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half-wave plate

A plate of electro-optical material that serves to rotate the plane of polarization of a light beam.

quarter-wave plate

A plate made of a double-refracting crystal having such a density that a phase difference of one-quarter cycle is formed between the ordinary and extraordinary elements of light passing through.

retardation plate -> wave plate

An optical element having two principal axes, slow and fast, that resolve an incident polarized beam into two mutually perpendicular polarized beams. The emerging beam recombines to form a particular...

wave plate

birefringence

Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light of different polarizations. In other words, when light passes through a...

laser optics

Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser light. Laser optics play a crucial role in shaping the characteristics of...

modulator crystal

A nonlinear crystal used to modulate a polarized beam of light by means of the Pockels effect. A Pockels cell is used as a voltage-controlled waveplate by means of applying a known voltage across the...

Photonics DictionaryDefinitions

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