Achromatic Wave Plates AWP Zero Order Waveplate
Product description:
An Achromatic Waveplate, AWP, is similar to a Zero-Order Waveplate, which is made from two pieces of Crystal Quartz except that the AWP is composed of one piece of Crystal Quartz and one piece of Magnesium Fluoride, MgF2.
As a kind of optical elemtents, achromatic waveplate is similar to Zero-order waveplate except 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 at a wavelength range.
Unlike standard waveplates, Achromatic Waveplates (Retarders) provide a constant phase shift independent of the wavelength of light that is used. This wavelength independence is achieved by using two different birefringent crystalline materials.
Both of these materials are birefringent, however, by proper matching of the birefringent changes in one material with those of the second, retardation changes are minimized as the wavelength changes. This phenomenon produces a waveplate whose change in retardation is extremely small for large variations in wavelength.
Hence, the retardation of the resulting waveplate can be made to low sensitivity to wavelength change. In other words, it can be used at a broad-band wavelength range. Based on the contact methods of two plates, we classify the achromatic waveplate to two types: Airspaced and Cemented.