PolarCam micropolarizer cameras characterization and usage

Several experiments need to acquire images with different linear polarisation. Acquisition of successive images through a rotating polarising elements give the possibility to achieve this goal. However, the subsequent acquisition of these images implies a temporal modulation and a rotation mechanism (with a consequent consumption of space, power, etc. . . ). The PolarCam©, a camera where an array of linear micropolarizers with orientation are matching the sensor’s pixels, tries to solve these problems. In the present manuscript the features of this camera and the main aspects of its calibration are shown. Finally, an example of its application is presented. In particular, our application of this camera is for the Antarctica solar Coronagraph -AntarctiCor- for the “Extreme Solar Coronagraphy Antarctic Program Experiment” -ESCAPE- that used this technology for a ground-based polarimetric study of the solar K-corona from the Italian-French Concordia Base (Dome C - Antarctica).