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Title: Birefringent coating to remove polarization dependent phase shift
Polarization aberrations are found in most optical components due to a materials differing response to s- and p-polarizations. This differing response can manifest either as diattenuation, retardance, or both. Correction of polarization aberrations, such as these, are critical in many applications such as interferometry, polarimetry, display, and high contrast imaging, including astronomy. In this work, compensators based on liquid crystal polymer and anti-reflection thin-films are presented to correct polarization aberrations in both transmission and reflection configurations. Our method is versatile, allowing for good correction in transmission and reflection due to optical components possessing differing diattenuation and retardance dispersions. Through simulation and experimental validation we show two designs, one correcting the polarization aberrations of a dichroic spectral filter over a 170nm wavelength band, and the other correcting the polarization aberration of an aluminum-coated mirror over a 400nm wavelength band and a 55-degree cone of angles. The measured performance of the polarization aberration compensators shows good agreement with theory.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2053754
NSF-PAR ID:
10404818
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Optics express
Volume:
30
Issue:
12
ISSN:
1094-4087
Page Range / eLocation ID:
20629-20646
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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