A New Approach to the Design of Metal-dielectric Thin-film Optical Coatings

Abstract

This paper describes the application of the equivalent index method to the design of metal-dielectric thin-film optical coatings. It is shown that, provided some simple approximations are made, metal-dielectric periods can be treated in exactly the same way as all-dielectric periods. Illustrations of the application of the technique to the design of a range of types of coating are given.