Broadband adiabatic conversion of light polarization

A broadband technique for robust adiabatic rotation and conversion of light polarization is proposed. It uses the analogy between the equation describing the polarization state of light propagating through an optically anisotropic medium and the Schrödinger equation describing coherent laser excitation of a three-state atom. The proposed technique is analogous to the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) technique in quantum optics; it is applicable to a wide range of frequencies and it is robust to variations in the propagation length and the rotary power.