Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics (한국광학회지)

Optical Society of Korea (한국광학회)
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Investigation of the Light Reflection from Dielectric Thin Films Coated on Substrates

기판 위에 입혀진 유전체 박막의 빛 반사에 관한 연구

  • Kim, Deok Woo (Department of Physics, Pusan National University) ;
  • Kim, Jiung (Department of Physics, Pusan National University) ;
  • Kim, Byoung Joo (Department of Physics, Pusan National University) ;
  • Cha, Myoungsik (Department of Physics, Pusan National University)
  • Received : 2020.09.25
  • Accepted : 2020.10.19
  • Published : 2020.12.25
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Abstract

We investigated the light reflection from thin films coated on substrates. Using a prism with a high refractive index as the incident medium, the phenomena of the total internal reflection (TIR) of the prism/film/substrate system and the light coupling into the optical waveguide formed by the air/film/substrate system were comprehensively studied and compared. If the refractive index of the thin film is greater than that of the substrate, within the TIR region of the substrate, sharp reflection minima occur at specific angles where the waveguide modes are excited, that can be used to accurately measure the refractive index and thickness of a thin film. On the other hand, if the refractive index of the thin film is smaller than that of the substrate, such waveguide modes do not exist. In this case, although not so distinct as a bulk medium, the TIR effect of the thin film is still observable, accompanied by an interference pattern. In this study we analyzed the overall reflection phenomena occurring from prism/film/substrate structures, to investigate the possibility of measuring the refractive index of a thin film in both cases.

기판 위에 코팅된 박막의 빛 반사 특성에 대해 연구하였다. 입사 매질로 굴절률이 큰 프리즘을 사용하여 박막/기판 계의 내부 전반사 현상과 공기/박막/기판 계가 이루는 도파로로 빛이 결합되어 들어가는 현상을 종합적으로 비교, 연구하였다. 박막의 굴절률이 기판의 굴절률보다 큰 경우에는 빛의 입사각을 증가시켜 나가면 먼저 기판에 의한 전반사가 일어나고, 그 이후 도파로 모드를 맞추는 좁은 각 영역에서 반사율이 떨어지는 현상을 볼 수 있으며, 이것을 이용하여 박막의 굴절률과 두께를 정확히 측정할 수 있다. 반면에 박막의 굴절률이 기판의 굴절률보다 작은 경우에는 도파로 모드가 존재하지 않는다. 이 경우 덩어리 매질에서처럼 뚜렷하지는 않지만 박막에 의한 전반사가 간섭무늬를 동반하여 나타난다. 본 연구에서는 프리즘/박막/기판 구조에서 일어나는 반사 현상을 전반적으로 관측하고 분석하여, 두 경우 모두 박막의 굴절률을 측정할 수 있는 가능성을 조사하였다.

Keywords

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