Polarization aberrations analysis of reflective rotationally symmetric optical systems

In order to control the polarization effects of the reflective rotationally symmetric optical systems, polarization aberrations of this type of systems are analyzed. The expressions of the polarization aberrations are deduced by the method of polarization ray tracing based on polarization aberrations theory. The influencing factor of a reflective rotationally symmetric optical interface is defined. An example is presented to be analyzed. The results indicate that polarization aberrations must be controlled to improve the optical performance of the reflective rotationally symmetric optical systems which have large fields of view, large incident angles or work in wide wavelength. Two methods which can control the polarization aberrations of this type of optical systems effectively are presented, including keeping the angles of incidence as small as possible and minimizing the polarization separation by optimizing the coating design.