Polarimetry with an Ortho-Babinet Polarization-Interogating Filter,
                               or
Measuring the complete state of optical polarization in a single snap shot.

Jay Van Delden
University of Arizona
Optical Engineering Department

Traditional approaches for measuring the state of polarization of an arbitrary
wavefront ensemble include (1) discrete time-sequential, (2) continuous time
sequential or polarization modulation, (3) division of amplitude and (4)
interferrometric methods. Few are amenable to measuring the complete state
of polarization (all four Stokes parameters) of an image plane simultaneously.
A novel instrumental approach using an Ortho-Babinet Polarization-Interrogating
filter will be presented by the inventor. Applications to astronomical
polarimetry and adaptive optics will be discussed.