Patent ID: 7545469

Claim:
An optical component for compensating a reflective LC panel in an optical projection system, wherein the LC panel is operable to receive light on a forward pass and reflect the light on a reverse pass, the optical component comprising: a first birefringent film having a first optic axis; a second birefringent film having a second optic axis substantially orthogonal to the first optic axis; wherein the optical component is disposed in the paths of the forward-pass light and the reverse-pass light and is operable to transform, on the forward pass, the polarization state of the forward-pass light from a first polarization to a second polarization, wherein the optical component is further operable to transform, on the reverse pass, the polarization state of the reverse-pass light from the LC panel from a third polarization to a fourth polarization; wherein the retardances and respective orientations of the first and second films are configured to substantially compensate for a dark state of the reflective LC panel, such that, during the dark state, the first and fourth polarizations are substantially the same.