Circular Polarizer

Circular polarizers improve the contrast of characters on electronic displays by reducing unwanted reflections. This enhances the readability of the display. They are widely used on, for example ATMs, medical equipment, signs, and instruments.

Circular polarizers are placed in front of a display. As light passes through a circular polarized film it is converted to a circularly polarized light. Circularly polarized light reflected off the back surface of the display is blocked from passing through the circular polarizer a second time.

Light originating from the display itself passes through the circular polarizer only one time and is not blocked. Thus characters on a display screen are seen without annoying reflections and have high contrast. As an example of their effectiveness, a circular polarizer can reduce reflections from a mirror from 92% to 0.5%.

Wave’s Linear Polarizer is laminated with quarter wave retarder sheets cut to the correct orientation (left or right) to rotate the plane of polarization. Upon passing through the sheet, light polarized in one direction is shifted in phase relative to light polarized in the perpendicular direction. By controlling the magnitude of birefringence a desired phase shift (retardation) can be introduced in one wave with respect to the other.