plate beamsplitters

Plate beamsplitters, also known as plate dividers, are thin plane-parallel or edge plates. They are used to split a beam at a given ratio regardless of polarisation starus or wavelengths.

The beamsplitters are made of optical glass, quartz or singleaxis crystals (e.g. CaF2). They are coated with a thin-film layers system. Depending on application it can be either metallic or dielectric coating. The second surface of optical element is often coated with antireflection coating to avoid unwanted additional reflections.
Plate beamsplitter introduces a shift or deviation into the light beam due to the thickness of optical element, as presented on the assisting Figure.

In order to obtain a normal deviation between transmitted and reflected beams the working angle of incidence should typically be 45°.

Such a plate beam divider can be applied in optical systems e.g. in spectroscopy and laser systems, including high power laser systems.

Solaris Optics produces custom plate beamsplitters for a range of 300 nm to 10.6 um and sizes from 5 to 100 mm. Should you have questions regarding your application of plate dividers, we are happy to answer.

Learn more about: thin-film coatings.

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