Polarization and far-field diffraction patterns of total internal reflection corner cubes

Abstract

Many corner cube prisms, or retroreflectors, employ total internal reflection (TIR) via uncoated rear surfaces. The different elliptical polarization states emerging from the six unique paths through the corner cube complicate the far-field diffraction pattern by introducing various phase delays between the six paths. In this paper, we present a computational framework to evaluate polarization through TIR corner cubes for arbitrary incidence angles and input polarization states, presenting example output for key normal-incidence conditions. We also describe a method to produce far-field diffraction patterns resulting from the polarization analysis, presenting representative images--broken into orthogonal polarizations--and characterizing key cases. Laboratory confirmation is also presented for both polarization states and far-field diffraction patterns.