Patent ID: 7929208

Claim:
Complex polarizer system, comprising an arrangement of at least three polarizing beam splitting layers Pi, wherein i=1, 2, 3 or 4; each Pi being characterized by its polarizing layer vector Vi, whereas Vi equals the direction vector of the intersection line of Pi and the plane of polarization of any light beam reflected by Pi without additional polarization rotating components; a first polarizing beam splitting layer (P 1 ) being configured to split an unpolarized light beam propagating along a first axis (A 1 ) into a transmitted linearly polarized light beam transmitted by first polarizing beam splitting layer (P 1 ), and a reflected linearly polarized light beam reflected by first polarizing beam splitting layer (P 1 ) along a second axis (A 2 ); a second polarizing beam splitting layer (P 2 ) being arranged along the first axis (A 1 ) such that the first axis (A 1 ) and the second polarizing layer vector (V 2 ) span a plane which is normal to the plane spanned by the first axis (A 1 ) and the first polarizing layer vector (V 1 ), the second polarizing beam splitting layer (P 2 ) and the first polarizing beam splitting layer (P 1 ) therefore being configured as a polarizing beam splitting system, wherein the transmitted linearly polarized beam which was transmitted by the first polarizing beam splitting layer (P 1 ) along the first axis (A 1 ) is reflected at the second polarizing beam splitting layer (P 2 ) without interjacent polarization rotating components, wave plates or active rotators, between the first and the second polarizing beam splitting layers (P 1 , P 2 ); a third polarizing beam splitting layer (P 3 ) being arranged along the second axis (A 2 ) such that the second axis (A 2 ) and the third polarizing layer vector (V 3 ) span a plane which is normal to the plane spanned by the second axis (A 2 ) and the first polarizing layer vector (V 1 ), the third polarizing beam splitting layer (P 3 ) and the first polarizing beam splitting layer (P 1 ) therefore being configured as a polarizing beam splitting system wherein the reflected linearly polarized beam reflected by the first polarizing beam splitting layer (P 1 ) into the second axis (A 2 ) is transmitted at the third polarizing beam splitting layer (P 3 ) without interjacent polarization rotating components, wave plates or active rotators, between the first and the third polarizing beam splitting layers (P 1 , P 3 ).