Glan Polarizing Prisms
The prisms are made of calcite which is practically
striae- and bubble-free. The prism halves are separated by an air gap of
approx. 0.07 mm and are supplied mounted in a holder as standard.
The extinction ratio is a minimum of 10-5
for the undeviated ray. Flatness of the outer surfaces is better than λ/2
(λ = 550 nm). Deformation of a transmitted plane
wave is less than λ/2 and prismatic deviation
less than about 2'.
The usable spectral range of the standard prisms
is 300 to 2700 nm (absorption of the deflected beam occurs above 2 µm).
The polarization effect is maintained in a field of view of about 13°
to 7.5° but is symmetrical to the normal of the input surface only
on one wavelength.
Two types of prisms are manufactured; they differ
from one another by the wavelength which has the symmetrical field of view
(see diagram below).
1) λsym = 700 nm, field of view ± 4°. At 350 nm and 2 µm the symmetrically usable field of view is ± 3.0°.
2) λsym = 400 nm, field of view ± 4.3°. At 290 nm and 560 nm the symmetrically usable field of view is ± 3.3°.
Due to Fresnel reflection on the inner surfaces there is a light loss of about 5% per inner surface (Type 1, 1064 nm).
Glan prisms are also produced with side exit windows through which the reflected beams exit at angles of approx. 72°. The holders for these prisms have side holes to allow the reflected beams to escape.
The flatness of the side exit surfaces is around 3 λ
| Prism | Holder | Without Side Exit Window | ||||
| Aperture | Length | Diameter | Length | Ordernr. | Price 1-5 pc. | Price 6-10 pc. |
| 9.5 mm 11.5 mm 14.5 mm 19.5 mm 24.5 mm 29.5 mm |
10 mm 12 mm 15 mm 20 mm 25 mm 30 mm |
25 mm 25 mm 25 mm 36 mm 45 mm 50 mm |
22 mm 30 mm 30 mm 30 mm 32 mm 42 mm |
PGL 10 PGL 12 PGL 15 PGL 20 PGL 25 PGL 30 |
€ 935 € 1171 € 1418 € 2352 € 3376 € 5854 |
€ 908 € 1138 € 1377 € 2285 € 3280 € 5687 |
| Prism | Holder | With Two Side Exit Windows | ||||
| Aperture | Length | Diameter | Length | Ordernr. | Price 1-5 pc. | Price 6-10 pc. |
| 9.5 mm 11.5 mm 14.5 mm 19.5 mm 24.5 mm 29.5 mm |
10 mm 12 mm 15 mm 20 mm 25 mm 30 mm |
25 mm 25 mm 25 mm 36 mm 45 mm 50 mm |
22 mm 30 mm 30 mm 40 mm 43 mm 42 mm |
PGL 10.2 PGL 12.2 PGL 15.2 PGL 20.2 PGL 25.2 PGL 30.2 |
€ 1276 € 1512 € 1775 € 2730 € 3770 € 6311 |
€ 1240 € 1469 € 1724 € 2652 € 3662 € 6131 |
Usable aperture angles of Glan prisms
αe and αoare the critical angles for total internal reflection at the inner surface. The transmitted light is polarized when the incidence angle lies between these two limits. All rays with angles of incidence |α| > |αe| are totally reflected at the air gap. All rays (both polarization directions) with |α| > |αo| will be transmitted and be superimposed to the polarized light: the usable acceptance angle of the prism is exceeded.
Simple quality
These prisms are produced from standard grade calcite. The extiction ratio is about 10-5 for the undeviated ray. Flatness of the outer surfaces is better than 1 λ. Deformation of a transmitted plane wave is less than 2 λ and prismatic deviation is a maximum of 5'.
In principle the usable spectral range is about
350 to 2700 nm, as for the standard version, and there is the risk of a
higher rate of absorption and fluorescence. The prisms only are manufactured
with λsym = 700 nm.
The optional side windows are polished to flatness of about 10 λ.
These prisms usually are not produced in interferometer quality.
| Prism | Holder | Without Side Exit Window | ||||
| Aperture | Length | Diameter | Length | Ordernr. | Price 1-5 pc. | Price 6-10 pc. |
| 9.5 mm | 10 mm | 25 mm | 22 mm | PGL 2.10 | € 447 | € 434 |
| Prism | Holder | With Two Side Exit Windows | ||||
| Aperture | Length | Diameter | Length | Ordernr. | Price 1-5 pc. | Price 6-10 pc. |
| 9.5 mm | 10 mm | 25 mm | 22 mm | PGL 2.10.2 | € 772 | € 750 |
Please note
For angular orientation these prisms can be mounted in the Rotating Mounts.
Available on special order
- Antireflection coatings for entrance and exit surfaces → on request
- Extinction ratio better than 10-6 → PGL 0.6
- Interferometer quality → PGL 0.1
- The prisms can also be modified by an individual inner cutting angle (wavelength dependent) so that the inner surfaces are transmitted close to the Brewster angle. This helps to reduce the Fresnel reflection on the inner surfaces, however it is only possible for applications that need less field of view (e.g. lasers). → on request
- Prisms with only one side window → on request
Data sheet