Polarizing Fabry-Perot filters for Polarization-difference imaging

This book is the result of research activities carried out at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo to obtain a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering. The objective of the work was the implementation of Fabry-Perot polarizing filters using thin films with shape birefringence. Such filters were then used to characterize a system for obtaining images sensitive to the state of polarization of light. Computer simulations were used in the design of the filters that were then produced in Sputtering equipment. The thin films thus obtained were characterized using the RBS (Rutherford Backscattering) technique to determine their thickness and stoichiometry. And spectrophotometry techniques were used to evaluate the refractive index of the material from the region of the near-infrared to the ultraviolet. Polarization-difference imaging systems are capable to improve visibility even in turbid environments and so they can be used among others in applications such as person rescue in a smoke-filled room.