Waveplates from Glass Perfection, a UK Company which manufactures Optical Windows, Filters and Components for production, custom fabrication or from stock.

Specialising in polished plano windows in a wide range of materials with over 20 years manufacturing experience, we offer low cost volume production.

Waveplates retards change the state of polarization. They resolve an incident beam of light into orthogonally polarized components and retard the phase of one component relative to the other. The emergent usually has a different polarization state from the incident beam.

The most common type of retarder is a slice of birefringent material in which the o-ray travels at different velocities. Two rays that start in phase develop a phase difference with respect to each other. For light of wavelength ^ the phase difference 0 is given by:

0 = +- 2 (pie) d (ne-no)/^

Where:
d= thickness of waveplate
ne= refractive index for extraordinary ray
no= refractive index for the ordinary ray

We can offer multiple order and zero order wavelengths. Zero order wavelengths have higher acceptance angles, wide bandwidth and lower temperature coefficients than multiple order waveplates. Wavelenghts are within the range of 200 to 2300 nm

1/2 Wave Plate

A 1/2 waveplate is used in rotating the plane of linear polarization.

1/4 waveplate

A 1/4 waveplate is used in changing linear polarized light to circularly polarized or creating linear polarization from circular.

Specifications