Knight Optical’s Mica Retarders for Optical Systems

03 Nov 2022

Knight Optical supplies a wide-ranging portfolio of Mica Retarders suitable for a range of applications – including optical systems. These Retarders are available as custom-made optical components or from stock for next-day dispatch (please note, our stock range is being discontinued).

Our Mica Retarders are manufactured from a thin layer of a fragile birefringent material, which is then sandwiched between two glass plates. As such, they are used to change the polarisation of incident light and output different polarised light with minimal attenuation. What's more, they can be used to isolate polarised light to remove feedback and, in conjunction with a Beamsplitter, may be used to route light more efficiently.

Typical specs:

Material: N-BK7 (or equivalent) [window], Mica (retarder)

Diameter tolerances: +/- 0.1mm

Thickness tolerances: +/- 0.1mm

Quarter wave: +/- 0.01λ

Half wave: +/- 0.02λ

Parallelism: +/- 5 arcminutes

Surface figure: < 2 waves

Surface quality: < 20-10 Scratch/Dig

Coatings: < Antireflective (AR) Coatings available on request

First-Class Quality

Quality is the driving force behind Knight Optical, and to ensure you profit from high-precision optics, we take the utmost care to ensure every component accurately meets your specifications. Offering unparalleled service, Knight Optical undertakes a full inspection of your optics from our ISO 9001:2015-certified, state-of-the-art Metrology Laboratory, followed by a meticulous visual examination by our dedicated QA department.

To discover how we can enhance your supply chain experience and to learn more about our stock and custom-made Mica Retarders, contact a member of our technical sales team today.

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UK, Europe, Asia & RoW: E-mail info@knightoptical.co.uk

Tel +44 (0)1622 859444

USA & Canada: E-mail usasales@knightoptical.com

Tel +001 401-583-7846