Performance optimization and light-beam-deviation analysis of the parallel-slab division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter.

A division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter that uses a parallel-slab multiple-reflection beam splitter was described recently [Opt. Lett. 21, 1709 (1996)]. We provide a general analysis and an optimization of a specific design that uses a fused-silica slab that is uniformly coated with a transparent thin film of ZnS on the front surface and with an opaque Ag or Au reflecting layer on the back. Multiple internal reflections within the slab give rise to a set of parallel, equispaced, reflected beams numbered 0, 1, 2, and 3 that are intercepted by photodetectors D(0), D(1), D(2), and D(3), respectively, to produce output electrical signals i(0), i(1), i(2), and i(3), respectively. The instrument matrix A, which relates the output-signal vector I to the input Stokes vector S by I = AS, and its determinant D are analyzed. The instrument matrix A is nonsingular; hence all four Stokes parameters can be measured simultaneously over a broad spectral range (UV-VIS-IR). The optimum film thickness, the optimum angle of incidence, and the effect of light-beam deviation on the measured input Stokes parameters are considered.

Projection-slice synthetic discriminant functions for optical pattern recognition.

The projection-slice synthetic discriminant function (PSDF) filter is introduced and proposed for distortion-invariant pattern-recognition applications. The projection-slice theorem, often used in tomographic applications for medical imaging, is utilized to implement a distortion-invariant filter. Taking M projections from one training image and combining them with (N - 1)M projections taken from another N - 1 training image accomplishes this. With the projection-slice theorem, each set of these M projections can be represented as M one-dimensional slices of the two-dimensional Fourier transform of the particular training image. Therefore, the PSDF filter has the advantage of matching each of the training images with at least M slices of their respective Fourier transforms. This filter is theoretically analyzed, numerically simulated, and experimentally implemented and tested to verify the simulation results. These tests show that the PSDF filter significantly outperforms the matched-filter and the basic synthetic discriminant function technique for the particular images used.

Scattering analysis of slanted fiber gratings.

The diffraction efficiency of a tilted in-core fiber grating is analyzed with the scattering formalism and the first Born approximation. Without any prior physical assumptions about the shape or direction of the scattered wave, it is shown that diffraction occurs when the so-called Bragg conditions are nearly satisfied and the interaction process can be described by a pair of coupled first-order differential equations that are exactly the same as those obtained through the coupled-mode analysis.

Parallel-slab division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter.

A division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter (DOAP) is described that uses a dielectric parallel-slab (PS) beam splitter that is coated with a high-reflectance metal on one side at oblique incidence. The instrument matrix of the PS DOAP is nonsingular, hence all four Stokes parameters can be measured simultaneously over a broad (UV-visible-IR) spectral range. The parallel, evenly spaced, ref lected beams simplify interfacing of the PS DOAP with linear photodetector arrays for both single-wavelength and spectroscopic polarimetry. The PS DOAP has several degrees of freedom that can be controlled for optimum performance.

Digital optical processor based on symbolic substitution using holographic matched filtering.

We propose a digital optical arithmetic processor design based on symbolic substitution using holographic matched and space-invariant filters. The proposed system performs Boolean logic, binary addition, and subtraction in a highly parallel manner; i.e., the processing time depends on word size but not array size. Algorithms for performing binary addition and subtraction in parallel are presented. A skew problem occurring when symbolic substitution is applied to binary addition and subtraction with space-invariant systems is addressed, and its solution is suggested. Crosstalk in symbolic substitution is described, and new symbols which can prevent the crosstalk are introduced. System analysis and fundamental limitations of the proposed system are also presented in terms of processing time, overall light efficiency, and the maximum array size of the input data plane. The performance of the proposed system with that of the current electronic supercomputers has been compared by combining information about the processing time and maximum array size.

Measurement of optical fiber diameter using the fast Fourier transform.

The variation of the fringe spacing of the far zone scattered intensity of an illuminated optical fiber has been plotted vs the scattering angle, theoretically and experimentally. A method for measuring fiber diameters by taking the Fourier transform of the scattering intensity is described. Theoretical and experimental resultshave been compared at various angles for different fiber diameters.