Complete intrinsic coincident polarimetry using stacked organic photovoltaics

Measuring the 2 dimensional Stokes vector, to determine the polarization state of light, finds application in multiple areas, including the characterization of aerosol size distributions, target identification, quality control by evaluating the distribution of stress birefringence, resolving data channels in telecommunications, and for evaluating biological tissues in medical imaging. Conventional methods, such as channeled and division of focal plane polarimeters, usually limit spatial resolution, while others, like division of aperture or division of amplitude polarimeters, have higher complexity and less compactness. To help solve these issues, we have developed a system that uses semitransparent organic photovoltaics (OPVs) as photodetectors. The active area of the devices consist of biaxially oriented polymer films, which enables the device to preferentially absorb certain polarized states of incident light, depending on the orientation of the polymer chains. Taking advantage of the cells’ transparency and ease of processing, compared to inorganic materials, enables multiple devices to be “stacked” along the optical axis. Presently, experiments have been conducted to detect linear polarization states of light. We use three stacked OPVs, where each device can measure one of the first three Stokes parameters simultaneously, thereby ensuring high spatial and temporal resolution with inherent spatial registration. In this paper, the fabrication of the OPVs and the design and calibration technique is documented, along with experimental data, supporting the hypothesis.