Polarization Optics Selection Guide

Selecting the proper polarization optic 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. Newport also offers a wide variety of Rotational Mounts for mounting polarization optics. The information in this section should help in comparing the available choices from Newport.

Selecting an Polarization Optic

Wave Plates

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Description	Retardation Accuracy	Cost	Laser Damage Threshold	Features/Applications
Multiple-Order Quartz Wave Plates (λ/2, λ/4)	±λ/300	Low	2 MW/cm² CW, 2 J/cm² with 10 nsec pulses, typical	Dual wavelength multiple-order wave plates available
Zero-Order Quartz Wave Plates (λ/2, λ/4)	±λ/300	Moderate	2 J/cm² with 10 nsec pulses, typical	Air spaced for high damage threshold, less sensitive to wavelength and temperature variation than multiple-order wave plates
Zero-Order Polymer Wave Plates (λ/2, λ/4)	±λ/350	Low/Moderate	500 W/cm² CW, 4 J/cm² with 20 nsec pulses at 1064 nm, typical	Least sensitive to wavelength variation, best angular acceptance, large clear apertures available
Achromatic Zero-Order Quartz-MgF₂ Wave Plates (λ/2, λ/4)	From ±λ/50 to ±λ/100	Moderate	500 W/cm² CW, 2 J/cm² with 8 nsec pulses at 1064 nm, typical	Superior broadband performance, higher damage threshold than achromatic polymer film wave plates
Achromatic Zero-Order Polymer Wave Plates (λ/2, λ/4)	±λ/100	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	Superior broadband performance, less sensitive to wavelength change and better angular acceptance than achromatic quartz-MgF₂ wave plates
Berek’s Variable Waveplates	λ/1000 @ null λ/100 @ 2	High		Work as a quarter-wave plate, a half-wave plate, or any arbitrary waveplate at any wavelength between 200 and 1600 nm, 0-5.8π @ 0.3 µm, 0-π @ 1.6 µm

Showing 1 to 6 of 6 entries

Polarizers

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Description	Extinction Ratio T_p/T_s	Transmission Efficiency	Laser Damage Threshold	Features/Applications
Glan-Thompson Calcite Polarizers	>100,000:1	T_s >90%	1 W/cm² CW, 0.1 µJ/cm² with 10 nsec pulses, typical (uncoated)	Extreme polarization purity, very broadband, cemented calcite prism design for lower power laser use, large acceptance angle permits use with diverging and converging beams
Glan-Laser Calcite Polarizers	>100,000:1	T_p >92%–95%	500 W/cm² CW, 4 J/cm² with 10 nsec pulses, typical (uncoated)	Extreme polarization purity, very broadband, air-spaced design for high damage threshold, exit apertures provide for safe escape of rejected polarization
Rotatable Glan-Thompson Calcite Polarizers	>100,000:1	T_s >95%	10 W/cm² CW, typical	Extreme polarization purity, very broadband, cemented calcite prism design for lower power laser use, integrated with a rotation mount
Wollaston Calcite Polarizing Prisms	>100,000:1		1 W/cm² CW, typical (uncoated)	Extreme polarization purity, very broadband, cemented calcite prism design for lower power laser use, output beams separated by 20 degrees
Polarcor™ Dichroic Glass Linear Polarizers	>10,000:1	T >79-94%, polarized input	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	Very high polarization purity, large acceptance angle, compact design, less expensive than calcite polarizers
Laminated Sheet Linear Polarizers	>4,000:1	T >32%, unpolarized input	100W/cm² CW, 75 J/cm² with 20 nsec pulses	High polarization purity, large aperture and acceptance angle, compact design, less expensive than calcite polarizers
Laminated Polymer Film Linear Polarizers	>150–1,000:1	T >17-37%, unpolarized input	1 W/cm² CW, 0.2 J/cm² with 20 nsec pulses, visible, typical	Large apertures available, for lower power laser applications
Unmounted Laminated Polymer Film Linear Polarizers	>100-1,000:1	T = 30% ±3%, unpolarized input	1 W/cm² CW, 0.2 J/cm² with 20 nsec pulses, typical	Large aperture, low cost, ideal for low power NIR lasers, LEDs, and other NIR sources
High-Energy Nd:YAG Laser Thin Film Polarizers	>100:1	T_p >95%	5 MW/cm² CW, 5 J/cm² with 10 nsec pulses at 10 Hz @ 1064 nm	High damage threshold, high transmission efficiency at Nd:YAG wavelengths
Thin Film Polarizers For Ultrashort Pulses	T_p/T_s>5:1 & 95:1	T_{p, avg} >95%	3 J/cm² @ 800 nm, 10 ns pulse, 10-100Hz	Low dispersion minimizes pulse broadening, high transmission efficiency over the Ti:Sapphire tuning range
Laser Line Polarizing Cube Beamsplitters	>1,000:1	T_p >95%	2 kW/cm² CW, 1 J/cm² with 10 nsec pulses, typical	High polarization purity and transmission efficiency over a narrow band, cemented prism pair, for moderate power lasers
Broadband Polarizing Cube Beamsplitters	>500:1	T_p,avg >90%	2 kW/cm² CW, 1 J/cm² with 10 nsec pulses, typical	Moderate polarization purity and transmission efficiency over a wide band, cemented prism pair, for moderate power lasers
High-Energy Nd:YAG Laser Polarizing Cube Beamsplitters	>200:1	T_p >95%	10 J/cm² with 10 nsec pulses, typical	Moderate polarization purity and high transmission efficiency over a narrow band, optically contacted prism pair, for high power lasers