Zero-Order Waveplate, Quarter-Wave, Quartz, 25.4 mm Diameter, 532 nm

Quarter-wave waveplates are used to turn plane-polarized light into circularly polarized light and vice versa. To do this, we must orient the wave plate so that equal amounts of fast and slow waves are excited – for example, by orienting an incident plane-polarized wave at 45° to the fast (or slow) axis. On the other side of the waveplate, we again examine the wave at a point where the fast-polarized component is at maximum. At this point, the slow-polarized component will be passing through zero, since it has been retarded by a quarter-wave or 90° in phase. If we move an eighth wavelength farther, we will note that the two are the same magnitude, but the fast component is decreasing and the slow component is increasing. Moving another eighth wave, we find the slow component is at maximum and the fast component is zero. If we trace the tip of the total electric vector, we find it traces out a helix, with a period of just one wavelength. This describes circularly polarized light.

Quartz waveplates are more sensitive to incidence angle than our Polymer waveplates. Polymer waveplates have excellent angular field of view and the retardation changes by less than 1% over a ±12° incidence angle.