Differentiating beam splitters have very important as will guide you properly when choosing the beam splitters that suit of fits your choice of project or use. They range from shapes, designs, modification, wavelength, dimensions, polarized and non-polarized and so much more. All these factors and more have been employed to differentiate beam splitters. Beam splitters take on many forms; cubes, plates, hexagons, pentagons, polarizing, non -polarizing (usually somewhere in between), narrowband, broadband, dielectric, air-spaced, metal, cemented, optically contacted (epoxy-free bonding). You have known these you can now be guided to sort specifications that will meet your needs in performance and cost. Apart from their shapes and forms, another important factor to consider when choosing a beam more split is the wavelength, polarization(polarizing and non-polarizing), and physical size requirements. Also, if the beam splitter will be used inside an interferometer, you may need to consider path length and phase matching requirements.
Types Of Beam Splitters
Mainly the two different types of beam splitters are polarizing and non-polarizing beam splitters but other factors are taken into consideration which further divided beam them to cube beam splitters and plate beam splitters and much more;
Optical Beam Splitter
This is an integral part of the products optics optical mirrors, it functions by dividing incident light into two. It is deployed mostly in some measurements device like an interferometer, optical experiments (devices), and in telecommunications (fiber optics). These beam splitters have semi-transmitting surfaces.
is laser light polarized
Polarizing Beam Splitters
The Polarizing Beam Splitter splits the light beam into s- laser light polarized beam (reflected beam) and p-polarized light beam (transmitted beam). The principle of operation is just by splitting unpolarized light beams into a 50/50 ratio.
Non-polarizing Beam Splitters
This beam splitter splits the light beam into a specific reflected and transmitted beams ratio while the polarization state of the incident light beam. These beam splitters are ideal for maintaining polarization in applications utilizing polarized light.
Dichroic Beam Splitters
These beam splitters are mainly used in fluorescence applications and experiments. They function by splitting light beam with wavelength.
Cube Beam Splitters
These beam splitters are constructed using two right-angled prisms. One of the prisms has a hypotenuse surface which is coated and the others are cemented together to form a cubic shape. It shortens the optical path of the system producing an equal transmitting and reflecting optical path length and there is no beam shift.
Plate Beam Splitters
This is constructed using a flat glass that has been coated on the first surface of the substrate while coating using an anti-reflective agent to coat the other surface to remove the unwanted reflection. This beam splitter is light owing to the thickness of the glass that is used in producing as it is very flat. In the same vain considering quantity of materials employed in its production, it is also affordable. It’s is also easy to go into mass production.
Lateral Displacement Beam Splitters
The lateral displacement beam splitters split the incident light beam into two parallel beams. These beam splitters can also be taken as a sub-type of polarizing beam more split as its displacement beams are still p-polarized and s-polarized beams.
Variable Attenuator Beam Splitter
This continually divides beams according to their wavelength.
