A novel polarization interferometer for measuring upper atmospheric winds

A static polarization interferometer for measuring upper atmospheric winds is presented, based on two Savart plates with their optical axes perpendicular to each other. The principle and characteristics of the interferometer are described. The interferometer with a wide field of view can offer a stable benchmark optical path difference over a specified spectral region of 0.55--0.63~\mu m because there are no quarter wave plates. Since the instrument employs a straight line common-path configuration but without moving parts and slits, it is very compact, simple, inherently robust and has high throughput. The paper is limited to a theoretical analysis.