reflective circular polarizer

[bdike]

Has anyone come across a sheet polarizer that transmits one direction of circularly polarized light while reflecting the other? 3M makes one (DBEF) for linearly polarized light and I've heard that Merck makes one for circularly polarized light but I haven't been able to find any.

thnaks in advance

 

[sjksjk]

contact Reveo

http://www.reveo.com

They make a broadband, reflective circular polarizer using cholesteric liquid crystal polymers. I think they can use both glass and plastic substrates.

Good luck,

Steve

 

[bdike]

Not exactly what I was looking for (it's not in sheet format like a plastic polarizer) but probably just as relevant. Big help. Thanks.

 

[sjksjk]

You could also make your own, if you are so inclined. Just buy sheets of DBEF and sheets of plastic quarter-wave retarder film. This is a standard item from lots of companies (I evaluated pieces from American Polarizer and they were pretty good).

I know that Reveo was working on making large-format plastic sheets of the circular polarizing film, but I lost track of their progress.

good luck,

Steve

 

[bdike]

I've actually done this. A piece of DBEF between two retarders more or less does what we need. However, the error in most wave sheets means that the polarization state of both the reflected and transmitted light is not very 'clean' after passing through two retarders. If you take two pieces of retarder and place them between two linear polarizers in an orientation that extinguishes the light, then the extinction is never as good a only two crossed polarizers- same issue.
Ideally, we'd find the material in question that performs the desired operation in one step. I'm looking for the stuff after seeing the material referenced in a patent. The guy said Merck made it, I've tried evry possible way to get in touch with someone knowledgable at Merck with no luck...
thanks again.