SPECTRAL PERIODICITY AND SYMMETRY FOR LAYERED MEDIA

We consider a system of dispersionless and transparent plane-parallel layers. We prove that the reflected and the transmitted spectra of suc h a system are periodic and that, within each period, the intensity is symmetric (even function) and the phase change is antisymmetric (odd function). These properties are illustrated by application to a fracta lly partitioned thin-film system. (C) 1996 Optical Society of America.