Method and light path for dynamically measuring complete information of any light field based on polarization grating
Technical Field
The invention belongs to the technical field of photoelectricity, and relates to a method and a light path for dynamically measuring complete information of any light field based on a polarization grating.
Background
In recent years, with the continuous deepening of the understanding of laser and the development of the application of laser technology, a series of novel beams with special spatial distribution, such as vortex beams with spiral phase, vector beams with polarization state depending on spatial distribution, airy beams with transverse self-acceleration and non-diffraction characteristics, are proposed by regulating the parameters of amplitude, phase, polarization and the like of the beams. These beams have been widely used in the fields of super-resolution imaging, optical micromanipulation, laser micromachining, large-capacity optical communication, and the like. The related application of the periodic polarization structure light field still needs to be explored.
The accurate and rapid measurement of the complete information of the light beam in the three-dimensional space, including the amplitude, phase and polarization distribution of the light beam, is the basis of the application research for developing novel space structure light beams. Conventional holography can only measure the phase and amplitude of the light field. The method for measuring the polarization state of the light beam mainly utilizes the combination of a wave plate and a polaroid, and calculates the polarization distribution of the light beam after recording a series of intensity graphs in different polarization directions. The method has slow measuring process and large measuring error, so that great difficulty is faced in rapidly measuring transient polarization dynamics. Meanwhile, researchers have proposed measuring the polarization distribution of a light beam by using an interferometric phase shift method, but such a method is only suitable for measuring a scalar light beam. In order to measure the phase and polarization distribution of any light beam synchronously, researchers propose to use structural materials such as a super surface and a sub-wavelength grating, and the measuring method has the advantages of small and stable measuring system volume, but is only suitable for representing the local distribution of the light beam. In summary, the current means capable of simultaneously measuring the complete information of the optical field has many limitations, and the measurement system is not only bulky, but also has high requirements on the quality and the accurate alignment of the used optical elements.
Disclosure of Invention
Technical problem to be solved
In order to avoid the defects of the prior art, the invention provides a method and a light path for dynamically measuring the complete information of any light field based on a polarization grating. The light path related by the method has the advantages of simple structure, easiness in adjustment, high real-time measurement precision and the like, and dynamic measurement can be realized.
Technical scheme
A method for dynamically measuring complete information of any optical field based on polarization grating is characterized by comprising the following steps:
step 1: one collimated parallel light beam passes through the transmission sample or is reflected to the reflection sample and is used as an object beam E
Ob=E
L|l>+E
R|r>In which E
L、E
RRespectively representing the complex amplitudes, | l, of the left and right circularly polarized components of the object beam>、|r>Respectively represent the Jones vectors of left and right hand circular polarization as
Step 2: the other collimated parallel light beam coherent with the object beam passes through the polarization grating and is converted into periodic polarization structure light serving as a reference beam
E
ReRepresents the complex amplitude of the incident parallel light;
and step 3: the object beam and the reference beam generate off-axis interference, the plane of the included angle of the two beams is parallel to the grid line of the polarization grating, and the relative tilt phase of the two beams can be expressed as exp (ik)ty);
And 4, step 4: recording a composite hologram comprising two sets of orthogonal interference fringes, whose intensity distribution can be expressed as:
in the formula, the first term U0=|EL|2+|ER|2+|ERe|2Representing the total intensity of the object beam and the reference beam, the latter two terms being interference terms of orthogonal circularly polarized components of the two beams;
and 5: carrying out numerical reconstruction on the hologram by using digital holography to obtain the complex amplitude distribution of two orthogonal circular polarization components in an interference field:
step 6: to eliminate the influence of the phase of the polarization grating and the off-axis interference phase, the linear polarization light field E is homogenized0As a correction, an amplitude distribution was obtained:
and 7: obtaining a complex amplitude distribution E of two orthogonal circular polarization components of the object beam from the correction light fieldLAnd ER
And 8: calculating the complex amplitude distribution U of two orthogonal circular polarization components of the object beam in the three-dimensional space by utilizing a Fresnel diffraction approximation formulaLAnd URAnd calculating to obtain the vector field distribution of the object beam in the three-dimensional space:
U(x,y,z)=UL(x,y,z)|l>+UR(x,y,z)|r>
and step 9: normalized Stokes parameter S for calculating polarization distribution of object beam in three-dimensional space1,S2,S3:
The two collimated beams are mutually coherent.
An optical path for implementing a composite hologram of said two sets of orthogonal interference fringes, characterized in that the sample is a transmission sample; the light path comprises a polarization grating 8, a second depolarization beam splitter prism 9, a lens 10 and an image acquisition device 11; one laser beam passes through a sample 6 and then is used as an object beam, and the other beam of collimated parallel light coherent with the laser beam passes through a polarization grating 8 and then is converted into periodic polarization structure light which is used as a reference beam; the object beam and the reference beam are combined by the second depolarizing beam splitter prism 9 to generate off-axis interference, and the plane of the included angle between the two beams is parallel to the grid line of the polarization grating 82; the lens 10 images the sample 6 and the polarization grating 8 to the recording surface of the image acquisition device 11 to obtain a composite hologram; the two collimated beams are mutually coherent.
An optical path for implementing a composite hologram of said two sets of orthogonal interference fringes, characterized in that the sample is a reflection sample 6; the light path comprises a polarization grating 8, a second depolarization beam splitter prism 9, a third depolarization beam splitter prism 12, a lens 10 and an image acquisition device 11; one beam of laser is reflected to a reflection sample 6 through a third depolarization beam splitter prism 12, the reflection sample 6 reflects the beam and transmits the beam through the third depolarization beam splitter prism 12 to be used as an object beam, and the other beam of collimated parallel light coherent with the beam of laser passes through a polarization grating 8 and then is converted into periodic polarization structure light to be used as a reference beam; the object beam and the reference beam are combined by the second depolarization beam splitter prism 9 to generate off-axis interference, and the plane of the included angle of the two beams is parallel to the grid line of the polarization grating 8; the lens 10 images the sample 6 and the polarization grating 8 to the recording surface of the image acquisition device 11 to obtain a composite hologram; the two collimated beams are mutually coherent.
The light path for forming the two beams of laser comprises a coherent light source 1, a beam expander 2, a half-wave plate 3, a first depolarizing beam splitter prism 4, a first reflector 5 and a second reflector 7; a fine laser beam output by a coherent light source 1 is expanded by a beam expander 2 and collimated into a beam of parallel light, the beam is modulated into horizontal linear polarized light by a half-wave plate 3, the beam is divided into two beams of transmission light and reflection light which are perpendicular to each other by a first depolarization beam splitter prism 4, and the transmission light is modulated into an object beam by a transmission type sample 6 after being reflected by a first reflector 5; the reflected light is converted into polarized structured light as a reference beam by the polarization grating 8 after being reflected by the second reflecting mirror 7.
The light path for forming the two beams of laser comprises a coherent light source 1, a beam expander 2, a half-wave plate 3, a first depolarizing beam splitter prism 4, a first reflector 5 and a second reflector 7; a fine laser beam output by a coherent light source 1 is expanded and collimated into a beam of parallel light by a beam expander 2, is modulated into horizontal linear polarized light by a half-wave plate 3, is divided into two beams of transmission light and reflection light which are perpendicular to each other by a first depolarizing beam splitter prism 4, and the transmission light is modulated into an object beam by a reflective sample 6 after being reflected by a third depolarizing beam splitter prism 12; the reflected light is converted into polarized structured light as a reference beam by the polarization grating 8 after being reflected by the second reflecting mirror 7.
The polarization grating 8 is a common optical element, and can convert a light beam into a periodic polarization structure light field, and the polarization state of the periodic polarization structure light field periodically changes along the direction perpendicular to the grid lines.
When the distances from the sample 6 and the polarization grating 8 to the depolarization beam splitter prism 9 are equal, the detection plane is the plane where the sample 1 is located; when the distances between the two are unequal, the complete information of the sample 1 can be calculated according to the formula of step 8 in claim 1.
The sample 1, which is a sample to be measured, may be a transmissive or reflective optical sample. One collimated parallel beam passes through the sample 1 and is modulated by it as an object beam.
The polarization grating 2, which is a common optical element, can convert a light beam into a periodic polarization structure light field, and the polarization state of the light field periodically changes along the direction perpendicular to the grid line. One beam of collimated parallel light passes through the polarization grating 2 and is converted into periodic polarization structure light to be used as a reference beam.
The two collimated light beams are mutually coherent and can be obtained by splitting beams from the same single-mode laser.
The function of the depolarizing beam splitter prism 3 is to combine the object beam and the reference beam so that they interfere with each other off-axis. The depolarization beam splitter prism 3 is required to be adjusted to enable the plane of the included angle of the two light beams to be parallel to the grid line of the polarization grating 2.
The lens 4 is used for imaging the sample 1 and the polarization grating 2.
The image acquisition device 5 is placed at an image plane where the lens 4 images the polarization grating 2, and is used for recording the intensity distribution of the interference fringe pattern of the two light beams.
An image acquisition device 5 is used for recording to obtain a composite hologram comprising two groups of mutually orthogonal interference fringes, information in the hologram is extracted through digital holography, complex amplitude distribution of two orthogonal circular polarization components of a measured field can be obtained, and therefore complete information of an object beam in a three-dimensional space, including amplitude, phase and polarization distribution of the beam, can be obtained through calculation.
Advantageous effects
The invention provides a method and a light path for dynamically measuring complete information of any light field based on a polarization grating, wherein one beam of collimated parallel light is modulated by a sample to be used as an object beam, and the other beam of collimated parallel light coherent with the sample is converted into periodic polarization structure light to be used as a reference beam after passing through the polarization grating; the object beam and the reference beam are combined by a depolarization beam splitter prism, and simultaneously, the plane of the included angle of the two beams is parallel to the grid line of the polarization grating and generates off-axis interference; the lens images the sample and the polarization grating on the recording surface of the image acquisition device to obtain a composite hologram; and (3) extracting the complex amplitude distribution in the hologram by using digital holography to obtain complete information of the object beam in a three-dimensional space. The method provided by the invention is suitable for dynamic measurement of optical polarization samples and elements.
The light path related by the method has the advantages of simple structure, easy adjustment, high real-time measurement precision and the like, is suitable for dynamically measuring the three-dimensional complete information of any light beam and representing optical polarization samples and elements, and is also suitable for dynamic measurement and real-time monitoring of other complex physical systems.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a principle light path for dynamically measuring three-dimensional complete information of any light beam based on a polarization grating, which is provided by the invention. In the figure, 6-sample, 8-polarization grating, 9-depolarization beam splitter prism, 10-lens, 11-image acquisition device.
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the optical path and structure of the present invention for measuring three-dimensional complete information of a transmissive sample. In the figure, 1-coherent light source, 2-beam expander, 3-half wave plate, 4-first depolarization beam splitter prism, 5-first reflector, 6-transmission sample, 7-second reflector, 8-polarization grating, 9-second depolarization beam splitter prism, 10-lens and 11-image acquisition device.
FIG. 3 shows the results of measuring the vector vortex beam generated by the vortex wave plate using the experimental optical path of FIG. 2. In the figure, the intensity distribution of the vector vortex light beam obtained by the first behavior measurement is the intensity distribution of the left-handed component, the intensity distribution of the right-handed component and the total intensity distribution of the light beam from left to right; the phase distribution of the vector vortex light beam obtained by the second behavior measurement is sequentially the phase distribution and the total phase distribution of a left-handed component and a right-handed component from left to right; the third row is the Stokes parameter S of the measured vector vortex light beam from left to right in sequence1、S2、S3Distribution of (2).
Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the optical path and structure of the present invention for measuring three-dimensional complete information of a reflective sample. In the figure, 1-coherent light source, 2-beam expander, 3-half wave plate, 4-first depolarization beam splitter prism, 12-third depolarization beam splitter prism, 6-reflection sample, 7-reflector, 8-polarization grating, 9-second depolarization beam splitter prism, 10-lens and 11-image acquisition device.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the polarization evolution of a Poincare sphere beam generated by the reflective spatial light modulator measured by the experimental optical path of FIG. 4. In the figure, the poincare beam measured sequentially from left to right at a rayleigh length-zRTo zRSix different distances-z withinR、-0.6zR、-0.2zR、0.2zR、0.6zR、zRIs distributed elliptically with respect to the polarization.
Detailed Description
The invention will now be further described with reference to the following examples and drawings:
example 1
According to the technical scheme of the invention, a measuring light path of a transmission type sample shown in figure 2 is designed, and the working flow is as follows:
a fine laser beam output by a coherent light source 1 is expanded by a beam expander 2 and collimated into a beam of parallel light, the parallel light is modulated into horizontal linear polarized light by a half-wave plate 3, the horizontal linear polarized light is divided into two beams of transmission light and reflection light which are perpendicular to each other by a first depolarization beam splitter prism 4, the transmission light is modulated into an object beam by a transmission type sample 6 after being reflected by a first reflector 5, and then the object beam enters a second depolarization beam splitter prism 9; the reflected light is converted into polarized structured light as reference light through the polarization grating 8 after being reflected by the second reflecting mirror 7, and then enters the second depolarization beam splitter prism 9. The object beam and the reference beam are respectively input from two orthogonal directions of the second depolarization beam splitter prism 9, off-axis interference is generated after the object beam and the reference beam pass through the second depolarization beam splitter prism 9, and the plane of the included angle of the two beams is parallel to the grid line of the polarization grating 8; the lens 10 images the transmissive sample 6 and the polarization grating 8 on the recording surface of the pattern acquisition device 11 to obtain a composite hologram.
According to the technical scheme, the complete information of the measured field can be measured. In the example, the transmission sample 6 adopts a vortex wave plate to generate a vector vortex light beam as an object light beam, and the intensity distribution, the phase distribution and the Stokes parameter S of the light beam are obtained through measurement1、S2、S3As shown in fig. 3. The experimental result can determine that the light beam generated by the vortex wave plate is a first-order vector light beam and carries a 1-order vortex phase, and the two orthogonal circular polarization components of the light beam respectively carry-3-order and + 1-order vortex phases.
Example 2
According to the technical scheme of the invention, a measuring light path of a reflection type sample shown in figure 4 is designed, and the working flow is as follows:
the fine laser beam output by the coherent light source 1 is expanded and collimated into a beam of parallel light by a beam expander 2, is modulated into horizontal linear polarized light by a half-wave plate 3, is divided into two beams of transmission light and reflection light which are perpendicular to each other by a first depolarization beam splitter prism 4, the transmission light is reflected by a third depolarization beam splitter prism 12, is reflected by a reflective sample 6 to be used as an object beam, and then is incident to a third depolarization beam splitter prism 9; the reflected light is converted into polarized structure light as a reference beam by a polarization grating 8 after being reflected by a reflector 7, and then enters a second depolarization beam splitter prism 9. The object beam and the reference beam are respectively input from two orthogonal directions of the second depolarization beam splitter prism 9, off-axis interference is generated after the object beam and the reference beam pass through the second depolarization beam splitter prism 9, and the plane of the included angle of the two beams is parallel to the grid line of the polarization grating 8; the lens 10 images the reflective sample 6 and the polarization grating 8 onto the recording surface of the pattern acquisition device 11 to obtain a composite hologram.
According to the technical scheme, the complete information of the measured field can be measured. In this example, the reflective sample 6 uses a reflective spatial light modulator to generate a poincare sphere beam as an object beam, and the polarization evolution of the measured beam is shown in fig. 5. In the figure, the Poincare beam is sequentially arranged at a Rayleigh length-z from left to rightRTo zRInner six different distances-zR、-0.6zR、-0.2zR、0.2zR、0.6zR、zRIs distributed elliptically with respect to the polarization. From the experimental results, it can be seen that the Poincare beam goes from-zRTo zRThe polarization distribution of the light beam is changed continuously during propagation, and the polarization elliptical distribution of the light beam is changed from radial distribution into spiral distribution and then into azimuth distribution.
The light path of the composite hologram with two groups of orthogonal interference fringes obtained by using the light path of the embodiment 1 or 2 dynamically measures the complete information of any light field by adopting the following method, and the steps are as follows:
step 1: one collimated parallel light beam passes through the transmission sample or is reflected to the reflection sample and is used as an object beam E
Ob=E
L|l>+E
R|r>In which E
L、E
RRespectively representing the complex amplitudes, | l, of the left and right circularly polarized components of the object beam>、|r>Respectively represent the Jones vectors of left and right hand circular polarization as
Step 2: the other collimated parallel light beam coherent with the object beam passes through the polarization grating and is converted into periodic polarization structure light serving as a reference beam
E
ReRepresents the complex amplitude of the incident parallel light;
and step 3: the object beam and the reference beam generate off-axis interference, the plane of the included angle of the two beams is parallel to the grid line of the polarization grating, and the relative tilt phase of the two beams can be expressed as exp (ik)ty);
And 4, step 4: recording a composite hologram comprising two sets of orthogonal interference fringes, whose intensity distribution can be expressed as:
in the formula, the first term U0=|EL|2+|ER|2+|ERe|2Representing the total intensity of the object beam and the reference beam, the latter two terms being interference terms of orthogonal circularly polarized components of the two beams;
and 5: carrying out numerical reconstruction on the hologram by using digital holography to obtain the complex amplitude distribution of two orthogonal circular polarization components in an interference field:
step 6: to eliminate the influence of the phase of the polarization grating and the off-axis interference phase, the linear polarization light field E is homogenized0As a correction, an amplitude distribution was obtained:
and 7: obtaining a complex amplitude distribution E of two orthogonal circular polarization components of the object beam from the correction light fieldLAnd ER
And 8: calculating the complex amplitude distribution U of two orthogonal circular polarization components of the object beam in the three-dimensional space by utilizing a Fresnel diffraction approximation formulaLAnd URAnd calculating to obtain the vector field distribution of the object beam in the three-dimensional space:
U(x,y,z)=UL(x,y,z)|l>+UR(x,y,z)|r>
and step 9: normalized Stokes parameter S for calculating polarization distribution of object beam in three-dimensional space1,S2,S3:
The two collimated beams are mutually coherent.