Novel achromatic single reflection quarter-wave retarder: design and measurement

• Published in: Review of scientific instruments Vol. 85; no. 3; p. 033109
• Main Authors: Veiras, F E, Raffa, G, Caré, D, Perez, L I, Garea, M T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.03.2014
• ISSN: 1089-7623
• DOI: 10.1063/1.4868969

In this work, we present an achromatic quarter-wave retarder whose design is based upon the reflection properties of an isotropic-anisotropic interface. In theory, it is possible to obtain a π/2 phase shift by means of a total internal reflection at an isotropic-isotropic interface. However, in order to achieve such a phase shift, it is necessary to use a medium with a particularly high refractive index. We have previously shown that these phase shifts can be achieved by means of a total internal reflection in an isotropic-uniaxial interface, which allows the use of smaller refractive index media. By means of this property, we designed, built, and characterized a novel quarter-wave retarder that makes it possible to obtain circularly polarized light from a linear polarization state. We developed some guidelines that allowed us to obtain a device of competitive performance, low cost, and manageable manufacture.