Gradually layered alternated-substrate synthesis.

Abstract

Gradually layered alternated-substrate synthesis (GLASS) is an automatic design method for optical coatings, which permits a gradual increase in the layer count of a stack while its optical properties are improved. This method does not require any starting design but only the design target and the list of allowed coating materials. In contrast to the needle technique, in which the coating is optimized between its two real external media, with new layers added inside the coating, the GLASS method adds new layers at the end of the design and uses coating materials as one external medium. This external medium provides new layers and is changed for another coating material each time a new layer is added. At the end, the coating must be matched to the real external medium that was not used during the design procedure.