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Design Of The Polarimeter For The Solar Activity Measurements Experiments (SAMEX) Vector Magnetograph

1989; SPIE; Volume: 28; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1117/12.7976920

1560-2303

E. A. West, E. J. Reichmann, M. J. Hagyard, G. A. Gary,

Inertial Sensor and Navigation

In a study by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) for the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory (AFGL), a design concept was developed for a polarimeter on the vector magnetograph of the SAMEX satellite (Solar Activity Measurements Experiments) that would be very sensitive to solar vector magnetic fields. To provide an understanding of how the polarimeter design was selected, a description of the Poincare sphere is presented, along with the instrument scientific requirements. The Poincare sphere is used as a visual technique in describing various polarimeters and the systematic errors associated with them. Analysis of the polarimeter designs to minimize crosstalk between incident circularly polarized light and the linear polarization measurement is stressed. After a polarimeter design is selected, the calibration techniques to determine the systematic errors in the "perfect" polarimeter are discussed.