Novel Polarization Conversion Method of Linearly Polarized Light at Specific Incident Angle Based on Plane-Parallel Plate

Abstract

A new method is proposed that a plane-parallel plate is employed to convert linear polarization into other polarization states. According to Fresnel Formulae, the amplitude and phase of light are changed after reflection. It is found that different polarization states of light could be combined by the reflection lights on the upper and lower surfaces when one incident angle is larger than Brewster Angle while the other is less. We carry out a numerical simulation to show in detail how circular polarization is obtained as an example. All the other polarization states such as elliptically polarized light and linearly polarized lights can be achieved by the proposed approach. The method has potential with advantage of simple structure and low cost especially in infrared applications.