Take the tour ×  Lets say I want to design a Nomarski prism that
would split the ordinary and extraordinary beam by an angle of
0.32 mrad. I used a raytracer to find the internal angle between
the quartz wedges.  However I couldn't decide how thick the
quartz wedges should be.  The original patent mentions the
thickness but I don't understand the sentence: http://www.google
.co.uk/patents?id=QI5kAAAAEBAJ&zoom=4&dq=nomarski%20patent%20292
4142&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q=Fig.%204&f=false  Picture of Nomarski
Patent  The picture shows the Nomarski prism from the side. The
optical axis of the system is horizontal. The internal angle
between the wedges (or blades) is $\alpha$. The optic axis (note
the difference between optical axis of the system and optic axis
of the crystal) of the first prism Q2 is perpendicular to the
screen. The wedge Q1 has its axis inclined in-plane.  Q2 is
0.5mm thick at the center. Q1 is 1mm thick at the center.  Both
compensate their birefringence.  This last expression isn't
clear to me. I have t