Understanding Optical Waveplates
Precision Control of Polarized Light with Optical Waveplates
In the realm of modern optics, controlling light’s polarization is fundamental for applications ranging from laser systems to quantum devices. Optical waveplates—also known as retarders—are passive optical components specifically engineered to modify the polarization state of light without altering its intensity, path, or coherence. These elements rely on birefringence, a property of anisotropic materials that introduces a controlled phase delay between orthogonal polarization components of an incoming wave.