Optical Depolarization of Thin Metal Films.

Abstract

All optical surfaces exhibit some degree of roughness. As a consequence of this, some of the scattered light is depolarized. Depolarization of scattered light has been previously investigated in connection with radar theory. This study examined depolarization of scattered light from thin metal films using an angle-resolved optical scatterometer. The effect of varying surface morphology on the intensity of the depolarized light was investigated. The results establish that in the smooth surface limit, depolarization has little dependence on surface roughness. The intensity of depolarized light increased for surfaces which have relatively more high frequency microroughness. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1986
Accession Number
ADA170854

Entities

People

  • John D. Hoeft

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Argon Lasers
  • Computer Programs
  • Depolarization
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Films
  • Frequency
  • Laser Beams
  • Lasers
  • Materials
  • Metal Films
  • Roughness
  • Scattering
  • Scatterometers
  • Surface Plasmons
  • Surface Roughness
  • Thin Films

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.