Birefringent Crystals
Birefringent crystals are anisotropic materials and can split a single incident light ray into two, each of which travels at a different speed and polarization. In the context of lasers, birefringent crystals are often used as components in laser systems to manipulate the polarization of the laser beam. By adjusting the crystal orientation and the incident angle of the laser beam, the birefringent crystal can be used to selectively attenuate one polarization state of the laser beam, resulting in a polarized output.
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| Part Number | BLC-YVO4 | Part Number | BLC-BBO(A) |
| Transparency Range | High transmittance from 0.4 to 5μm | Transparency Range | 190 – 3500nm |
| Crystal Symmetry | Zircon Tetragonal, space group D4h | Density | 3.85g/cm3 |
| Crystal Cell | a = b = 7.12A°; c = 6.29A° | Hygroscopic Susceptibility | Low |
| Density | 4.22g/cm3 | Hardness (Mohs) | 4.5 |
| Mohs Hardness | 5, glass-like | Thermal Expansion Coefficients (/°C) | -9.3 x 10-6 (C) -9.5 x 10-6 (A) |
| Hygroscopic Susceptibility | Non-hygroscopic | Damage Threshold | 1GW |
| Thermal Expansion Coefficient | αa = 4.43 x 10-6/K; αc = 11.37 x 10-6/K | Refractive Indices | no = 1.6776, ne = 1.5534, 532nm no = 1.6579, ne = 1.5379, 1064nm |
| Thermal Conductivity Coefficient | //C: 5.23 W/m/K; ⟘C: 5.10 W/m/K | Sellmeier Equation (λ in μm) | no2 = 2.7471 + 0.01878/(λ2 – 0.01822) – 0.01354λ2 ne2 = 2.37153 + 0.01224/(λ2 – 0.01667) – 0.01516λ2 |
| Crystal Class | Positive uniaxial with no = na = nb, ne = nc | ||
| Thermal Optical Coefficient | dna/dT = 8.5 x 10-6/K; dnc/dT = 3.0 x 10-6/K | ||
| Refractive Indices, Birefringence (Δn = ne – no) and Walk-off Angle at 45° (ρ) | no = 1.9929, ne = 2.2154, Δn = 0.2225, ρ = 6.04° at 630nm no = 1.9500, ne = 2.1554, Δn = 0.2054, ρ = 5.72° at 1300nm no = 1.9447, ne = 2.1486, Δn = 0.2039, ρ = 5.69° at 1550nm | ||
| Sellmeier Equation (λ in μm) | no2 = 3.77834 + 0.069736/(λ2 – 0.04724) – 0.0108133λ2 ne2 = 4.59905 + 0.110534/(λ2 – 0.04813) – 0.0122676λ2 | ||
| YVO4 | TiO2 | CaCO3 | LiNbO3 | ||
| Thermal Expansion (/°C) | c-axis | 11.4 x 10-6 | 9.2 x 10-6 | 26.3 x 10-6 | 16.7 x 10-6 |
| a-axis | 4.4 x 10-6 | 7.1 x 10-6 | 5.4 x 10-6 | 7 x 10-6 | |
| Refractive Index | no | 1.9447 @ 1550nm | 2.454 @ 1530nm | 1.6346 @ 1497nm | 2.2151@ 1440nm |
| ne | 2.1486 @ 1550nm | 2.710 @ 1530nm | 1.4744 @ 1497nm | 2.1413 @ 1440nm | |
| Birefringence (ne-no) | 0.2039 @ 1550nm | 0.256 @ 1530nm | -0.1572 @ 1497nm | -0.0738 @ 1440nm | |
| Mohs Hardness | 5 | 6.5 | 3 | 5 | |
| Deliquescence | None | None | Weak | None | |
| Transparency Range | 0.4 – 5μm | 0.4 – 5μm | 0.35 – 2.3μm | 0.4 – 5μm |