Birefringence and transmission of an antireflection-coated sulfur-free cadmium selenide Wollaston prism at 30 K

We present a determination of the change with temperature and wavelength of the degree of birefringence of a cold (similar to 30K) Wollaston prism constructed from antireflection (AR)-coated sulfur-free cadmium selenide (CdSe). We compare the normalized birefringence for the material to that estimated by the Sellmeier-4 formula and to previously published measurements of a warm sample of sulfur-free CdSe. Finally, we measure the transmission as a function of wavelength. (c) 2008 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. [DOI: 10.1117/1.3050420]