Continuously variable, wavelength-independent polarization rotator

Summary form only given. Different optical devices such as polarizers and retarders have been developed to induce light polarization changes. Polarizers and retardation plates are frequently used in combination to control laser intensity or polarization states for many different applications. For example, rotation of linear polarization can be achieved with a half-wave retardation plate. However, retardation plates are strongly dependent on radiation wavelength and have small acceptance angle. Here, we report the development of a continuously variable, wavelength-independent polarization rotator (CVWI-PR). We demonstrate that this new device can rotate the polarization of linearly polarized light by any desired angle, independent of the radiation wavelength and pulse width. Furthermore,this new optical device also has a very wide field of view. For a prototype device, the measured linear transmittance is 95% without antireflection coatings and the maximum extinction ratio with the device placed between two polarizers is 3/spl middot/10/sup -3/.