OptiLayer allows designing optical coatings in all spectral ranges including UV, EUV and x-ray ranges.

One of the special options of OptiLayer is Inhomogeneous/Interlayers Refinement. In the UV and x-ray spectral ranges inhomogeneity and surface roughness effects coating spectral characteristics significantly. Special option allows you to perform a refinement of coating design with taking into account bulk inhomogeneity of coating layers and interface surface roughness.

All types of targets (conventional targets, color targets, integral targets) can be used by this option. All opportunities provided by the Cone Angle and Line Width databases are also supported by the new refinement option.

Example: Design of chirp mirror working in the spectral range from 13 nm to 17 nm.

  • Target reflectance is 7%;
  • Target GDD is 3000 fs2;
  • Substrate is Si, thin film materials are Si and Mo;
  • Technological limitations: lower and upper limits of layer thicknesses are 1.5 nm and 6 nm.
coatings for EUV multilayer for x ray
Interlayers of 1 nm thickness are specified. It is seen that they affect reflectance and GDD and worsen the spectral performance. In order to improve the performance, constrained optimization with interlayers was applied. After this optimization, both R and GDD performances improved:
coatings for UV multilayer design for UV
Learn more:

  1. A. Tikhonravov, M. Trubetskov,  “Design of optical coatings taking into account thin film inhomogeneity,” in Optical Interference Coatings, OSA Technical Digest (Optical Society of America, 2013), paper TD.6.
  2. H. Jiao, X. Cheng, G. Bao, J. Han, J. Zheng, Zh. Wang, M. K. Trubetskov, A. V.Tikhonravov, “Study of the HfO2/SiO2 dichroic laser mirrors having refractive index inhomogeneity,” in Optical Interference Coatings, OSA Technical Digest (Optical Society of America, 2013), paper FB.5.
  3. H. Jiao,  X. Cheng, G. Bao, J. Han, J. Zhang, Zh. Wang, M. Trubetskov, A. Tikhonravov, Study of HfO2/SiO2 dichroic laser mirrors with refractive index inhomogeneity,  Appl. Opt., Vol. 53, pp. A56-A61 (2014)
  4. J. Zhang, A.V. Tikhonravov, M.K. Trubetskov, Y. Liu, X. Cheng, Zh. Wang,  “Design and fabrication of ultra-steep notch filters”, Optics Express, Vol. 21 Issue 18, pp.21523-21529 (2013)