CALIBRATION OF A VACUUM-ULTRAVIOLET (VUV) POLARIZATION ANALYZER

A straightforward, in situ calibration procedure for a vacuum ultraviolet (vuv) double-reflection polarization analyser is introduced which does not require knowledge of the optical properties of the reflecting materials or previously measured benchmark polarizations. The linear and circular polarization sensitivities of the analyser are determined from vuv light intensity measurements obtained for various mutual orientations of the two reflecting surfaces. As an example of the reliability of the calibration procedure, measurements of integrated Stokes parameters are presented and compared with the results of measurements carried out previously by other groups using different polarization analysers.