Method of and device for realtime measurement of the state of polarization of a quasi-monochromatic light beam.

摘要

The method and the device are based on interference techniques. Two quasi-monochromatic radiations (2a, 2b; 102a, 102b; 202a, 202b) with slightly different optical frequencies are generated. A radiation is converted into a 45 DEG linearly-polarized radiation, while the other presents the polarization state imposed by a body under test (4, 204). In each radiation, horizontal and vertical polarization components are separated, and then recombined into two different beams (20a, 21a; 34, 35) comprising radiations at both frequencies, respectively polarized in the same plane. Beatings between the two components of each beam are originated and from the two electrical signals in the radio frequency range thus obtained the information is extracted on the relative phase and the amplitude of the two components of the radiation with polarization imposed by the body under test (4, 204).