Hybrid calibration method of a wide-view-angle Mueller polarimeter for hyper-numerical-aperture imaging systems

Polarization aberration of hyper-numerical-aperture projection optics should be measured accurately in order to control it exactly and ensure favorable imaging performance. A hybrid calibration method combining the Fourier analysis method and the eigenvalue calibration method is proposed. A wide-view-angle Mueller polarimeter (WMP) is exemplified to demonstrate the capability of the proposed calibration method, which can calibrate the polarimeter and determine the error budget of polarizing elements in the polarimeter. In addition, an experimental setup and a WMP are developed in-house to implement the hybrid calibration method.