  In the last decade, imaging polarimeters based on micropolarizer arrays have
been developed for use in terrestrial remote sensing and metrology
applications. Micropolarizer-based sensors are dramatically smaller and more
mechanically robust than other polarimeters with similar spectral response and
snapshot capability. To determine the suitability of these new polarimeters for
astronomical applications, we developed the RIT Polarization Imaging Camera to
investigate the performance of these devices, with a special attention to the
low signal-to-noise regime. We characterized the device performance in the lab,
by determining the relative throughput, efficiency, and orientation of every
pixel, as a function of wavelength. Using the resulting pixel response model,
we developed demodulation procedures for aperture photometry and imaging
polarimetry observing modes. We found that, using the current calibration,
RITPIC is capable of detecting polarization signals as small as $\sim0.3\%$.
The relative ease of data collection, calibration, and analysis provided by
these sensors suggest than they may become an important tool for a number of
astronomical targets.
