Polarization effects often play an important role in modern optical research and engineering due to the vectorial nature of the electromagnetic field. Linear polarizers (e.g. wire grid polarizer) are probably the most commonly used optical elements for the manipulation of the polarization state. Although in most cases polarizers are designed for paraxial situations, they are also used in non-paraxial setups, e.g. in the focal region behind a high-NA lens or for the measurement of the Stokes parameters behind a highly tilted polarizer. In VirtualLab Fusion we provide a model for polarizers in non-paraxial cases. Moreover the simulation results obtained with VirtualLab show good agreement with the reference.

Polarizer in Focal Region
To simulate a polarizer in a non-paraxial setting, an idealized model is implemented in VirtualLab, and the effect of a polarizer in the focal region is presented.

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Stokes Parameters behind Tilted Polarizer
Using an idealized non-paraxial polarizer model, the interaction of a polarizer with incident waves from different angles is investigated, and the results are characterized by using Stokes parameters.

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Gratings are widely used for various applications, such as spectrometers, near-eye display systems, etc. In the Grating Toolbox of VirtualLab, grating structures can be easily configured through a user-friendly software interface, and they can be rigorously analyzed using the Fourier modal method (FMM). This enables not only the calculation of diffraction efficiencies but also the investigation of polarization effects. For example, the polarization conversion for light diffraction at a sub-wavelength grating is investigated, and the results obtained from VirtualLab show good agreement with the reference.

Investigation of Polarization State of Diffraction Orders
VirtualLab’s Grating Toolbox enables the detailed analysis of grating structures. In this use case the investigation of the polarization state of the diffracted orders is discussed, facilitated by the applied Fourier modal method (FMM).

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Configuration of Grating Structures Using Interfaces
In the Grating Toolbox of VirtualLab, grating structures can be configured using a stack. In this use case the configuration of grating structures based on interfaces is explained.

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Imaging systems can be found in various optical applications and they may appear in different configurations. Such systems can be easily setup in VirtualLab Fusion and their performance can be analyzed by using e.g. the wavefront error detector. Especially, the apertures in system is known to have an influence on the imaging quality. VirtualLab can handle the aperture effects properly and take them into consideration for the PSF/MTF calculation. As an example, such effects are demonstrated with a human eye model.

Wavefront Error Detector
Wavefront error is defined as the difference between the reference wavefront phase, which is a constant phase or spherical phase, and the detected wavefront phase of one optical system. This use case shows how to handle a wavefront error detector in VirtualLab Fusion.

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Advanced PSF and MTF Calculation of Imaging System
An imaging system consisting of a collimation objective and human eye is modeled, and by changing the illumination conditions, the cases with fully and partially illuminated apertures are investigated.

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