Polarizing beam splitter plates providing high resolution images and systems utilizing such polarizing beam splitter plates

Abstract

Polarizing beam splitter plates and systems incorporating such beam splitter plates are described. The polarizing beam splitter plate includes a first substrate and a multilayer optical film reflective polarizer that is disposed on the first substrate. The polarizing beam splitter plate includes a first outermost major surface and an opposing second outermost major surface that makes an angle of less than about 20 degrees with the first outermost major surface. The polarizing beam splitter plate is adapted to reflect an imaged light received from an imager towards a viewer or screen with the reflected imaged light having an effective pixel resolution of less than 12 microns.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A multilayer optical film reflective polarizer configured to substantially reflect light having a first polarization state and substantially transmit light having an orthogonal second polarization state, the reflective polarizer having a surface roughness Ra of less than 45 nm or a surface roughness Rq of less than 80 nm. 
     
     
         2 . The multilayer optical film reflective polarizer of  claim 1  having a surface roughness Ra of less than 40 nm or a surface roughness Rq of less than 70 nm. 
     
     
         3 . The multilayer optical film reflective polarizer configured to reflect an incident image light having the first polarization state with the reflected image light having an effective pixel resolution of less than 12 microns. 
     
     
         4 . A multilayer optical film reflective polarizer configured to substantially reflect light having a first polarization state and substantially transmit light having an orthogonal second polarization state, the multilayer optical film reflective polarizer configured to reflect an incident image light having the first polarization state with the reflected image light having an effective pixel resolution of less than 12 microns. 
     
     
         5 . The multilayer optical film reflective polarizer of  claim 4  having a surface roughness Ra of less than 45 nm or a surface roughness Rq of less than 80 nm. 
     
     
         6 . The multilayer optical film reflective polarizer of  claim 4  having a surface roughness Ra of less than 40 nm or a surface roughness Rq of less than 70 nm.