Quarter-wave plate

From Fresh Dictionary

English

Noun

quarter-wave plate

1. ((physics{{#if:|, {{{2}}}{{#if:|, {{{3}}}{{#if:|, {{{4}}}{{#if:|, {{{5}}}{{#if:|, {{{6}}}{{#if:|, {{{7}}}{{#if:|, {{{8}}}{{#if:|, {{{9}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}})) a sheet of birefringent material whose thickness is such that the light associated with the larger refractive index is retarded in phase by 90° with respect of that associated with the smaller refractive index; used to convert linearly polarized light into circularly polarized light