Patent ID: 7599062

Claim:
A pulsed polarimeter for conducting remote, non-perturbative diagnostic measurements of inducing fields of a medium demonstrating induced optical activity, the pulse polarimeter comprising: a light source configured to emit a polarized light pulse having sufficiently narrow spatial extent and at a prescribed wavelength; a light gathering optical system including: a light gathering optic having a optic axis directed toward the medium and positioned so that a predetermined solid angle of an emission from the medium is collected and collimated into a collimated emission beam, wherein the light gathering optic preserves the polarization state of the emission; a directional coupler configured to make coincident the propagation direction of the polarized light pulse with the optic axis of the light gathering optic and direct the polarized light pulse toward the medium; and a polarization detection system configured to measure the intensity and determine the polarization state of the collimated emission beam continuously in time as the polarized light pulse transits the medium, wherein the intensity and polarization state can be used to determine the inducing fields.