Holo/Or’s latest family of affordable, reduced cost, microscopy vortex phase plates offer exceptional phase profile accuracy, providing precise shaping to a symmetrical donut, with no undefined area in the centre of the plate.
Vortex phase plates are often used in advanced microscopy, mostly in STED and laser tweezing applications.
By adding a vortex phase plate, it is possible to shape the spot to a donut-like distribution, with a central hole that is smaller than the diffraction limit.
This enables sub-diffraction limit optical resolution by depleting fluorescent excitation in all areas outside the hole (as is done in STED), or trapping and manipulating very small particles, as is done in tweezing.
A vortex phase plate is a flat optical element with a precise, micron-scale depth helical structure on the active surface. This unique structure adds an orbital angular momentum to the beam propagated through it, that ‘pushes’ the energy from the beam centre, creating a doughnut like illumination profile.
Holo/Or's latest vortex generators have a high LDT, suitable for illumination with >1,000mW of laser power, are stable at typical microscope operating conditions (-40 to +120°C) and can be easily integrated into existing setups due to their small form factor.
They can be mounted in 1’’ holder frames to facilitate integration into the laser light path.
Unlike liquid crystal-based vortex phase plates, which manipulate the spin momentum, Holo/Or's elements are not sensitive to polarisation of the incoming light, thus do not require any specific rotation angle vs the incoming beam.
The firm has recently developed a new production process that enables it to offer these elements at affordable and competitive costs to meet the growing market’s needs.
Specifications:
- Wavelengths - 488nm, 532nm, 632.8nm
- Topological charge - 1
- Dimensions - 10x10mm, thickness 1mm
- Material - Polymer on BK-7
- Laser Damage Threshold - >10J/cm2 at 1,064nm, 10ns pulse
- AR Coating - AR coated (one sided)
- Polarisation- Not sensitive
- Rotation orientation - Not sensitive
Holo/Or can easily tailor the properties to fit customers' application needs and laser power. The firm offers a vast variety of diffractive optics products; including multi-channel beam splitters, beam shapers (Top Hat), homogenisers/diffusers, multi-focal lenses, beam samplers, and vortex lenses.
