Theoretical Analysis of Two-in-one Composite 1/4 Wave-plate

Abstract

Abstract. The wave-plate system composed by two wave-plates of arbitrary retardation can work as a 1/4 wave-plate, if the angle between the fast of axes satisfy certain relation. But common composition formula is composing of tangent function and cotangent function, which is improper for 1/4 wave-plate or 1/2 wave-plate. In this paper, according to the Jones vector theorems, a formula for composite 1/4 wave-plate was deduced theoretically with Jones matrix method. The solution is appropriate with simulation and experiments.