Synthesis of an arbitrary elliptical polarization operator

TL;DR

This paper presents a theorem for transforming polarization states in birefringent devices, enabling the synthesis of customizable elliptical polarization operators with independently adjustable parameters, applicable to various optical devices.

Contribution

It introduces a theorem for converting polarization eigenstates between devices, facilitating the design of arbitrary elliptical polarization operators with practical modulation capabilities.

Findings

The theorem allows transformation between polarization eigenstates.

A practical setup for synthesizing specific birefringent devices is described.

The method extends to elliptical dichroic devices and polarizers.

Abstract

We prove a theorem for transforming the polarization eigenstates of an arbitrary elliptical birefringent device into the eigenstates of another similar device by means of a birefringent device. The theorem is applied to synthesize a specific birefringent device from a circular birefringent device, and a practical setup is described. The resulting birefringence and birefringent axis of the synthesized device can be independently set or modulated. Finally, the theorem is extended to elliptical dichroic devices and elliptical polarizers.