The Polaris-M ray tracing program

An optical design program, Polaris-M, developed at the University of Arizona incorporates many advanced polarization analysis features. At the core of the program is a three-dimensional polarization ray tracing structure used to characterize polarization effects occurring at interfaces and upon propagation through isotropic and anisotropic materials. Reflection and refraction at uniaxial, biaxial, and optically active interfaces are handled rigorously, as well as anisotropic grating structures. By analyzing multiple polarized wavefront components individually, one can study the complicated effects of multiple anisotropic optical elements at the image. Wavefronts can be expanded into polarization aberration terms. Polarized diffraction image formation and polarization dependent optical transfer functions are included.