Patent ID: 7854516

Claim:
An illumination apparatus which uses a fourth color component light in addition to a first color component light, a second color component light, and a third color component light, the fourth color component light having a waveband between wavebands of the first color component light and second color component light, comprising: a first color separator configured to separate the third color component light from a combined light including the first color component light, the second color component light and the fourth color component light; a second color separator configured to separate the combined light, which is separated by the first color separator, into the first color component light and the second color component light; and a first polarization adjuster provided on an optical path of the combined light between the first color separator and the second color separator, wherein the first polarization adjuster adjusts a polarization direction of the fourth color component light in the combined light, and the second color separator separates the combined light into the first color component light on which a part of or all of the fourth color component light is superimposed and the second color component light on which a rest of the fourth color component light is superimposed.