Quantitative birefringence distribution measurement using mixed-state ptychography.

Determining the complete optical behavior of anisotropic samples using ptychography is always a difficult problem. We propose a novel birefringence measurement method based on mixed-state ptychography that can simultaneously obtain the azimuth angle and retardation of anisotropic samples in a single scan. By using a reference system transformation, the two mutually orthogonal object states are unambiguously retrieved, and their errors are greatly reduced. The normalized root mean square errors of the obtained azimuth angle and retardation are 0.0011 and 0.0041, respectively. This method offers more rapid data acquisition; compared to interferometric based methods, it has the advantages of unlimited field of view and a simpler, more stable setup. Further, it opens a new possibility for investigating anisotropic samples by means of mixed-state ptychography. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement