Optical Thin Films (3 units). The optical properties of single films, design and multilayer optical coatings, calculation and visualization aids, accurate computation methods, introduction to manufacturing methods, non-ideal behavior of thin films.

Undergraduate Prerequisite: OPTI 310 or Instructor Consent
Graduate Prerequisite: OPTI 505R or Instructor Consent

The lectures for Spring 2012 were prerecorded in 2011. Students must acquire a login and password to access the lectures. Log in to D2L for assignments.

Instructor:
Angus Macleod
Tel: 520 322 6171 | Fax: 520 325 8721
Email: angus@thinfilmcenter.com

Teaching Assistant:

Course Outline (75-minute lectures)
Optical systems and instruments almost invariably consist of a series of optical surfaces that reflect and refract the light. If these surfaces are untreated then they present properties that are determined purely by the massive materials on either side. The limitations represented by these natural properties are so severe that they would prevent acceptable operation of any but the simplest of systems. Modification of the properties of the surfaces requires the application of optical coatings. Although optical coatings are primarily used to alter the reflectance and/or transmittance of a surface other properties are also important. Coatings frequently revolutionize technologies. Examples to be discussed include such examples as the surface plasmon resonance detector used for sensing extremely small changes in biological systems, the chirped coatings used in ultrafast pulse applications and the narrowband beam splitters used in wavelength division multiplexing.

This course will cover the structure, design and performance of thin-film optical coatings. The fundamental theory of thin film multilayers and of their design will be included but considerable emphasis will be given to techniques for understanding and prediction that supplement the straightforward calculation of performance that is normally carried out by computer.

Types of coatings will include antireflection and high reflectance coatings, beam splitters, edge and dichroic filters, band-pass filters, polarizers, rugates, retarders, surface plasmon resonance detectors, and coatings for ultrafast applications. Although each may seem quite different from the others in structure and operation nevertheless they are governed by the same principles.

The emphasis throughout the course is on fundamental understanding. There are no prerequisites beyond a nodding acquaintance with electromagnetism, complex numbers and 2x2 matrices.

Provisional Syllabus
1. Fundamentals
2. Metals and dielectrics
3. Matrix method
4. Quarterwave rule and simple coatings
5. Oblique incidence intro
6. Admittance diagram intro
7. Admittance diagram and antireflection coatings
8. Admittance diagram and high reflectance coatings
9. Electric fields.
10 Oblique incidence introduction
11. Vector diagram
12. Inhomogeneous layers - rugates
13. Metal layers and admittance diagram
14. Oblique incidence of metals and further study of dielectrics
15. Symmetrical periods
16. Edge filters
17. Narrowband filters
18. Potential transmittance
19. Beyond the critical angle
20. Surface plasmon resonances
21. Short pulse effects
22. Double-sided systems, Absorbing substrate
23. Half-wave hole and other problems. New antireflection coatings for plastics.
24. Smith chart, circle diagrams etc
25. Color
26. Monitoring of thin film thickness
27. Microstructure and processes
28. Microstructure and processes continued
29. Revision

Grade Policy
The assessment will be based on homework and a final exam which will be a written open-book exam. The total homework mark will be combined with the exam mark with equal weight and the result will be expressed in %.

The grades will be as follows:

Total score ³ 85% A
85% > Score³ 75% B
75% > Score³ 60% C
60% > Score D