NARROW-BAND REFLECTOR COATINGS - DESIGN PROCEDURES

A class of problem dealing with narrow-band reflectors under oblique l ight incidence has been selected, and a group of design procedures lea ding to satisfactory results is analyzed. Initially performance criter ia and design restrictions are set. Various designs are then created a nd analyzed. Conclusions can then be drawn on the relative merits of t he designs. Two different types of target function have been chosen. A global search for 50 or more layers with varied optical thicknesses b etween 0 and lambda/2 and a needle design method have been applied to the synthesis. Gradient and variable metrics have been used for furthe r refinement. Results are compared, and it is shown that all the desig n methods used yield similar results for this problem. The issue of ho w to determine the best method is addressed. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.