Transmissive optical polarizing filters designed to maximize a desired portion of a spectral output

An optical system, comprising:

• an optical source that outputs light having a given spectral output and a given power distribution within the spectral output;
• and
• a transmissive color polarization manipulator comprising at least two retarder films optically coupled to the optical source, wherein each of the at least two retarder films has a retardance and an orientation selected such that, when light from the optical source passes through the at least two retarder films, a desired spectral portion of the optical source is substantially polarized with a first polarization and a different spectral portion is substantially polarized with an orthogonal polarization, wherein the retardance and orientation of each of the at least two retarder films is selected such that the optical power for the desired spectral portion of the optical source substantially polarized with a first polarization is substantially maximized for the given number of retarder films.

A transmissive color polarization manipulator, comprising at least five retarder films arranged in a stacked configuration and each having a retardance and an orientation selected such that, when light from an optical source passes through the at least five retarder films, a desired spectral portion of the optical source is substantially polarized with a first polarization and a different spectral portion is substantially polarized with an orthogonal polarization, wherein the retardance and orientation of each of the at least five retarder films is selected such that the optical power for the desired spectral portion of the optical source substantially polarized with a first polarization is substantially maximized for the given number of retarder films.

An optical system, comprising:

• an optical source;
• and
• a transmissive color polarization manipulator comprising a plurality of optical retarders optically coupled to each other and to the optical source, each of the plurality of retarders having an orientation and a retardance selected such that, when light from the optical source passes through the plurality of retarders, a desired spectral portion having at least one predetermined color coordinate is substantially polarized with a first polarization and a different spectral portion is substantially polarized with an orthogonal polarization, wherein the retardances and orientations of each of the retarders are selected such that a throughput of the desired spectral portion substantially polarized with a first polarization is substantially maximized for the given number of retarders.

A transmissive color polarization manipulator for receiving light from an optical source and outputting a desired spectral portion having at least one predetermined color characteristic, comprising:

• a plurality of retarders optically coupled to each other and to an optical source, each of said plurality of retarders having an orientation and a retardance selected such that, when light from the optical source passes through the plurality of retarders, the desired spectral portion having at least one predetermined color characteristic is substantially polarized with a first polarization and a different spectral portion is substantially polarized with an orthogonal polarization, wherein the retardances and orientations of the retarders are selected such that a throughput of the desired spectral portion substantially polarized with a first polarization is substantially maximized for the given number of retarders.