546 research outputs found
A Millimeter-Wave Achromatic Half Wave Plate
We have constructed an achromatic half wave plate (AHWP) suitable for the
millimeter wavelength band. The AHWP was made from a stack of three sapphire
a-cut birefringent plates with the optical axes of the middle plate rotated by
50.5 degrees with respect to the aligned axes of the other plates. The measured
modulation efficiency of the AHWP at 110 GHz was %. In contrast,
the modulation efficiency of a single sapphire plate of the same thickness was
%. Both results are in close agreement with theoretical predictions.
The modulation efficiency of the AHWP was constant as a function of incidence
angles between 0 and 15 degrees. We discuss design parameters of an AHWP in the
context of astrophysical broad band polarimetry at the millimeter wavelength
band.Comment: In print - Applied Optics, 14 pages, 7 figure
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