When an optical system needs to transmit one wavelength range and suppress another, both interference filters and colored glass filters may appear to solve the same problem. They do not, however, control light in the same way. A colored glass filter primarily relies on wavelength-dependent…
Extinction ratio is the ratio between the transmittance a polarizer gives to the polarization state it passes and the transmittance it gives to the orthogonal state it is meant to block, at a stated wavelength, angle of incidence and aperture. A part specified at 1000:1…
Cube Beamsplitter vs Plate Beamsplitter: Which Design Is Better for Your Optical System? Neither a cube beamsplitter nor a plate beamsplitter is universally better. A cube usually simplifies mechanical alignment and, in its normal-entry geometry, avoids the lateral displacement associated with transmitting through an angled…
Choose fused silica when the window must work in the deep UV, must not disturb polarization or wavefront, or must survive fast thermal transients; choose sapphire when the window faces abrasion, high pressure, chemical attack or high temperature, or when the band extends past roughly…
