Specifying polarimetric tolerances of a high-resolution imaging multiple-species atmospheric profiler (HiMAP)

Abstract

The High-resolution Imaging Multiple-species Atmospheric Profiler (HiMAP) is an ultraviolet imaging spectro-polarimeter in development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for measuring O-3 and NO2 concentrations in the troposphere from an airborne platform or satellite. In this paper: (1) the HiMAP design is illustrated and modeled using 3D polarization ray tracing calculus, (2) the dependency between the condition number of the systems polarization measurement matrix and properties of individual optical components is used as a method for tolerancing, and (3) the polarimeter capabilities of manufacturable thin film designs of polarizing and non-polarizing beam splitters is explored using numerical methods. The condition number of an optical system is calculated from a polarization ray tracing (PRT) matrix model of the polarimeter. Deviations of the condition number are calculated for non-ideal polarization elements and coatings to understand component and alignment tolerances.