Specifications

  • Material
    UV Grade Fused Silica
  • Antireflection Coating
    V-coat AR, R <0.5%
  • Angle of Incidence
    45°±3°
  • Damage Threshold
    0.25 MW/cm2 CW, 2.5 J/cm2 with 10 nsec pulses at 266 nm, typical
  • Surface Flatness
    ≤λ/10 at 632.8 nm over the clear aperture
  • Surface Quality
    10-5 scratch-dig
  • Diameter Tolerance
    +0/-0.13 mm
  • Thickness Tolerance
    ±0.38 mm
  • Wedge
    30 ± 15 arc min
  • Clear Aperture
    > central 85% of diameter
  • Chamfers
    0.25-0.76 mm face width
  • Chamfers Angle Tolerance
    45° ±15°
  • Durability
    MIL-C-675C, moderate abrasion million cycles
  • Cleaning
    See How to Clean Optics

Features

Versatile Coating Options

Beamsplitter coatings are available with a choice of wavelengths corresponding to each of the harmonics of the Nd:YAG (1064nm, 532nm, 355nm, 266nm) and optimized for equal 50/50 (R/T) split of P- or S- polarization. A V-coat antireflection coating optimized for 45° angle of incidence beams is applied on the back surface to minimize ghost reflections.

UV Fused Silica Substrate

UV Grade Fused Silica is synthetic amorphous silicon dioxide of extremely high purity providing maximum transmission from 195 to 2100 nm. This non-crystalline, colorless silica glass combines a very low thermal expansion coefficient with good optical qualities and excellent transmittance in the ultraviolet region. Transmission and homogeneity exceed those of crystalline quartz without the problems of orientation and temperature instability inherent in the crystalline form. It will not fluoresce under UV light and is resistant to radiation. For high-energy applications, the extreme purity of fused silica eliminates microscopic defect sites that could lead to laser damage.

Slight Wedge Suppresses Unwanted Fringes

Optics with perfectly parallel faces are unsuited for use as reference elements in laser setups as reflections from both surfaces would be collinear resulting in undesired large period fringes. The introduction of a slight wedge causes unwanted reflections from the second surface to be deflected from the optical path. The back surface (S2) of these beam samplers is slightly wedged and an arrow on the side points to the non-wedged side (S1).

High Damage Threshold

High fluence Nd:YAG lasers may be used safely with these splitters. Extra durable multilayer coatings are used for both the front beamsplitting surface, and the AR-coated back surface. This results in typical damage threshold at 1064nm of 5 MW/cm2 for CW, 5 J/cm2 for 0.1–100 nsec pulses. Typical damage threshold at 532nm is 2.5 MW/cm2 for CW, 2.5 J/cm2 for 0.1–100 nsec pulses.

Reflectance Outside the Design Wavelengths

Reflection and transmission at wavelengths other than the specified wavelengths are uncontrolled and can vary significantly from the curve shown. Use of beamsplitters outside the design wavelengths is not recommended.

Resources

Selection Guides

CompareModelDrawings, CAD & Specs Diameter Wavelength Range Coating Code Polarization Availability Price
mgctlbxN$MZP mgctlbxV$5.3.2 mgctlbxL$C