POLARIZATION CONVERTER, ILLUMINATION OPTICAL DEVICE PROVIDED WITH THE POLARIZATION CONVERTER AND PROJECTOR

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a polarization converter which is adaptive to the formation of high luminance of a projector and has simplified structure, and the work manhours of which at manufacturing can be reduced and to provide an illumination optical device provided with the polarization converter and a projector.

SOLUTION: A polarization conversion element array 500 constituting the polarization converter 414 is composed of two polarization conversion elements 510, wherein polarization separation films 511 for separating a luminous flux into two types of linearly polarized light and reflection films 512 for reflecting one beam of the linearly polarized light separated from the polarization separation films 511 are alternately arranged. The two polarization conversion elements 510 are configured such that their mutual polarization separation films 511 and reflection films 512 are brought into close contact with each other so as to face each other. The polarization converter 414 is configured such that a phase difference plate 600 is stuck so as to extend over the two polarization conversion elements 510 on a luminous flux emitting side of the above polarization conversion elements 510.

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