DISCRETE-FOURIER-TRANSFORM APPROACH TO INHOMOGENEOUS LAYER SYNTHESIS

A new approach to inhomogeneous layer synthesis is proposed that diffe rs from the classical Fourier transform methods. This approach, based on the wave-number discretization of the continuous Q function, is des cribed together with the relationship between the smoothness of the in homogeneous layer's refractive-index profile, the complexity of the ta rget reflectance specification, and the total optical thickness of the layer. An iterative procedure is introduced to overcome the inaccurac y connected with the approximate Q-function representation. Some contr ol features of the Q-function phase are studied, and numerical example s are given.