Thin-Film Optical Filters

H. Angus Macleod is President of the Thin Film Center Inc. in Tucson, Arizona, and Professor Emeritus of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona.

Introduction
Early History
Thin-Film Filters


Basic Theory
Maxwell’s Equations and Plane Electromagnetic Waves
The Simple Boundary
The Reflectance of a Thin Film
The Reflectance of an Assembly of Thin Films
Reflectance, Transmittance, and Absorptance
Units
Summary of Important Results
Potential Transmittance
A Theorem on the Transmittance of a Thin-Film Assembly
Coherence
Incoherent Reflection at Two or More Surfaces


Theoretical Techniques
Quarter- and Half-Wave Optical Thicknesses
Admittance Loci
Electric Field and Losses in the Admittance Diagram
The Vector Method
The Herpin Index
Alternative Method of Calculation
Smith’s Method of Multilayer Design
The Smith Chart
Reflection Circle Diagrams


Antireflection Coatings
Antireflection Coatings on High-Index Substrates
Antireflection Coatings on Low-Index Substrates
Equivalent Layers
Antireflection Coatings for Two Zeros
Antireflection Coatings for the Visible and the Infrared
Inhomogeneous Layers
Further Information


Neutral Mirrors and Beam Splitters
High-Reflectance Mirror Coatings
Neutral Beam Splitters
Neutral-Density Filters


Multilayer High-Reflectance Coatings
The Fabry–Perot Interferometer
Multilayer Dielectric Coatings
Losses


Edge Filters
Thin-Film Absorption Filters
Interference Edge Filters


Band-Pass Filters
Broadband-Pass Filters
Narrowband Filters
Multiple Cavity Filters
Higher Performance in Multiple-Cavity Filters
Phase Dispersion Filter
Multiple Cavity Metal–Dielectric Filters
Measured Filter Performance


Tilted Coatings
Modified Admittances and the Tilted Admittance Diagram
Application of the Admittance Diagram
Polarizers
Nonpolarizing Coatings
Antireflection Coatings
Retarders
Optical Tunnel Filters


Color in Optical Coatings
Color Definition
The 1964 Supplementary Colorimetric Observer
Metamerism
Other Color Spaces
Hue and Chroma
Brightness and Optimal Stimuli
Colored Fringes


Production Methods and Thin-Film Materials
The Production of Thin Films
Measurement of the Optical Properties
Measurement of the Mechanical Properties
Toxicity
Summary of Some Properties of Common Materials


Factors Affecting Layer and Coating Properties
Microstructure and Thin-Film Behavior
Sensitivity to Contamination


Layer Uniformity and Thickness Monitoring
Uniformity
Substrate Preparation
Thickness Monitoring and Control
Tolerances


Specification of Filters and Environmental Effects
Optical Properties
Physical Properties


System Considerations: Applications of Filters and Coatings
Potential Energy Grasp of Interference Filters
Narrowband Filters in Astronomy
Atmospheric Temperature Sounding
Order Sorting Filters for Grating Spectrometers
Glare Suppression Filters and Coatings
Some Coatings Involving Metal Layers


Other Topics
Rugate Filters
Ultrafast Coatings
Automatic Methods
Gain in Optical Coatings
Photonic Crystals


Characteristics of Thin-Film Dielectric Materials


Bibliography


Index


References appear at the end of each chapter.