Achromatic Polymer Half-Wave Waveplates

Our polymer achromatic half waveplates consist of a polymer film stack laminated between two high-precision AR coated N-BK7 windows and are designed to operate with a high degree of retardation accuracy over a broad wavelength range. Achromatic polymer waveplates have better angular acceptance and less sensitivity to wavelength change than achromatic quartz-MgF₂ waveplates.

Retardation accuracy of ±λ/100 over entire wavelength range
Less sensitive to wavelength than achromatic quartz-MgF₂ waveplates
Better angular acceptance than achromatic quartz-MgF₂ waveplates
Operates over a broad temperature range

See All Features

Description	Compatibility	Center Wavelength	Wavelength Range	Avail.	Price
10RP42-1Achromatic Waveplate, Half-Wave, Polymer, 25.4 mm, 545 nm Center, 460-655 nm	UNIVERSAL	545 nm	460-655 nm	FREE 2-day shipping on thousands of products on Newport.com Learn More	$1,649
10RP42-2Achromatic Waveplate, Half-Wave, Polymer, 25.4 mm, 720 nm Center, 615-860 nm	UNIVERSAL	720 nm	615-860 nm	FREE 2-day shipping on thousands of products on Newport.com Learn More	$1,649
10RP42-3Achromatic Waveplate, Half-Wave, Polymer, 25.4 mm, 840 nm Center, 715-1000 nm	UNIVERSAL	840 nm	715-1000 nm	FREE 2-day shipping on thousands of products on Newport.com Learn More	$1,649
10RP42-4Achromatic Waveplate, Half-Wave, Polymer, 25.4 mm, 1060 nm, 900-1270 nm	UNIVERSAL	1060 nm	900-1270 nm	FREE 2-day shipping on thousands of products on Newport.com Learn More	$1,649

Mounting Options

Manual Rotation Mounts


Models				()
Retaining Thread	1.063-20
Compatible Optic Diameter*	25.4 mm 12.7 mm ()
Special Features	1 in. Mirror Mounts Compatibility	OpticsCage+™ Compatibility	Tip&Tilt Adjustments	Fine Adjustments


Models	()	()	()	() ()
Retaining Thread	0.546-32	1.040-32	1.035-40	1.063-20	2.063-20 1.063-20	–
Compatible Optic Diameter*	12.7 mm	25.4 mm		25.4 mm 12.7 mm ()	50.8 mm 25.4 mm 12.7 mm ()	50.8 mm () 38.1 mm () 25.4 mm () 12.7 mm () 6.35 mm ()
Special Features	Compact	Stackable	A-Line™ Compatibility	Fine Adjustments		Quick Exchange

Motorized Rotation Mounts


Models		() ()	() ()	()
Retaining Thread	1.040-32	1.063-20		1.563-20
Compatible Optic Diameters*	25.4 mm			25.4 mm 12.7 mm

*The adapter in parentheses is required for the optic size before it.

Specifications

Retardation
λ/2
Retardation Accuracy
±λ/100
Material
Grade A N-BK7
Diameter
25.4 mm
Housing
Black Anodized Aluminum
Clear Aperture
10.2 mm
Antireflection Coating
Broadband, multilayer coating
Average Reflectance
<0.5%
Damage Threshold
500 W/cm² CW

Pulse Damage Threshold
0.3 J/cm² with 10 nsec pulses, visible
0.5 J/cm² with 10 nsec pulses at 1064 nm
Surface Quality
40-20 scratch-dig
Acceptance Angle
± 7°
Transmitted Beam Deviation
≤1 arc min
Wavefront Distortion
≤λ/4 at 632.8 nm over the full aperture
Diameter Tolerance
±0.13 mm
Thickness
6.0 mm
Operating Temperature Range
-20 to 50°C

Features

High Retardation Accuracy

Our polymer achromatic waveplates are designed to operate with a high degree of retardation accuracy over a broad wavelength range. These true zero-order wave plates are constructed using a stack of birefringent polymer films laminated between two high-precision N-BK7 optical windows, each with a high efficiency, broadband antireflection coating. This construction ensures excellent transmitted wavefront quality, while minimizing beam deviation and surface reflection losses.

Low Sensitivity to Wavelength Change

Achromatic Zero-Order Waveplates have low sensitivity to incidence angle and wavelength. Retardation changes by less than 1% over a ±7° incidence angle and is maintained to better than ±λ/100 over the entire bandwidth. This is a significant improvement in angular acceptance and less sensitivity to wavelength change than achromatic quartz–MgF₂ wave plates. One drawback however is that the achromatic waveplates have some variation in transmittance vs wavelength due to several polymer layers that are used in each achromatic wave plate. Quartz-MgF₂ offer a higher and more uniform transmittance.

Black Anodized Aluminum Housing

The achromatic waveplate assembly is mounted in a black anodized aluminum housing for protection and ease of mounting, with the retarder fast axis marked for alignment reference. The standard 25.4 mm outer diameter housing has a 10.2 mm diameter clear aperture and is convenient for mounting into Newport rotation mounts.