Measurement of the angle of the direction of linear polarization of laser radiation by nonlinear thin-wire bolometers

Abstract

The systematic error in measuring the angle of the direction of linear polarization of laser radiation from the difference in the signals of three identical bolometric arrays is analyzed. The error is due to the temperature dependence of the physical parameters of the bolometers and is increased by the nonuniformity of the distribution of the incident radiation intensity over the area of the input aperture of the measuring instrument. The calculations are carried out for platinum bolometers under model conditions and for radiation of wavelength 10.6 μm. A method of processing the recorded signals is proposed which gives an uneliminated residue of the systematic error of not greater than ±1°.