An achromatic quarter-wave and half wave phase retarder combination operating in near-infrared (NIR) region

Abstract

Optical phase retarders are major components in design of different optical systems. Normally these retarders exhibit retardance which varies with wavelength. But achromatic phase retardation is necessary in optical system design. These achromatic phase retarders can be designed using different waveplates, sub-wavelength grating (SWG), liquid crystals, and polymers etc in different wavelength ranges. Present communication focus on designing of quarter-wave phase retarder in the near infrared range (NIR) with waveplates of different birefringent materials having different thicknesses. This system in NIR range shows comparable performance with those developed with SWGs and it also removes some drawbacks. The proposed system deals with an achromatic combination of four birefringent plates in 800–2000 nm range using Sapphire, CdSe, Calcite, and Rutile crystals having good transmittance in the NIR range. This system can also be used as a half wave phase retarder in NIR.