Wollaston prism
E595644
A Wollaston prism is an optical device made of two birefringent crystal wedges cemented together to split a beam of light into two orthogonally polarized rays.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Wollaston prism canonical | 2 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
beam-splitting element
ⓘ
optical device ⓘ polarization prism ⓘ |
| basedOnPrinciple |
birefringence
ⓘ
double refraction ⓘ |
| category |
crystal optics
ⓘ
polarization optics ⓘ |
| developedInField | physical optics ⓘ |
| hasAdvantage |
simultaneous measurement of two polarization states
ⓘ
well-defined angular separation of polarizations ⓘ |
| hasComponent |
first birefringent wedge
ⓘ
second birefringent wedge ⓘ |
| hasDesignFeature |
optic axes of wedges oriented orthogonally
ⓘ
wedge angles chosen to set beam separation ⓘ |
| hasFunction |
produces orthogonally polarized output beams
ⓘ
splits incident beam into two rays ⓘ |
| hasHistoricalPeriod | early 19th century ⓘ |
| hasLimitation |
cement layer can limit damage threshold
ⓘ
sensitive to wavelength dispersion of birefringence ⓘ |
| hasParameter |
beam divergence angle between output rays
ⓘ
clear aperture ⓘ spectral operating range ⓘ |
| hasProperty |
achromatic angular separation (approximately)
ⓘ
cemented interface between wedges ⓘ no absorbing layer between beams ⓘ non-deviated input beam axis at center ⓘ produces angular separation between output beams ⓘ relatively high transmission ⓘ |
| namedAfter | William Hyde Wollaston NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| outputPolarizations | mutually orthogonal linear polarizations ⓘ |
| produces |
extraordinary ray
ⓘ
ordinary ray ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Glan–Taylor prism
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Glan–Thompson prism NERFINISHED ⓘ Nomarski prism NERFINISHED ⓘ Rochon prism NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| typicallyUses |
calcite
ⓘ
quartz ⓘ |
| usedFor |
analyzing polarization state of light
ⓘ
generating two spatially separated polarization components ⓘ |
| usedIn |
astronomical polarimeters
ⓘ
differential interference contrast microscopy ⓘ interferometry ⓘ laser beam diagnostics ⓘ optical microscopy ⓘ polarimetry ⓘ spectropolarimetry ⓘ |
| usesMaterial | birefringent crystal ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.