Plano-plano plates, made of birefringent material, are used for modifying polarization state of radiation. A waveplate works by shifting the phase between two perpendicular polarization components of the wave. The most common types of waveplates are a half-wave plate (λ/2 plate) and a quarter-wave plate (λ/4 plate). λ/2 plate gives phase delay π and λ/4 plate — π/2. A half-wave plate changes the polarization direction of linear polarized light. A quarter-wave plate changes linearly polarized light to circular and vice versa. Waveplate will not change the polarization of linearly polarized beam if the polarization direction is along one of waveplate axes.

Segmented waveplate consisting of several specially oriented half-wave plates allows getting radiation with radial and azimuthal polarization from linearly polarized one. Operating principle of such waveplates is shown below