Rugate Broadband Antireflection Coating Design

R. R. Willey

doi:10.1117/12.962986

22 December 1989 Rugate Broadband Antireflection Coating Design

R. R. Willey

Proceedings Volume 1168, Current Developments in Optical Engineering and Commercial Optics; (1989) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.962986
Event: 33rd Annual Technical Symposium, 1989, San Diego, United States

Abstract

The use of an antireflection (AR) coating which is a series of homogeneous layers whose index steps down from the substrate index to the index of air or a vacuum has been well described in the literature (1,2). These are particularly attractive for high index substrates such as germanium, but are limited by the availability of appropriate real coating materials. The limiting factor is a lack of practical materials whose index is less than about 1.35. Another family of AR coatings which include one or more half wave layers is also known. The most common of these is the classical QHQ design. DeBell(3) reported on designs such as QHHHQ and QHHHHHQ where the H's are alternating high and low index layers. We have found that there is a family of inhomogeneous or "Rugate" index functions which can produce broadband AR coatings. These point to some general principles of AR coating design which have not been previously obvious from the literature. We describe these investigations and findings in graphical form. We discuss the concepts and understanding gained and examine the possibilities and limitations of the approach.

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R. R. Willey "Rugate Broadband Antireflection Coating Design", Proc. SPIE 1168, Current Developments in Optical Engineering and Commercial Optics, (22 December 1989); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.962986

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