Achromatic Waveplates

Our achromatic half waveplates or achromatic quarter waveplates with a retardation tolerance of λ/100 provide extremely broad wavelength range with only one optic.

The achromatic waveplate is similar to the zero order waveplate in that two plates with opposing retardation are used to achieve the final result.

The difference is that the two plates are made from different materials such as crystal quartz and magnesium fluoride.

Since the dispersion of the birefringence can be different for the two materials, it is possible to specify the retardation values over a wide wavelength range.

Choosing the right waveplate for your application can be a bewildering task, as we offer a wide range for many different uses.

Feel free to contact us for assistance. Our experienced staff is only too pleased to help you with the decision process.

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

• Wavefront distortion: λ/8
• Retardation tolerance: λ/100
• Parallelism: 1arcsec
• Surface quality: 40-20 S/D (DIN: 5/2 x 0.16)
• Wavelength ranges: 465-650nm, 650-1100nm, 1000-1750nm