Claims
- 1. A retarder comprising:
a substrate; a cover plate separated from said substrate by a gap; an adhesive filler occupying said gap; and a birefringent film embedded in said adhesive filler, said film being index matched to said adhesive filler.
- 2. The retarder of claim 1, further comprising an anti-reflective coating on a surface of at least one of said cover plate and said substrate.
- 3. The retarder of claim 2, wherein said coating comprises thorium fluoride.
- 4. The retarder of claim 1, wherein at least one of said cover plate and said substrate comprises fused silica.
- 5. The retarder of claim 1, wherein said birefringent film comprises a polymer film.
- 6. The retarder of claim 1, wherein said substrate and said cover plate each have an inner surface facing said gap, said inner surfaces being oriented parallel to each other.
- 7. The retarder of claim 1, wherein said substrate and said cover plate each have an inner surface facing said gap, said inner surfaces being oriented relative to each other to direct a beam exiting said cover plate in a selected direction.
- 8. The retarder of claim 1, wherein said cover plate and said substrate are disposed relative to each other to direct a beam exiting said cover plate in a selected direction.
- 9. An optical device in optical communication with a retarder as recited in claim 1.
- 10. An optical device integrated with a retarder as recited in claim 1.
- 11. The retarder of claim 1, wherein said adhesive filler has a dielectric constant that is an average of a slow-wave dielectric constant associated with said birefringent film and a fast-wave dielectric constant associated with said birefringent film.
- 12. The retarder of claim 1, wherein said birefringent film is selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol and polycarbonate.
- 13. An interferometer comprising:
a polarizing beam splitter cube; a cover plate separated from a face of said cube by a gap; an adhesive filler occupying said gap; and a birefringent film embedded in said adhesive filler, said birefringent film being index matched to said adhesive filler.
- 14. The interferometer of claim 13, further comprising an anti-reflective coating on a surface of at least one of said cover plate and said face.
- 15. The interferometer of claim 14, wherein said coating comprises thorium fluoride.
- 16. The interferometer of claim 13, wherein at least one of said cover plate and said face comprises fused silica.
- 17. The interferometer of claim 13, wherein said birefringent film comprises a polymer film.
- 18. The interferometer of claim 13, wherein said face and said cover plate each have an inner surface facing said gap, said inner surfaces being oriented parallel to each other.
- 19. The interferometer of claim 13, wherein said face and said cover plate each have an inner surface facing said gap, said inner surfaces being oriented relative to each other to direct a beam exiting said cover plate in a selected direction.
- 20. The interferometer of claim 13, wherein said cover plate and said face are disposed relative to each other to direct a beam exiting said cover plate in a selected direction.
- 21. The interferometer of claim 13, wherein said adhesive filler has a dielectric constant that is an average of a slow-wave dielectric constant associated with said birefringent film and a fast-wave dielectric constant associated with said birefringent film.
- 22. The interferometer of claim 13, wherein said birefringent film is selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol and polycarbonate.
- 23. A retarder comprising a birefringent film embedded in an adhesive, said adhesive being index matched to said birefringent film.
- 24. The retarder of claim 23, wherein said adhesive is selected to have a dielectric constant that is an average of a slow wave dielectric constant and a fast wave dielectric constant of said birefringent film.
- 25. The retarder of claim 23, wherein said birefringent film is selected from a group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol and polycarbonate.
- 26. The retarder of claim 23, further comprising a cover plate and a substrate separated from said cover plate by a gap containing said adhesive.
- 27. The retarder of claim 23, wherein said substrate and said cover plate are oriented to direct a beam exiting said cover plate to travel in a selected direction.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of the priority date of U.S. Provisional Application 60/305,575 filed on Jul. 6, 2001.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60305575 |
Jul 2001 |
US |