A polarization beam splitter is a detachable (active) connection device between optical fibers that precisely aligns the ends of two fibers to allow the maximum coupling of light energy from the transmitting fiber to the receiving fiber. It belongs to the field of optical passive components and is used in telecommunications networks, cable television networks, subscriber loop systems, and local area networks. It features low loss, low cost, and an arbitrarily selectable splitting ratio, and is applied in polarization multiplexers, high power, EDFA, fiber optic sensing, and optical transmission, etc.
Light has various polarization states, such as horizontal or vertical. A polarization beam splitter typically transmits one state and reflects its orthogonal counterpart.
The polarization beam splitter principle mainly utilizes reflection and refraction to split the incident unpolarized light into two beams of linearly polarized light: S-light and P-light. For example, a polarization beam-splitting cube is composed of a pair of precisely right-angle glass prisms, with a beam-splitting coating applied to the hypotenuse face of one prism.
The incident light is perpendicular to the surface of the prism and enters the beam-splitting coating at a 45° angle. Through reflection and refraction by the beam-splitting coating, the incident light is divided into two orthogonal linearly polarized lights: S-polarized light and P-polarized light. S-polarized light is transmitted, and P-polarized light is reflected, both emerging at a 90° separation from the prism surface.
Some polarization beam splitter principles use birefringent materials. Depending on the light's polarization, birefringent materials have different refractive indices, causing different polarizations to propagate differently within the material. A polarization beamsplitter cube is the core part of a polarization beam splitter; it divides incident light into two parts, one transmitted and the other reflected.
Polarization beam splitters are widely used in lasers, liquid crystal displays, optical communications, optical storage, and polarization imaging, separating and combining different light polarization states and playing a significant role in polarization multiplexing systems.
With technological advances, the design and materials of polarization beam splitters are continuously improving. Future polarization beam splitters may be smaller, lighter, and more efficient. At the same time, with the advent of new materials and technologies, the applications of polarization beam splitters will further expand.
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