The zero-order waveplates we offer are made from two thin sheets that are polished to different thicknesses. These component boards have orthogonal optical axis directions, so the roles of ordinary and extraordinary rays are reversed as they pass from one board to the other. It has a multi-layer dielectric anti-reflective coating on both sides to maximize transmission.
Request bulk or custom formats
Quarter-wave and half-wave delays;
Easy to align;
Insensitive to temperature;
Less sensitive to wavelength shift compared to multi-order waveplates;
Zero order waveplates are used to rotate the polarization direction (using a λ/2 plate) or convert linear polarization to circular polarization and vice versa (using a λ/4 plate). They are very useful for dye laser or laser diode applications.