Dynamic range enhancement of the roll angle displacement measurement with birefringence using a polarization camera

A roll angle displacement measurement technique with high resolution for large-range measurement is presented. The proposed technique is based on the birefringence effect and phase detection of polarization interferometry with a polarization camera. The phase difference variation between the s - and p -polarized light induced by a rolling birefringent crystal can be obtained by a polarization camera. The roll angle displacement of the birefringent crystal can be determined from the detected phase difference variation. Several experiments were performed to evaluate the feasibility and performance of the proposed technique. The experimental results demonstrate that the resolution of the system can reach 0.003° with a 10° measurement range. The nonlinear and periodic errors of the system are also analyzed.