A slice of quartz is cut and polished to act as a zero-order quarter-wave plate at…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · Fermi University Physics · Optics & Photonics · Polarisation and anisotropic media · Polarisation and anisotropic media
Optics and Photonics, Ch Birefringence and crystal optics
Problem
A slice of quartz is cut and polished to act as a zero-order quarter-wave plate at λ0=800 nm; that is, at 800 nm its retardance is Γ0=π/2. Assume, as an idealisation, that the birefringence ∣ne−no∣ of quartz does not change over the wavelength range used below.
((a)) Find the retardance of this plate, in radians and in waves, when it is used at λ1=600 nm.
((b)) Find its retardance, in radians and in waves, when it is used at λ2=1000 nm.
((c)) Find the wavelength at which this same plate acts as a half-wave plate (Γ=π).