Reinforced multi-body optical devices

1. A method for fabricating a reinforced multi-body optical device, the method comprising:

applying a coating to either side of an interior plate;

a first bonding, using heat and pressure, bonding two plates to either side of the interior plate;

dicing the bonded plates at an angle that is not orthogonal to the bonded plates;

removing top and bottom portions of a diced section to form a multi-body polarization beam splitter (PBS) having a generally rectangular perimeter;

a second bonding, using heat and pressure, bonding a supporting plate to the multi-body PBS to form a reinforced multi-body PBS, wherein the supporting plate has a CTE that is within about 0.5 parts per million of the CTE of the multi-body PBS; and

grinding the multi-body PBS to reduce the thickness of the multi-body PBS.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

grinding the supporting plate to reduce the thickness of the supporting plate.

3. The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein the thickness of the reinforced multi-body PBS is less than or equal to about 1.0 millimeters.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

grinding a first portion of the supporting plate a first angle; and

grinding a second portion of the supporting plate at a second angle, so as to transform the supporting plate into a retro-reflector and transform the reinforced multi-body PBS into a PBD.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the second bonding comprises:

polishing a surface of the multi-body PBS;

polishing a surface of the supporting plate;

pressing the polished surface of the multi-body PBS against the polished surface of the supporting plate to form the reinforced multi-body PBS; and

baking the reinforced multi-body PBS in an oven at a temperature that is greater than or equal to about 300° Celsius.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the grinding comprises grinding the multi-body PBS to reduce the thickness of the multi-body PBS using a tar polishing plate.