Plate Beamsplitters

Custom Plate Beamsplitter Fabrication

Sydor Optics fabricates precision optics that can be coated utilizing our suppliers to produce several kinds of dielectric and metal coated plate beamsplitters with various reflection/transmission (R:T) ratios, which offer many advantages when compared to cube beamsplitters. For example, plate beamsplitters can perform at higher temperatures, withstand higher levels of laser power and typically cost less than when in cube form. Plate beamsplitters are also much lighter and smaller for applications that require minimal weight or have limited space available.

So whether you need custom heads up displays (HUDs), or you’re testing laser or illumination systems, developing fluorescence applications, or are involved in spectroscopy, custom plate beamsplitters can be manufactured to best suit your specific needs. Sydor Optics offers various types of plate beamsplitters for ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS) and infrared (IR) applications.

Our capabilities include:

High-Volume Capabilities
Available for UV, VIS, and IR applications
Diameter up to 100mm
Lengths up to 225 mm and width up to 200mm
Thickness up to 100mm

Available Material Types

Based upon customer demand, Sydor Optics offers Plate Beamsplitters made from the following substrate materials. Of course, if you don’t see a material you need, please contact a Sales Engineer, who will gladly discuss additional options that may be available.

Display Glass
Borosilicate glass, also called display glass, offers a combination of excellent light transmission and impressive technical properties. Made of silicon oxide and boron oxide, display glass is easily laser- or CNC-machined. In addition to having excellent chemical resistance, the material possesses a low coefficient of thermal expansion, meaning that it can resist high temperatures without cracking.
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Fused Quartz
Fused Quartz is made using high quality, natural quartz powders with several fusion methods. Quartz material is stronger than glass, can be used at high temperatures (<1050°C) and has a high average transmission of over 80% from 260nm to 2500nm. The various qualities of fused quartz allow for use in a wide range of applications from semiconductor applications to lower precision window applications in hostile environments.
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Fused Silica
Fused silica is a transparent glass formed by melting and cooling pure silica sand. Unlike most other glasses, fused silica does not contain any additives. It is an amorphous solid with a purity that gives it excellent optical transmission.
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Optical Glass
Optical glass is known for its high transmission, low dispersion, and homogenous refraction indices. These properties result from the continuous melting process and subsequent finishing methods used to create optical glass. This material is categorized into either flint glass or crown glass. Flint glass has an Abbe number < 55 and generally < 50. Flint glass is denser due to the inclusion of various metal oxides and exhibits strong chromatic dispersion. Crown glass has an Abbe number> 50 and generally > 55. Crown glass is typically less dense resulting from higher usage of alkali metals and exhibits low chromatic dispersion.
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Plate Beam Splitter Manufacturing Limits

Specifications	Measurements
Diameter	≤ 300mm
Length / Width	≤ 225mm x 200mm
Thickness	≤ 100mm
Thickness Tolerance	± 0.01mm
Reflection/Transmission (R:T)	90:10 – 10:90
Cosmetics (MIL-PRF-13830B)	60-40 to 20-10
Surface Roughness – before coating	≥ 5 Ǻ rms
Reflected Wavefront Error (RWE) – before coating	≥ 1/20 wave over clear aperture
Transmitted Wavefront Error (TWE) – before coating	≥ 1/20 wave over clear aperture
Clear Aperture	≤ 95%

Plate Beam Splitter Types

Polarized Plate Beam Splitters

Polarized plate beamsplitters are often used to split or combine two perpendicular light sources — based upon the state of polarization, not intensity. Polarizing plate beamsplitters can be custom manufactured for large angle apertures, consistently high throughput and exceptional uniformity and contrast.

Unpolarized Plate Beam Splitters

Unpolarized plate beamsplitters, or non-polarizing beamsplitters, are designed to maintain polarization, and are ideal for laser beam manipulation applications involving critical polarization control. Non-polarizing plate beamsplitters can be fabricated in various sizes and shapes, with different coatings to maintain polarization and protect against laser damage.

Ultraviolet (UV) Plate Beam Splitters

UV plate beamsplitters are designed for different transmission and reflection ratios in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum and are ideal for spectroscopy, medical, and fluorescence imaging and other applications involving the 250-450nm wavelength range.

Visible (VIS) Plate Beam Splitters

Visible plate beamsplitters offer an ideal combination of high performance yet require minimal substrate thickness. As the name implies, visible plate beamsplitters can be custom fabricated for different shapes, sizes, and coatings for various ratios in the visible wavelength spectrum 400 — 700nm.

Infrared (IR) Plate Beam Splitters

Infrared plate beamsplitters can be fabricated in various sizes and shapes to meet the most demanding infrared (IR) applications including near-infrared (NIR) 700-1100nm, mi-infrared 2-8µm, and extended mid-infrared 7-14µm ranges.