Broadband polarization retarder

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel broadband polarization retarder based on an analogy with the optical Bloch equation, enabling the design of polarization devices with broad spectral capabilities.

Contribution

It presents a new approach to designing broadband polarization devices by leveraging the analogy between light polarization propagation and atomic coherent excitation.

Findings

Derived a new effective broadband polarization device

Established an analogy between polarization propagation and atomic excitation

Demonstrated potential for broad spectral operation

Abstract

We derive a new kind of effective broadband polarization device using the analogy between the equation for the polarization of light, propagating through an optically anisotropic medium, and the optical Bloch equation in adiabatic regime, which describes coherent laser excitation of a two-state atom.