depolarizer
optical device that modifies a beam of optical radiation to produce a beam of unpolarized radiation irrespective of the state of polarization of the incident radiation
Note 1 to entry: No simple and completely satisfactory way of depolarizing a beam of radiation is known. The methods employed usually produce a large variety of polarization states with respect to time, wavelength or the aperture of the beam. Devices functioning on this principle are usually known as pseudo-depolarizers.
Note 2 to entry: This entry was numbered 17-292 in CIE S 017:2011.