Abstract: Provided is an optical component including: a pair of substrate bodies each having a refractive index of not lower than 2 with respect to infrared laser light, and having an incident surface or an emitting surface and an inclined surface inclined with respect to this surface at ?i; and an antireflective film which prevents reflection of normal incident infrared laser light, wherein ?i is not smaller than a complementary angle ?tB of a Brewster's angle ?B of infrared laser light incident on a plate member and smaller than a critical angle ?c, the inclined surfaces are opposed to each other via a gap, and the incident surface and the emitting surface are arranged in parallel to each other.

Abstract: Provided is a polarization state converting element including a plurality of waveplates, and a rotation mechanism that rotates the respective waveplates independently of one another around an optical axis. The waveplates are each configured by a substrate made of a material having no optical rotatory property but having birefringence, or are each made of a material having neither optical rotatory property nor birefringence, but having transparency, a function of phase delay depending on polarization being applied on a surface of each waveplate.

Abstract: Provided is a polarization state converting element including a plurality of waveplates, and a rotation mechanism that rotates the respective waveplates independently of one another around an optical axis. The waveplates are each configured by a substrate made of a material having no optical rotatory property but having birefringence, or are each made of a material having neither optical rotatory property nor birefringence, but having transparency, a function of phase delay depending on polarization being applied on a surface of each waveplate.

Abstract: Provided is an optical component including: a pair of substrate bodies each having a refractive index of not lower than 2 with respect to infrared laser light, and having an incident surface or an emitting surface and an inclined surface inclined with respect to this surface at ?i; and an antireflective film which prevents reflection of normal incident infrared laser light, wherein ?i is not smaller than a complementary angle ?tB of a Brewster's angle ?B of infrared laser light incident on a plate member and smaller than a critical angle ?c, the inclined surfaces are opposed to each other via a gap, and the incident surface and the emitting surface are arranged in parallel to each other.

Abstract: An optical component including: a first substrate body which is made of a platy member allowing infrared laser beam to be transmitted therethrough and having a refractive index of 2 to 4 with respect to the infrared laser beam, and which has an input surface where the infrared laser beam is incident, and an inclined surface inclined to the input surface at an angle of inclination, calculated in accordance with Formula (I): n(?)×sin ?(?)=1×sin(x)??(I) and formed with a transmitting phase retarding film that shifts a phase of the infrared laser beam; and a second substrate body which is made of the platy member and which has an output surface from which the infrared laser beam is emitted, and an inclined surface inclined at the angle of inclination to the output surface and formed with the transmitting phase retarding film. The inclined surfaces of both substrate bodies are arranged as opposed to each other so as to have a space therebetween.

Abstract: An optical component including: a first substrate body which is made of a platy member allowing infrared laser beam to be transmitted therethrough and having a refractive index of 2 to 4 with respect to the infrared laser beam, and which has an input surface where the infrared laser beam is incident, and an inclined surface inclined to the input surface at an angle of inclination, calculated in accordance with Formula (I): n(?)×sin ?(?)=1×sin(x)??(I) and formed with a transmitting phase retarding film that shifts a phase of the infrared laser beam; and a second substrate body which is made of the platy member and which has an output surface from which the infrared laser beam is emitted, and an inclined surface inclined at the angle of inclination to the output surface and formed with the transmitting phase retarding film. The inclined surfaces of both substrate bodies are arranged as opposed to each other so as to have a space therebetween.

Abstract: The present invention provides an infrared laser optical element, in which a dense optical thin film with a low laser absorption and high moisture resistance is formed on the surface thereof, and a manufacturing method for the same. In this infrared laser optical element, the main surface of the optical substrate is smoothed, a BaF2 film formed on said main surface thereof and then a ZnSe film formed on said BaF2 film. The smoothing treatment for the main surface of the optical substrate is carried out by irradiating Xe gas ion beams. The BaF2 and the ZnSe films formed on said BaF2 film are formed on the main surface of the optical substrate, which has been smoothed, by Xe gas ion assisted vapor deposition. Superior performance can be achieved if the series of treatments are carried out under the specified conditions.

Abstract: An optical module has a housing, and a junction having a light transmissive window structure, which is fixed to the housing, and which utilizes a sapphire plate. The following expressions (1) through (4) are established between an angle &phgr; formed by the C axis of the sapphire, and the plane of polarization of light, and an angle &thgr; formed by the C axis of the sapphire and the optical axis. &ohgr; is the principal refractive index of sapphire, &egr; is the secondary refractive index, &lgr; is the wavelength of transmitted light, and d is the thickness of the window plate.

Abstract: A prism includes a prism base member having first and second faces intersecting with each other and including calcium fluoride, an antireflection film for oblique incidence formed on the first face of the prism base member, and an antireflection film for 0° incidence formed on the second face of the prism base member. Each of the antireflection film for oblique incidence and the antireflection film for 0° incidence includes a high-refractive-index layer with a relatively high refractive index, and a low-refractive-index layer with a relatively low refractive index. The high-refractive-index layer includes thorium fluoride and the low-refractive-index layer includes aluminum fluoride.

Abstract: The present invention provides an infrared laser optical element, in which a dense optical thin film with a low laser absorption and high moisture resistance is formed on the surface thereof, and a manufacturing method for the same. In this infrared laser optical element, the main surface of the optical substrate is smoothed, a BaF2 film formed on said main surface thereof and then a ZnSe film formed on said BaF2 film. The smoothing treatment for the main surface of the optical substrate is carried out by irradiating Xe gas ion beams. The BaF2 and the ZnSe films formed on said BaF2 film are formed on the main surface of the optical substrate, which has been smoothed, by Xe gas ion assisted vapor deposition. Superior performance can be achieved if the series of treatments are carried out under the specified conditions.

Abstract: The present invention provides an optical module having a window structure, which is easy to manufacture, has high reliability, has a small polarized light extinction ratio, and the plane of linear polarization of transmitted light is kept constant. The optical module of the present invention has a housing, and a junction having a light transmissive window structure, which is fixed to the housing, and which utilizes a sapphire plate. The sapphire window is constituted such that the following expressions (1) through (4) are established between an angle &psgr; formed by the C axis of the sapphire, and the plane of polarization of light, and an angle &thgr; formed by the C axis of the sapphire and the optical axis. In the following expressions, &ohgr; is the principal refractive index of sapphire, &egr; is the secondary refractive index, &lgr; is the wavelength of transmitted light, and d is the thickness of the window plate.

Abstract: A prism includes a prism base member having first and second faces intersecting with each other and including calcium fluoride, an antireflection film for oblique incidence formed on the first face of the prism base member, and an antireflection film for 0° incidence formed on the second face of the prism base member. Each of the antireflection film for oblique incidence and the antireflection film for 0° incidence includes a high-refractive-index layer with a relatively high refractive index, and a low-refractive-index layer with a relatively low refractive index. The high-refractive-index layer includes thorium fluoride and the low-refractive-index layer includes aluminum fluoride.