POLARIZATION PROPERTIES OF REFLECTING PRISMS AND MIRRORS

An analysis of the polarization properties of prisms and mirrors with differently coated reflecting surfaces is presented. The change in the polarization of plane-polarized radiation after traversing these opti cal elements is discussed as a function of initial orientation. This p aper determines the type of coating and the azimuth of the incident pl ane-polarized radiation for which the change in the polarization param eters of radiation leaving the optical elements is a minimum.