Depolarizers

The optical depolarizer is a passive optical component which can transform the input polarized or partially polarized light into unpolarized light (depolarization). Our design uses the Lyot depolarizer principle.  

This series of achromatic depolarizers comprises two birefringent crystal plates assembled with their optic axes lying in the plane of the plates, aligned at 45°. One plate is exactly twice the thickness of the other. Depolarization is caused by varying amounts of circular and elliptically polarized light at different wavelengths; it is thus not effective with monochromatic light.

Theorie Data:

DOP – Degree of Polarization, DOP=1 good polarization, DOP=0 good depolarization

Material: Calcite

DOP vs. wavelength bandwidth, laser beam wavelength is 1550nm, with total length of 6mm

DOP vs. input wavelength (input beam with 10nm bandwidth, total length 6mm)

Material: YVO₄

Material: Quartz

DOP vs. wavelength bandwidth, laser beam Wavelength is 1064nm, with total length of 6mm

DOP vs. input wavelength, (input beam with 100nm bandwidth, total length 6mm)

As with all of our optics, we will gladly provide these items custom designed to your particular requirements. As an alternative, we offer a selection of standard items as specified below.

Materials: Calcite (350-2300nm), Quartz (200-2300nm), YVO₄ (500-4000nm)

Surface flatness: λ/4

Parallelism: 20arcsec

Surface quality: 20-10 S/D (DIN: 5/2×0.1)

Total length: 6mm