Characterization and performance of a LWIR polarimetric imager

Polarimetric information has been shown to provide means for potentially enhancing the capacity of electro-optical sensors in areas such as target detection, recognition and identification. The potential benefit must be weighed against the added complexity of the sensor and the occurrence and robustness of polarimetric signatures. While progress in the design of novel systems for snapshot polarimetry may result in compact and lightweight polarimetric sensors, the aim of this work is to report on the design, characterization and performance of a polarimetric imager, primarily designed for polarimetric signature assessment of static scenes in the long wave thermal infrared. The system utilizes the division-of-time principle and is based on an uncooled microbolometer camera and a rotating polarizing filter. Methods for radiometric and polarimetric calibrations are discussed. A significant intrinsic polarization dependency of the microbolometer camera is demonstrated and it is shown that the ability to characterize, model and compensate for various instrument effects play a crucial role for polarimetric signature assessment.