Theoretical analysis of influence of substrate microdefects on polarized light properties of dielectric coatings

A model for refractive index of stratified dielectric substrate was presented according to inhomogeneous coatings theories. The substrate was divided into surface layer, subsurface layer and bulk layer along the normal direction of its surface. The former two layers were equivalent to inhomogeneous coatings. Theoretical deduction was executed by employing the characteristic matrix method of optical coatings, and one mathematical calculation example was presented. The results indicate that reflectance, reflective phase shift and phase difference of polarized light deviate from ideal conditions. It shows that substrate microdefects can induce volume scattering and change propagation characteristic of light both in coatings and substrate. (c) 2005 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Influence of SiO2 additional layers on the laser induced damage threshold of Ta2O5 films

A series or Ta2O5 films with different SiO2 additional layers including overcoat, undercoat and interlayer was prepared by electron beam evaporation under the same deposition process. Absorption of samples was measured using the surface thermal lensing (STL) technique. The electric field distributions of the samples were theoretical predicted using thin film design software (TFCalc). The laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) was assessed using an Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm with a pulse length of 12 ns. It was found that SiO2 additional layers resulted in a slight increase of the absorption, whereas they exerted little influence on the microdefects. The electric field distribution among the samples was unchanged by adding an SiO2 overcoat and undercoat, yet was changed by adding an interlayer. SiO2 undercoat. The interlayer improved the LIDT greatly, whereas the SiO2 overcoat had little effect on the LIDT. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Double layers in gravity theories

Gravitational double layers, unlike their classical electromagnetic counterparts, are thought to be forbidden in gravity theories. It has been recently shown, however, that they are feasible in, for instance, gravity theories with a Lagrangian quadratic in the curvature. This is surprising with many potential consequences and the possibility of new physical behaviours. While a clear interpretation seems elusive, several lines of research are open. I present the field equations for double layers, the new physical quantities arising, and several explicit examples