Abstract
High-accuracy optical polarimetry of atomic fluorescence generally requires the use of a collimating collection lens. The orientation of this lens can affect its transmission due to reflective loss, but can also change the polarization state of the light being measured. Current best practices regarding lens orientation are related to minimizing spherical aberration. In this work, we use the ray-tracing software TracePro® to investigate the matter of lens orientation for a plano-convex lens as it relates to light transmission and reflection- and refraction-induced polarization changes. We compare the amount of scattered light for both orientations of the lens with and without anti-reflection coating, and show the effect the lens has on the polarization of the light produced by an unpolarized point-source as well as two point sources simulating highly-polarized atomic fluorescence. We discuss how these effects can be of concern for polarization-sensitive imaging and polarimetry of dim light sources with an accuracy of better than 0.1% of the measured Stokes parameters.
Published Version
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