Multilayer optical coatings based on half-wave-layer pairs

Marshall Thomsen; Zhouling Wu

doi:10.1117/12.240405

27 May 1996 Multilayer optical coatings based on half-wave-layer pairs

Marshall Thomsen, Zhouling Wu

Proceedings Volume 2714, 27th Annual Boulder Damage Symposium: Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 1995; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.240405
Event: Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 1995, 1995, Boulder, CO, United States

Abstract

Highly reflective coatings and polarizing beam splitters are generally designed with alternating layers of high and low index of refraction materials, with the thickness of each layer corresponding to an optical path length of a quarter of a wavelength. We present numerical results suggesting that the most important constraint is that the optical path length of a pair of layers should sum to one half of a wavelength, but within that constraint there is a fair amount of latitude to vary the proportions of the two layers without significantly affecting the coating's optical properties. Specifically, we suggest that in a hafnia/silica highly reflective coating, it may be possible to reduce the hafnia component significantly (by 20%) without compromising the reflectivity. Such a reduction could prove beneficial for damage thresholds since hafnia seems to be the primary source of seeds for nodule defects and hafnia's lower thermal conductivity increases the likelihood of thermal damage.

Citation Download Citation

Marshall Thomsen and Zhouling Wu "Multilayer optical coatings based on half-wave-layer pairs", Proc. SPIE 2714, 27th Annual Boulder Damage Symposium: Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 1995, (27 May 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.240405

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