Saint-Gobain Crystals has introduced a range of high-performance, thin-film plate polarisers optimised for use with Nd:YAG, Nd:YVO4 and Nd:YLF lasers operating at 1064nm, 1053nm, 532nm, 355nm and 266nm. These new Alpine Research Optics-brand optics use a first-surface coating to separate orthogonal polarisations with a high extinction ratio (≥200:1), and are designed to work at Brewster's angle (typically 56° angle of incidence), and can be tilt tuned (±3°) to optimise performance. These optics also feature a high transmission efficiency (≥96 per cent), as well as excellent damage threshold and mechanical durability characteristics.
Saint-Gobain Crystals typically provides polarisers on 28.6 x 14.3 x 3.2mm fused silica substrates. The optics are specified to have λ/10 flatness and λ/8 wavefront distortion on transmission (at 633nm), and a surface quality of 10-5. In addition to this standard product line, polarisers with custom sizes, shapes and performance characteristics over the wavelength range of 266nm to 1550nm can be produced upon request.
The optical performance and extended lifetime of these polarisers make them suitable for use in a wide variety of industrial applications. These include micromachining and marking of metals, semiconductors, plastics and dielectrics in microelectronics, biomedical, automotive, avionics and research applications.