Single-shot 3 × 3 Mueller matrix microscopy with color polarization encoding

Snapshot retrieval of linear Stokes parameters in polarized light microscopy has benefited from recent advances in nanotechnology which have made polarization image sensors commercially available. However, real-time retrieval of the 3 × 3 Mueller matrix (MM) is limited by the need for time-sequential change in polarization states in the input. In the present Letter, we propose a cost-effective technique for the real-time retrieval of the 3 × 3 Mueller matrix by encoding linear polarization states in each of the three color channels of the source and analyzing light passing through the sample using a color polarization sensor placed in the imaging plane of a transmission microscope. Validation experiments for samples under real-time imaging conditions are presented. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the snapshot 3 × 3 Mueller matrix element retrieval in polarized light microscopy by combining division of focal plane (DoFP) color polarimetric sensing and polarization color encoding of the source.