Polarimetric precision of micropolarizer grid-based camera in the presence of additive and Poisson shot noise.

Abstract

Polarimetric cameras based on micropolarizer grids make it possible to design division of focal plane (DoFP) polarimeters. However, the polarimetric estimation precision reached by these devices depends on their realization quality, which is estimated by calibration. We derive the theoretical expressions of the estimation variance of such polarimetric parameters as an angle of linear polarization and degree of linear polarization as a function of the calibrated micropolarizer characteristics. These values can be compared with the variances that would be obtained with ideal micropolarizers in order to quantitatively assess the effect of manufacturing defects on polarimetric performance. These results are validated by experimental measurements on a real-world camera.