Optical design of low-cost polarizer without chromatic fringe pattern

Recently, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has been considered as a substitute material for a protection film in a polarizer in order to reduce the cost. However, PET film exhibits high retardation intrinsically due to the stretching process, which induces a chromatic fringe pattern so called a color mura in oblique viewing angle directions, associated with a strong wavelength dispersion. Based on simulation and experimental results, placing an optic axis of PET film in plane can suppress the color mura without the need to use any compensation films; the film thus exhibits high performance as well as low cost.