam. The polarised light beams, which do not overlap and which carry information items that are complementary in terms of polarisation, are analysed simultaneously by a plurality of detectors that measure the luminous intensity of each beam. Processing means digitally process the luminous intensity values obtained in order to determine the polarisation state of the upstream light beam. According to the invention, the operations performed by the processing means on the luminous intensity values prevent luminous intensity variations in the divided light beams during the division of the wavefront of the upstream light beam. Therefore the wavefront-division polarimetric analysis device of the invention is robust and its accuracy is not hindered by the experimental conditions. The invention further relates to a wavefront-division polarimetric analysis method for determining the polarisation state of an upstream light beam.