2x2 Matrix summation method for multiple reflections and transmissions in a biaxial slab between two anisotropic media

An analytic method is developed for the investigation of light propagation in biaxial media and simple formulae are derived for the transmission and r eflection matrices from a general biaxial slab embedded in between arbitrar ily oriented general ambient and substrate. The method is based on knowing the interface reflection and transmission coefficients and the refractive i ndices of the eigenwaves inside the slab. Once these are known, the reflect ion and transmission from the biaxial slab are found in a 2 X 2-matrix form as a result of matrix sum representing all the multiple reflections at the interfaces. The method is also useful for dealing with a finite number of zigzags. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.