Polarization properties of a corner-cube retroreflector with three-dimensional polarization ray-tracing calculus

Abstract

The output polarization states of corner cubes (for both uncoated and metal-coated surfaces) with an input beam of arbitrary polarization state and of arbitrary tilt angle to the cube have been analyzed by using the three-dimensional polarization ray-tracing matrix method. The diattenuation and retardance of the corner-cube retroreflector (CCR) for all six different ray paths are calculated, and the relationships to the tilt angle and the tilt orientation angle are shown. When the tilt angle is large, hollow metal-coated CCR is more appropriate than solid metal-coated CCR for the case that the polarization states of output beam should be controlled.