Polarization Optics Selection Guide

Selecting the proper Waveplate or Polarizer for your application requires making a number of choices. A few of the many considerations include: polarization function, extinction ratio, transmission efficiency, laser damage resistance, wavefront distortion, and certainly cost. The information in this section should help in comparing the available choices from Newport.

Selecting an Polarization Optic

Click Waveplates and Polarizers to shop or browse all of our standard models, or select a product family below for more information. We also offer a wide variety of Optical Mounts for mounting your polarization optic.

POLOPTIC SGD-S

Wave Plates

Description Retardation Accuracy Features/Applications Cost Laser Damage Threshold
OP-multordqtzwp-S Multiple-Order Quartz Wave Plates ±λ/300 Dual wavelength multiple-order wave plates available Low 2 MW/cm2 CW, 2 J/cm2 with 10 nsec pulses, typical
OP-zerordqtzwp-S Zero-Order Quartz Wave Plates ±λ/300 Air spaced for high damage threshold, less sensitive to
wavelength and temperature variation than multiple-order
wave plates
Moderate 2 MW/cm2 CW, 2 J/cm2 with 10 nsec pulses, typical
OP-zerordprecwp-S Zero-Order Precision Wave Plates ±λ/350 Least sensitive to wavelength variation, best angular
acceptance, large clear apertures available
Low/Moderate 500 W/cm2 CW, 4 J/cm2 with 20 nsec pulses at 1064 nm, typical
OP-10rp52-S Achromatic Zero-Order Quartz-MgF2 Wave Plates From ±λ/50 to ±λ/100 Superior broadband performance, higher damage threshold than
achromatic polymer film wave plates
Moderate 500 W/cm2 CW, 2 J/cm2 with 8 nsec pulses at 1064 nm, typical
OP-achrplymrwp-S Achromatic Zero-Order Wave Plates ±λ/100 Superior broadband performance, less sensitive to wavelength
change and better angular acceptance than achromatic
quartz-MgF2 wave plates
High 500 W/cm2 CW, 0.3 J/cm2 with 10 nsec pulses, visible;
0.5 J/cm2 with 10 nsec pulses at 1064 nm, typical
POLOPTIC-S

Polarizers

Description Extinction Ratio
Tp/Ts
Transmission Efficiency Features/Applications Laser Damage Threshold
OP-10gt04-S Glan-Thompson Calcite Polarizers >100,000:1 Ts >90% Extreme polarization purity, very broadband, cemented calcite prism design
for lower power laser use, large acceptance angle permits use with
diverging and converging beams
=1,Damage Threshold (uncoated)
OP-10gl08-S Glan-Laser Calcite Polarizers >100,000:1 Tp >92%–95% Extreme polarization purity, very broadband, air spaced design
for high damage threshold, exit apertures provide for safe
escape of rejected polarization
500 W/cm2 CW, 4 J/cm2 with 10 nsec pulses, typical (uncoated)
OP-polarcorlp-S Polarcor™ Linear Polarizers >10,000:1 Tp >79-94% Very high polarization purity, large acceptance angle,
compact design, less expensive than calcite polarizers
1000 W/cm2 CW, 6 J/cm2 with 13 nsec pulses at 1064 nm (pass), typical
30 W/cm2 CW, 0.17 J/cm2 with 13 nsec pulses at 1064 nm (block), typical
OP-linpolarizers-S Precision Linear Polarizers >150–4,000:1 Large apertures available, for lower power laser
applications
1 W/cm2 CW, 0.2 J/cm2 with 20 nsec pulses, visible, typical
OP-tfphien-S High-Energy Nd:YAG Laser Thin Film Polarizers >100:1 Tp >95% High damage threshold, high transmission efficiency
at Nd:YAG wavelengths
5 MW/cm2 CW, 5 J/cm2 with 10 nsec pulses at 10 Hz @ 1064 nm
OP-u_fast_tfp_sq-S Thin Film Polarizers For Ultrashort Pulses Tp/Ts>5:1 & 95:1 Tp>95% avg. Low dispersion minimizes pulse broadening, high
transmission efficiency over the Ti:Sapphire tuning range
OP-ll_pol_cube-S Laser Line Polarizing Cube Beamsplitters >1,000:1 High polarization purity and transmission efficiency over a
narrow band, cemented prism pair, for moderate
power lasers
2 kW/cm2 CW, 1 J/cm2 with 10 nsec pulses, typical
OP-bbpolcube fam-S Broadband Polarizing Cube Beamsplitters >500:1 Moderate polarization purity and transmission efficiency
over a wide band, cemented prism pair, for moderate
power lasers
2 kW/cm2 CW, 1 J/cm2 with 10 nsec pulses, typical
OP-hienpolcube-S High-Energy Nd:YAG Laser Polarizing Cube Beamsplitters >200:1 Moderate polarization purity and high transmission
efficiency over a narrow band, optically
contacted prism pair, for high power lasers
10 J/cm2 with 10 nsec pulses, typical