Abstract: A plasma lamp for an electrodeless plasma lamp having a dielectric waveguide body and a bulb positioned, at least in part, in the waveguide body and having at least one end protruding from the waveguide body. A probe is used to couple power into the waveguide body. The power resonates in the waveguide body and ignites a plasma in the bulb. By having one or both ends of the bulb extend beyond the surface of the waveguide body, the ends of the bulb are exposed to reduced electric field intensity, resulting in longer bulb lifetime due to reduced plasma impingement on the interior surfaces of the bulb.

Abstract: A lamp in a color management system provides light to a color wheel having color filter segments that transmit light having a secondary color, namely cyan, magenta, and yellow. A light integrator with a polarizing element, such as a polarization converter or polarizing filter, provides a beam of the secondary color. A primary color separator, such as second color wheel, transflective dichroic beamsplitter, or color-sensitive polarizing switch in combination with an input polarizing beamsplitter, separates the secondary color beam into a first polarized primary color beam and a second polarized primary color beam, which are directed to first and second imager panels. A beam combiner combines the first polarized primary color beam from the first imager and the second polarized primary color beam from the second imager to form a projection beam.

Abstract: An anti-aliasing filter includes a polymeric double-refraction plate (“DRP”). The DRP of the anti-aliasing filter has at least a first liquid photo-polymerization (“LPP”) layer disposed on the substrate, or on an intervening layer(s) disposed on the substrate, and a first liquid-crystal polymer (“LCP”) layer is disposed on the first LPP layer, the first DRP having a thickness selected so as to provide a selected separation of oridinary and extraordinary light rays.

Abstract: A polarizing conversion system uses a polarizing beam splitter and reflector with a polarization conversion element to convert light from a lamp to a selected polarization state before providing the light to a light integrator, such as a light pipe or light tunnel. The light integrator provides homogenized polarized light to a light modulator. The polarization conversion system avoids increases efficiency compared to absorptive or simple reflective polarizers with fewer components than polarization conversion systems using patterned retarder plates and lenslet arrays. In one embodiment, the conversion elements are held to avoid adhesive or other bonds in the optical path. In other embodiments, high-temperature optical adhesive or optical contact bonding is used to assemble optical components for high-temperature operation. In a particular embodiment, a single-crystal quartz retarder plate is thermally matched to glass components in the polarization conversion system.