What are polarimeters?
Devices that measure the optical characteristics of light beams and samples are known as polarimeters. There are two broad classifications of polarimeters; a. Stokes vector polarimeters measure the polarization properties of a beam of light. b. Mueller matrix polarimeters measure the polarization properties of a particular material. Moreover, these categories may be divided into a number of sub classifications including: complete vs. incomplete polarimeters sequential vs. simultaneous polarimeters monochromatic vs. polychromatic polarimeters nonimaging vs. imaging polarimeters. Finally, there exists a class of polarimeters devoted to the specific task of determining the refractive index and thickness of thin films deposited on substrates, typically called ellipsometers. Ellipsometers are usually incomplete, sequential, monochromatic, nonimaging systems, although systems exhibiting variations in one or many of these sub classifications are available. Stokes vector polarimeters derive fo
