A polarizer is an optical filter that only lets certain polarizations of light through while blocking all other polarizations. It filters a beam of undefined or mixed polarization into a well-defined beam of polarization. Numerous polarized optical components, such as Gran-type, Brewster-type, polarization cubes, and high-contrast polarizers, are available from Alfa Chemistry.
Our polarizers are used in many optical technologies and instruments, and have applications in photography and LCD technology. In addition to visible light, polarizers can be made for other types of electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves, microwaves and X-rays.
Types of Polarizers
The common types of polarizers are linear polarizers and circular polarizers.
- A polarizer created to linearly polarize incident light is known as a linear polarizer. When white light passes through a linear polarizer, half of the incident light is blocked, which displaces the electric field component and causes it to oscillate solely in one plane in relation to the propagation direction. For a variety of industrial, imaging, or laboratory applications, linear polarizers are perfect. Crossed linear polarizers are excellent for stress testing or glare reduction since they significantly lower transmission.
- In addition to producing circularly polarized light, circular polarizers can be used to selectively absorb or pass both clockwise and counterclockwise circularly polarized light. They are also used as lenses in 3D glasses for viewing some stereoscopic movies, where the polarization of the light is used to discern which image the left and right eyes should see. They are employed as polarizing filters in photography to eliminate skewed reflections off non-metallic surfaces.
Our polarizer product lineup continues to expand to meet our customers' needs. If you don't find what you have been looking for, please feel free to contact us.