Abstract

Through the use of subwavelength stratification, media having nearly arbitrary birefringence can be fabricated. By making the stratification period sufficiently fine so that no diffracted orders propagate, light will not resolve the periodicity. Light will instead react to the stratified region as if it were encountering a single medium having an effective index of refraction and conductivity. As has been reported by several authors,^1,2 these effective optical properties are polarization dependent. This effective birefringence, or form birefringence, can be applied towards the creation of polarization components, such as wave plates, beam splitters, and polarization rotating mirrors. We present designs for such components using effective medium theory (EMT) and rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA). Structures are designed for both the visible and infrared portions of the spectrum. Polarizing gratings can be manufactured by using holography or optical lithography. Stratified media may also be grown one layer at a time by using various deposition techniques, such as sputtering and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE).

© 1992 Optical Society of America