half-wave plate
[haf-weyv, hahf-]
noun Optics.
a crystal thin enough to cause a phase difference of 180° between the ordinary and extraordinary rays of polarized light, thereby changing the direction of the plane of polarization.
Compare quarter-wave plate.
Origin of half-wave plate
First recorded in 1900–05
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019