POLARIZATION SEPARATING ELEMENT ARRAY, POLARIZATION CONVERTING ELEMENT, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem of difficulty in distinguishing between the incident light side and the light emitting side inherent in a polarization separating element array manufactured by forming a laminated body of translucent plate members alternately having polarization separating membranes and reflection films and cutting it with a specified angle in plates and in manufacturing a polarization converting element by rightly arranging a half-wave plate thereon, and a problem of disorder of incident and light-emitting surfaces caused by nonuniform grinding pressure applied to end parts in grinding the incident and light-emitting surfaces of the manufactured polarization converting element. SOLUTION: Both end parts of the polarization separating element array are cut and removed with cut amounts different between each other so as to leave a slope at least on one out of both end parts. Also grinding of the incident and light-emitting surfaces of the polarization separating element array is carried out after cutting and removing specified amounts of both end parts of the polarization separating element array. The polarization separating element with an excellent utilization factor of the light and without unevenness in light quantity is manufactured by arranging the half-wave plate on the manufactured polarization separating element array.