Demonstration of a thick holographic Stokesmeter

A holographic Stokesmeter has the potential to be useful in high-speed polarization imaging applications. Highly polarization-sensitive gratings are an important component for this device. Using two sets of multiplexed gratings, we measured the Stokes parameters for three different polarization states of an input beam. These measured values compared well to values measured using the quarter-wave plate/linear polarizer method. This establishes the feasibility of such a Stokesmeter in its original configuration. We demonstrate further the basic mechanism behind a compact architecture for this device, requiring only a single substrate and a single imaging system, and describe a spectrally scanned polarimetric imaging system.