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Omnidirectional mirror design with quarter-wave dielectric stacks
1Rockwell Science Center, 1049 Camino dos Rios, Thousand Oaks, California 91360, USA. whsouthw@rsc.rockwell.com
Applied Optics
|March 8, 2008
Summary
Quarter-wave stacks can be designed for omnidirectional reflection of specific wavelengths. Optimizing the low refractive index near 1.45 maximizes bandwidth, which can be further extended by adding more stacks.
Area of Science:
- Optics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Quarter-wave stacks are optical coatings designed for specific wavelength reflection.
- Achieving reflection for both polarizations across all angles of incidence (omnidirectional) is a key challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide expressions for omnidirectional band center wavelength and bandwidth.
- To determine optimal layer values for maximizing omnidirectional bandwidth.
Main Methods:
- Derivation of analytical expressions for quarter-wave stack performance.
- Parametric analysis of low and high refractive index layer effects on bandwidth.
Main Results:
- Expressions for omnidirectional band center wavelength and bandwidth are presented.
- Selecting a low refractive index near 1.45 maximizes omnidirectional bandwidth.
- Contiguous quarter-wave stacks can extend the omnidirectional bandwidth.
Conclusions:
- The study provides a design methodology for omnidirectional quarter-wave stacks.
- Optimal material selection (low index near 1.45) is crucial for maximizing bandwidth.
- Bandwidth extension is achievable through structural modification.
