• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.59-66
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• 2022

A free-form Mueller matrix ellipsometer (MME) based on independent control of the azimuthal angle of each polarizing element is introduced. The azimuthal angles of the polarizer and the matching compensator which generate the optimum Stokes vectors of an incident beam are investigated for the polarization state generator, where the spectral responses of the retardation angle and transmittance ratio of a nonideal compensator are taken into account. Similarly, the azimuthal angles of the analyzer and the corresponding compensator are investigated for the polarization-state detector, to unambiguously determine the Stokes vector of the outcoming beam from the sample, and explicit expressions for the Stokes elements are derived. Since the suggested technique enables one to utilize a nonideal quarter-wave plate as the compensator for an MME, it will contribute to the construction and application of a Mueller matrix spectroscopic ellipsometer (MMSE) operating over a wide spectral range from deep ultra-violet to near infrared.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2015

We have developed ellipsometry lidar and measured aerosol and ice-cloud characteristics. To measure a full normalized backscattering phase matrix (NBSPM) composed of nine elements, we have designed an optical system with three kinds of transmission and three kinds of reception, composed of ${\lambda}/2$ waveplate, ${\lambda}/4$ waveplate and empty optic. To find systematic optical errors, we used clean day middle-altitude (4-6km) lidar signals for which the aerosol's concentration was small and its orientation chaotic. After calibrating our lidar system, we have calculated NBSPM elements scattered from an aerosol and from an ice cloud. In the case of an aerosol, we found that the off-diagonal values $m_{12},{\ldots},m_{34}$ of the NBSPM are smaller than those for a cirrus cloud. Also, the off-diagonal values of the NBSPM from a cirrus cloud depend on atmospheric conditions.