Quarter and Half Wave Plate Experiment

Objectives:
To study the effect of wave plates on polarized light
• Quarter wave plate
• Half wave plate
Principle:
Waveplates are optical devices that resolves a light wave into two orthogonal linear polarization components by producing a phase shift between them. The transmitted light may have a different type of polarization than the incident beam due to the induced phase difference. Commonly used retarders are quarter wave plate and half wave plate. Quarter-wave plate is used to convert a linearly polarized input beam into a circular (or elliptical) polarized beam and vice-versa. Half-wave plate rotates the plane of polarization of linearly polarized light that is input on it by twice the angle between its optical axis and the initial orientation of the linearly polarized light.
Key Features:
• Precise Optical Alignment: The optical alignment of the components is attained by optical bench, the setting up time is faster and experimentation is easy.
• Digital Lux Meter: This enables measurement of light intensity at various angles of reflection. The meter reads with a precision of 1 lux.
• Easy and accurate adjustments: The design of the setup helps in easier rotation of wave plates without blocking the path of light. The least o count of 1 aids for accurate readings.

What you Need