Laser 2000

Waveplates and Retarders

Off-the-shelf or custom retardance, wavelength, materials (polymer, quartz, sapphire, magnesium fluoride & liquid crystal). Sizes up to 150 mm.

A retarder (or waveplate) is an optical device that resolves a light wave into two orthogonal linear polarisation components and produces a phase shift between them. The resulting light wave is generally of a different polarisation form. Ideally, retarders do not polarise, nor do they induce an intensity change in the light beam, they simply change its polarisation form.

For a complete overview of retarder (waveplate) principles, the different retarder types, materials used and how to practically use them in your experiments/products, please see our blog

Polarisation and Phase Manipulation with Retarders (or waveplates)

Retarders can be multiple-order (having several waves of retardance), compound zero-order, or true zero-order. True zero order retarders are often preferred for the most demanding applications requiring retardance stability with wavelength, temperature and angle of incidence. A true zero-order retarder is thin and must have a low birefringence to be manufactured easily.

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Polymer Retarder
Polymer waveplates for low power, wide angle and broadband applications.  Standard zero-order waveplates with a Quarter or Half wave retardance.  Precision, achromatic, super-achromat, dual-wavelength and wide angle options available.
Crystalline Waveplates for applications that require higher power/energy handling capabilities and superior UV and IR performance crystalline waveplates consisting of one or more plane-parallel plates of birefringent material is recommended.  Zero-order, compounded zero-order waveplates and quartz depolarisers.
Achromatic and super-achromatic waveplates (retarders).  Quarter, half wave or custom retardance available in polymer, bi-crystalline or Fresnel rhombs.
Our standard Liquid Crystal Variable Retarders (LVR) provide a minimum retardance range of ~30 nm to at least half-wave at the specified wavelength. With specific UV devices from 350-450nm and MWIR from 3.6 to 5.7 microns
Our Liquid Crystal Polarization Rotator continuously rotates the polarization direction of a monochromatic, linearly polarized input beam. With three types of rotators based on parallel aligned nematic, twisted nematic and ferroelectric liquid crystals each providing different features in terms of contrast, speed, achromacity.

Founded in 1979 by Tom Baur a pioneer in the field, awarded the SPIE G.G.Stokes award in 2018, Meadowlark optics are polarisation experts, providing polarisation components, liquid-crystal devices, spatial light modulators and polarisation instrumentation.

In the twenty-first century, Meadowlark products help position customers worldwide to pioneer their own innovations. These include advances in liquid crystals with one-of-a-kind polarization controllers and the Liquid Crystal Stokes Polarimeter. In other areas, they measure there waveplate product line to subnanometer precision. One thousandth of a wave of retardance is our standard accuracy.

OptoSigma is a leading global manufacturer of Optical Systems, Optical Assemblies, Optical Coatings, Opto-Mechanics, Manual and Motion Control Stages, and a variety of complimentary Photonics products. With over 19,000 standard items, they provide a wide range of high-quality products and they also manufacture custom solutions to support various industries including Life Sciences, Bio-Medical, Semiconductor, Displays, Research, Telecommunications, Aerospace and Defense.

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