Abstract
Optical retarders are key elements for the control of the state of polarization of light, and their wavelength dependance is of great importance in a number of applications. We apply a well-known technique for determinig the spectral retardance by measuring the transmission spectra between crossed or parallel polarizers. But we we develop an optical system to perform this measurement in a wide spectral range covering the visible (VIS) and near infrared (NIR) spectrum in the range from 400 to 1600 nm. As a result we can measure the spectral retardance of different retarders and easily identify the kind of reterder (multiple order, zero-order, achromatic). We show results with tunable liquid-crystal retarders as well, where the technique is applied to determine the spectral retardance as a function of the applied voltage. Finally, the accuracy of the technique is verified by the generation of a birefringent spectral filter. A technique to measure the spectral retardance of a linear retarder in a wide spectral range is applied to identify different types of retarders, and provide an accurate description of the spectral polarization conversion properties of these elements.
Highlights
Optical retarders are key elements for the control of the state of polarization of light, and their wavelength dependance is of great importance in a number of applications
A simple retarder composed of a single layer of uniaxial plate, the retardance is given by Multiple-order and zero-order retarders We start by using two different quartz quarter-wave plate (QWP) multiple order retarders, designed for wavelengths of 514 nm and 488 nm respectively
We developed an optical system that uses two spectrometers, one for the VIS range and another for the near infrared (NIR) range
Summary
Optical retarders are key elements for the control of the state of polarization of light, and their wavelength dependance is of great importance in a number of applications. Optical linear retarders are very useful components for any optical application requiring control of the state of polarization [1]. High quality retarders are usually fabricated with anisotropic optical materials such as quartz or calcite. Tunable retarders can be fabricated with liquid crystal (LC) materials, where the application of a relative low voltage yields a large variation of the effective retardance, due to the tilt of the liquid-crystal director. Liquid crystal retarders (LCR) can be manufactured in the form of a single retarder element, or in the form of one or twodimensional arrays, as in the liquid-crystal on silicon (LCOS) displays [2]. Other tunable retarders are fabricated with electro-optic materials, such as lithium
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