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Applied Optics

Measurement of the Stokes parameters of light

H. G. Berry, G. Gabrielse, A. E. Livingston

Published Dec 1, 1977• 387 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We describe a measuring system for determining the state of polarization of a beam of light in terms of its Stokes parameters. The technique which can be fully automated incorporates a monochromator and single photon counting detection and can thus be applied over a large wavelength range for very weak optical signals. Fourier transformation of the data by an on-line minicomputer allows immediate calculation of the Stokes parameters. We discuss special applications to light emitted from excited atomic systems with and without cylindrical symmetry.

DOI
10.1364/ao.16.003200

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We describe a measuring system for determining the state of polarization of a beam of light in terms of its Stokes parameters. The technique which can be fully automated incorporates a monochromator and single photon counting detection and can thus be applied over a large wavelength range for very weak optical signals. Fourier transformation of the data by an on-line minicomputer allows immediate calculation of the Stokes parameters. We discuss special applications to light emitted from excited atomic systems with and without cylindrical symmetry.
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We propose a new method for performing continuous quantum nondemolition measurements (QNDM) of the polarization characteristics of light, the signal photon number, and the Stokes parameters of light. For devices that implement such measurements we take cubically nonlinear double-filament optical fibers with tunnel coupling of the filaments. Such a system employs a four-mode mixing of the waves (two probe modes and two signal modes). Linear optical elements needed for preliminary and subsequent conversion of the Stokes parameters are also used. We show that measurements of one Stokes parameter can be used for QNDM of the phase difference between the two initial modes. Here the accuracy of such measurements is determined by the initial fluctuations of the Stokes parameters of the probe modes and by the size of the nonlinear mode conversion coefficient in the optical fibers.
We demonstrate experimental excitation-manifold-resolved polarization characterization of quantum states of light ranging from the few-photon to the many-photon level. In contrast to the traditional characterization of polarization that is based on the Stokes parameters, we experimentally determine the Stokes vector of each excitation manifold separately. Only for states with a given photon number do the methods coincide. For states with an indeterminate photon number, for example Gaussian states, the employed method gives a richer and more accurate description. We apply the method both in theory and in experiment to some common states to demonstrate its advantages.
Polarization coherent optical information has a wide range of applications in information coding, communication and bioassay. Based on the characteristics of polarization coherent light, we introduced a method to measure and which were used for information coding in continuous variables coherent optical communication in this paper. Then we introduced an experimental technique for getting the information of polarized light by analysizing the intensity distribution of polarization state in polarization speckle, and how to apply this technology in the identification and analysis of biological tissues. By analysizing a Mueller matrix which is used to characterize the coherent information obtained from the measurement of the Stokes parameters, we can get some properties of biological tissues.
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In our paper we consider the behavior of both the Hermitian (observable) Stokes parameters of light and the phases difference that describes the polarization state of optical field. In general case we introduce two pairs of phase operators associated with the phase angles in 3D picture for the polarization Stokes parameters of light on the Poincare sphere. The special eight-port polarization interferometer is presented for simultaneous homodyne detection of both the Stokes parameters of light and the polarization phases and also of their fluctuations. It is shown that an anisotropic (spatio-periodically) Kerr-like nonlinear medium placed in the polarization interferometer can be used for generation and observation of the polarization-squeezed phase states of light.