Dielectric omnidirectional visible reflector

We demonstrate the fabrication of an all-dielectric omnidirectional mirror for visible frequencies. The dielectric reflector consists of a stack of 19 alternating layers of tin (IV) sulfide and silica. Using a combination of thermal evaporation (for tin sulfide) and thick electron-beam evaporation ( for silica), we have achieved a refractive-index contrast of 2.6/1.46, one of the highest refractive-index contrasts demonstrated in one-dimensional p hotonic bandgap systems designed for the visible frequency range. The tin s ulfide-silica material system developed allowed the formation of a broadban d visible reflector with an omnidirectional range greater than 10%. Possibl e applications of the system include efficient reflectors, high-frequency w aveguides for communications and power delivery, and high-Q cavities. (C) 2 001 Optical Society of America.