Optical phase of inhomogeneous Jones matrices: retardance and ortho-transmission states

We determine the optical phase ψ (dynamic and geometric) introduced by a system described by an inhomogeneous Jones matrix. We show that there are two possible scenarios: (a) ψ has a finite range of ψ ∈ [ ψ min , ψ max ] . We calculate both limits and their corresponding polarization states analytically. (b) ψ spans the full range of ψ ∈ ( − π , π ] . This scenario leads to the existence of two input polarization states whose output states are orthogonal. We call these states ortho-transmission states (OTSs) and find them analytically. We study the inverse problem of designing an optical system with OTSs given by the user.