Patent ID: 8270077

Claim:
An optical arrangement, comprising: a polarization-modulating optical element comprising a first optically active material having a first specific rotation with a sign, the polarization-modulating optical element having a first optical axis, and the polarization-modulating element having a first thickness profile that, as measured in the direction of the first optical axis, is variable; and a compensation plate comprising a second optically active material having a second specific rotation with a sign opposite the sign of the first specific rotation, the compensation plate having a second thickness profile configured so that, when radiation passes through the optical arrangement, the compensation plate substantially compensates for angle deviations of the radiation that are caused by the polarization-modulating optical element, wherein the optical arrangement is configured to transform an entering light bundle with a first linear polarization distribution into an exiting light bundle with a second linear polarization distribution different from the first linear polarization distribution, and wherein the second linear polarization distribution is an approximately tangential polarization distribution or an approximately radial polarization distribution.