High-efficiency polarized light source

Claim 1

A polarization system consisting of: a light source; collimating means for aligning light from said light source into a first beam consisting of substantially parallel light rays; first splitting means for splitting said first beam into a first plurality of beams, each of said first plurality of beams having a substantially different wavelength band; a plurality of second splitting means for splitting said first plurality of beams into a second and third plurality of beams, said second and third pluralities of beams having substantially perpendicular polarization states; a plurality of retarding means for changing the polarization of said second plurality of beams such that said second and third pluralities of beams consist of substantially parallel polarization states; a plurality of linearly aligned reflecting means for aligning said second and third plurality of beams to be substantially parallel; recombining means for combining said second plurality of beams into a single second beam and said third plurality of beams into a single third beam, said second beam and said third beam oriented in a substantially parallel manner; and imaging means for focusing said second and third beams, thereby creating an image with substantially a single polarization, said image being suitable for input to an optical system requiring polarized light.