Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rochester. Institute of Optics, 2012.
Stress-engineered optical (SEO) elements are optical
ats or lenses with symmetrically
spaced, peripherally applied forces; they have been shown to exhibit complex
and potentially useful space-variant polarization properties. Possible applications
include polarimetry instrumentation and beam apodization for creation of exotic
polarization states. In this thesis, the mechanical and optical properties of SEO
elements are interrogated and several applications are proposed.
Two models for the mechanical distributions in symmetrically stressed elements
are presented in order to better describe the overall stress-birefringence
distribution. The mathematical calculations and measurements of the retardance
distribution and Mueller matrices for the full aperture and the central region,
as well as the phase vortex creation properties of these elements are presented.
Building on these properties, two methods for use of symmetric SEO elements for
single-measurement uniform polarimetry and angular spectrum pupil polarimetry
applications are proposed, along with simulations and some experimental trials.
The properties of these elements could also be of interest for beam apodization
applications. Use of these elements for the creation of several versions of the exotic
states called full Poincare beams and the resulting propagation e ects are explored,
including a mathematical formalism and several experimental implementations.
Additional apodization phenomena are presented, including wavefront aberration
imprinting and creation of propagation invariant Bessel-like beams.
