Polarization of light

Retarders
• In retarders, one polarization gets ‘retarded’, or delayed,
with respect to the other one. There is a final phase
difference between the 2 components of the polarization.
Therefore, the polarization is changed.
• Most retarders are based on birefringent materials
(quartz, mica, polymers) that have different indices of
refraction depending on the polarization of the incoming
light.
 Half wave plate
A retarder that produces a λ/2 phase shift is known as a half wave retarder. Half
wave retarders can rotate the polarization of linearly polarized light to twice the
angle between the retarder fast axis and the plane of polarization.

Placing the fast axis of a half wave retarder at 45° to the polarization plane
results in a polarization rotation of 90°. Passing circularly polarized light through
a half wave plate changes the "handedness" of the polarization.
 Half-Wave plate
• Retardation of ½ wave or
180º for one of the
polarizations.
• Used to flip the linear
polarization or change the
handedness of circular
polarization.
 Quarter waveplate
If the orthogonal electric field components are equivalent, a phase shift λ/4
in one component will result in circularly polarized light. Retarders that
cause this shift are known as quarter wave retarders. They have the unique
property of turning elliptically polarized light into linearly polarized light or of
transforming linearly polarized light into circularly polarized light when the
fast axis of the quarter wave plate at 45° to the incoming polarization plane.
(Light polarized along the direction with the smaller index travels faster and
thus this axis is termed the fast axis. The other axis is the slow axis).
 Quarter-Wave plate
• Retardation of ¼ wave or 90º for one of the
polarizations

• Used to convert linear polarization to elliptical.

 Quarter-Wave plate
• Special case: incoming light polarized at 45º with respect to the retarder’s axis

• Conversion from linear to circular polarization (vice versa)