On the Properties of Polarization Elements as Used in Optical Instruments III Angular Aperture Functions of a Positive Dichroic Film Polarizer*†‡

This paper discusses the important properties that affect the use of a polarizer in applications involving large angular aperture or oblique incidence. Experimentally determined values of these properties are reported for Polaroid HN22 polarizer, one of the best known types of high extinction, commercially available polarizers. It is shown that these properties may be rather simply described. Equations are given from which polarization direction and transmittance of positive dichroic polarizers can be calculated for oblique rays. The calculated values agree well with the experimentally obtained values given here as well as with those for very differently constructed positive dichroic polarizers studied by previous investigators.