Portable Real-Time Polarimeter for Partially and Fully Polarized Light
Optics
2025-08-18 v2 Instrumentation and Detectors
Abstract
We present a portable polarimeter capable of real-time visualization of partial and fully polarized light over a broad band of wavelengths. Our system utilizes a Raspberry Pi computer with a low-cost data acquisition "HAT" (DAQ HAT) and an integrated photodetection circuit. Wide bandwidth operation is achieved through digital calibration of an arbitrary retardance waveplate presented herein. All mechanical, electrical, and software components are open source and available on a GitHub repository. This completely integrated approach provides an efficient tool for modern optics research laboratories and is well-suited for educational demonstrations.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2102.06114,
title = {Portable Real-Time Polarimeter for Partially and Fully Polarized Light},
author = {Brendan Mackey and Owen Sandner and Akash Saji and Andres Felipe Ramos and Lauren Hall and Scott Wilkinson and Aydan McKay and Nicolas Braam and Chris Secord and Andrew MacRae},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2102.06114},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
5 pages, 4 figures