Abstract

A corner cube retroreflector, consisting of three mirrors placed at 90° to each other, is used to return the beam in the direction from which it came. Due to the different (complex) reflectivity for the s and p polarization, the corner cube modifies both the phase and polarization state of the incoming light in a nonlinear fashion. In this treatment, the incoming light is described by the direction cosines (k, l, m) and two electric field vectors, all three forming a right triad. An exact analytical expression has been developed for the reflected wave using a vector approach. This expression depends only on the incoming beam parameters described, for example, in the coordinate system defined by the edges of the retroreflector and the angle-dependent reflectivity coefficients of the corner cube reflecting surfaces. Thus the results are suitable for incorporation into standard optical design programs. The magnitude, phase, and direction of the electric field characterizing the incident wave are modified in a nonlinear fashion on its travel through the retroreflector. Additionally, they depend on the direction of the beam travel through the retroreflector. It is also shown that the amplitude reflectivity is bounded by the cubes of the s- and p-reflectivity coefficients. A specific example of a linearly polarized incoming laser beam reflected from the aluminum retroreflector is evaluated. The linearly polarized incoming light becomes elliptically polarized.

© 1988 Optical Society of America