Polarization image could reveal detailed information that is submerged in conventional intensity images. In order to obtain the polarization image of the target immediately, an integrated polarization sensor with real-time processing capability was constructed. The integrated polarization sensor composed of polarization-dependent module and processing unit. For modulate intensity, a kind of fabrication process based on ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) was proposed to integrate micro-polarizer arrays on packaged CMOS sensor. FPGA was used as processing unit to demodulate, reconstruct and display polarization image in real time. Considering the actual fabrication process, a calibration method based on discrete Fourier transform and relative entropy was proposed to improve the reliability of the sensor. The proposed calibration model has well versatility on various polarization devices. This article provided a cost-effective and compatible integration process for polarization image sensors.

We fabricated a 4-in large-area flexible infrared nanowire grid polarizer using a nanoimprint and metal thermal evaporation process. To protect the Si master template, as well as to prolong the service life of it, we first fabricated a nickel template as an alternative by an electroforming process. Then, the nanowire grid structure was transferred from this template to IPS substrate by a thermal nanoimprint process. Finally, Al was deposited on the IPS nanowire structure by vertical thermal evaporation technology. The results of the infrared optical test reveal that the TM transmittance of the polarizer is greater than 60% in the 4–5.71 μm and 5.73–6.7 μm wavelength ranges, and, especially, it is greater than 70% in the wavelength ranges of 4.70–5.69 μm and 5.75–6.59 μm. The extinction ratio is more than 20 dB in the wavelength range of 3.6–6.7 μm, proving that the polarizer has good polarization characteristics. The flexible infrared nanowire grid polarizer has potential applications in the fields of curved surface monitoring equipment and polarized imaging equipment.

The angle of the polarization (AOP) and the degree of polarization (DOP) of the scattered skylight are symmetrically distributed concerning the solar meridian. Based on the symmetry of the skylight polarization distribution pattern, this paper proposes a novel skylight orientation sensor consisting of a camera, an S-waveplate, and a linear polarizer. The skylight orientation sensor is using the image polarization encoding capability of the S-waveplate and the linear polarizer to convert the skylight polarization information into the image’s symmetry axis extraction, which has the advantages of simple structure, better real-time performance, no resolution loss and instantaneous field of view error. The symmetry axis in the image is consistent with the solar meridian. Therefore, the angle between the solar meridian and the skylight orientation sensor reference axis can be obtained without calculating the polarization information, which shows why the sensor has better real-time performance. The angle measurement accuracy and uncertainty of the skylight orientation sensor are verified by numerical simulation and outdoor experiments. The results demonstrate that the skylight orientation sensor has good application potential in autonomous navigation.

In order to achieve high-efficiency and high-precision fabrication of nanochannels in micro/nano-fluidic devices, a new method for integrating nano-imprint lithography manufacturing nano-channels and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels with silicon nitride as a bonding layer is proposed. Nanoimprint technology has the advantages of high-precision replication of the template nano-groove size and the ability to form a large number of channels at one time. By depositing silicon nitride on the surface of the nano-trench to improve its bonding force with PDMS treated with oxygen plasma, the bonding strength can withstand pressures above 0.3 MPa. The accuracy of making nanochannels with a characteristic size of 100 nm in this solution can reach more than 95%. Fluorescence experiments using this device show that the device has better enrichment capacity, and its mechanism can be explained by the size exclusion enrichment effect.