Broadband wide-angle polarization converter for LCD backlight.

A novel polarization converter using reflective metallic gratings and a polarization beam splitter is introduced for LCD backlight illumination. These two optical elements form a polarization rotation resonator. Broadband and high optical efficiency of polarization conversion in the visible region is achieved through the resonance of the refracted light and the surface plasmon wave in metallic surface-relief gratings. For wide-angle illumination, the conversion efficiency with arbitrary incident angle is studied. This device can convert unpolarized light to linear polarization with over 85% efficiency.