Error analysis of a photoelastic-modulated Mueller matrix ellipsometer

As a complex optical measurement system, the potoelastic-modulated Mueller matrix ellipsometer (PMME) inevitably suffers from errors in the process of system calibration and measurement. Due to the inevitability and universality of the error, the error analysis is an indispensable link in the development of the instrument. In this article, the source and classification of errors in the instrument are analyzed systematically at first. Then, based on the error propagation theory, the error transfer model of the instrument is established. Through a series of error transfer simulation experiments, the influence of various errors on the measurement accuracy and precision of Mueller matrix is quantitatively analyzed.