Compact and high-speed Stokes polarimeter using three-way polarization-preserving beam splitters.

We present a new real-time Stokes parameter measurement technique using three polarized beam splitters without mechanical motion or electrical tuning. This system can analyze the polarization state of light at 30 kHz, limited only by the speed of the detector analog to digital converters. The optical system is also compact (52×30×25  mm) because it consists only of small volume optical devices. We show that the system can measure arbitrary polarization states with an accuracy of better than 0.006 in the normalized Stokes parameters. We also demonstrate the ability to measure fast dynamic polarization states by analyzing the state produced by a fast rotating quarter-wave plate and the time-dependent stress induced in a PMMA block by hitting the block with a hammer.