title: Tilted bilayer membranes as simple transmission quarter-wave retardation plates.
abstract: A tilted bilayer membrane, which consists of two thin films of transparent optically isotropic materials of different refractive indices, can function as a transmission quarter-wave retarder (QWR) at a high angle of incidence. A specific design using a cryolite-Si membrane in the infrared is presented, and its tolerances to small shifts of wavelength, incidence angle, and film thickness errors are discussed. Some designs provide a dual QWR in transmission and reflection. Such devices provide simple linear-to-circular (and circular-to-linear) polarization transformers. Bilayer eighth-wave retarders without diattenuation are also introduced.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of New Orleans, Lakefront, Louisiana 70148, USA. razzam@uno.edu
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Azzam
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Mahmoud