Phase retarders with variable angles of total internal reflection

Nagib, N.N.; El-Bahrawy, M.

doi:10.1364/ao.33.001218

Cited by 14 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Quarter-and half-wave retarders that use one or more total internal reflections (TIRs) in a Fresnel rhomb or prism have been studied extensively [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. For versatility in polarization state generation and detection, it is desirable to have an in-line multiplereflection device that can be rotated about the lightbeam axis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polarization properties of retroreflecting right-angle prisms

Azzam

Khanfar

2008

Appl. Opt.

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The cumulative retardance ⌬ t introduced between the p and the s orthogonal linear polarizations after two successive total internal reflections (TIRs) inside a right-angle prism at complementary angles and 90°Ϫ is calculated as a function of and prism refractive index n. Quarter-wave retardation (QWR) is obtained on retroreflection with minimum angular sensitivity when n ϭ ͑ͱ2 ϩ 1͒ 1͞2 ϭ 1.55377 and ϭ 45°. A QWR prism made of N-BAK4 Schott glass (n ϭ 1.55377 at ϭ 1303.5 nm) has good spectral response (Ͻ5°retardance error) over the 0.5-2 m visible and near-IR spectral range. A ZnS-coated right-angle Si prism achieves QWR with an error of ϽϮ2.5°in the 9 -11 m (CO 2 laser) IR spectral range. This device functions as a linear-to-circular polarization transformer and can be tuned to exact QWR at any desired wavelength (within a given range) by tilting the prism by a small angle around ϭ 45°. A PbTe right-angle prism introduces near-half-wave retardation (near-HWR) with a Յ2% error over a broad ͑4 Յ Յ 12.5 m͒ IR spectral range. This device also has a wide field of view and its interesting polarization properties are discussed. A compact (aspect ratio of 2), in-line, HWR is described that uses a chevron dual Fresnel rhomb with four TIRs at the same angle ϭ 45°. Finally, a useful algorithm is presented that transforms a three-term Sellmeier dispersion relation of a transparent optical material to an equivalent cubic equation that can be solved for the wavelengths at which the refractive index assumes any desired value.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polarization properties of retroreflecting right-angle prisms

Azzam

Khanfar

2008

Appl. Opt.

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“…It is critical to thoroughly understand the mechanisms of how the bandwidth, passband ripples, and central frequency are affected by the phase shift introduced by the retroreflector in order to prevent waveforms from being distorted. Although much work has been done on the polarization properties of the retroreflector with total internal reflection (TIR), the retroreflector is mainly used as a phase retarder with normal light incident [6,7]. In this paper, we study the effect of the retroreflector on birefringent crystal-based interleaver filters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%