Abstract: A high contrast Brewster angle polarizing beamsplitter in which splitting occurs on the internal surface of a dielectric material having a higher-refractive-index than the surrounding medium. The Brewster angle resulting from the incidence of electromagnetic radiation on the dielectric interface of the higher-refractive-index material to the lower-refractive-index medium is smaller than the one attained when using the external surface and thus results in a more compact beamsplitter configuration. A beamsplitter structure is also provided for obtaining one of the transmitted components that is collinear with the original beam.