Abstract
The Jones matrix formalism allows to consider separately the behavior of polarization ellipse and amplitude of radiation (Azzam R.M.A. and N.M. Bashara, Ellipsometry and polarized light. North-Holland. Amsterdam. 1977). In scope of the Mueller matrix formalism this question received considerably less attention. On the one hand, it is probably explained by apparent evidence of this question. Indeed, it is well known that polarization ellipse is completely described by three lower components and total intensity by first component of the Stokes vector (Azzam R.M.A. and N.M. Bashara, ibidem). On the other hand, many properties of the polarization transfer function were established basing on the exploitation of the conformality of bilinear transformation of polarization. However, the polarization transformation in scope of the Mueller matrix formalism has no such property. At the same time, the existence of the generalized deterministic Mueller matrix (Mar'enko V.V. and S.N. Savenkov, Representation of arbitrary Mueller matrix in the basis of matrices of circular and linear anisotropy. Optics and Spectroscopy, 76(1), pp. 94-96, 1994) allows to analyze the properties of the polarization transfer function in scope of the Mueller matrix formalism. Basing on this analysis it is offered the optimal procedure to measure elements of the Mueller matrix, which are the coefficients of polarization transfer function.
