Re: Diode Laser, Quarter Wave Plate and a Linear Polariser

In article <1185703405.130326.239110@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
alex <aesbrown@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


You mean that the reflection off say a lens must change the
polarisation of incident light?
So that the lhs circularly polarised light created by the QW plate
becomes RHs circularly polarised on reflection?


Yes, that's what happens.

Indeed, can be a bit confusing -- but try thinking either:

1) Going out thru QWP, then back thru QWP, equals going thru HWP,
equals 90 deg rotation of initial linearly polarized input; bouncing off
mirror along the way is incidental/irrelevant.

2) Or, look at what happens to *coordinate system* in bouncing off a
mirror. If x,y axes are fixed in space and form RH system going out,
same axes form LH system going back. If Ex and Ey components are both
identically reflected by mirror (has to be true), with, say, reflection
coefficient = +1, then RHCP outgoing wave *looking along its direction
travel* becomes LHCP wave going back, again *looking along its direction
of travel* (which is the right way to look at any wave).
.

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