Patent · US Expired

Optical coating for reflecting visible and longer wavelength radiation having grazing incidence angle

US5333090A · kind A · utility

8Cited by
13References
24Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 13, 1992
Grant dateJul 26, 1994
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 13, 2012

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10T428/24537
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A coated reflector reflective of radiation having two different wavelengths over a wide range of incidence angles, including grazing incidence angles. The coated reflector can be employed in a waveguide for laser radiation useful for medical or other applications, such as a combined HeNe and CO.sub.2 laser beam. Preferably, the coated reflector includes a metal substrate and a multi-layer stack thereon, the multi-layer stack consists of alternating dielectric layers of high and low refractive index material, each pair of adjacent high and low index layers of the stack has a combined matched optical thickness substantially equal to an incident short (e.g., visible) wavelength multiplied by a factor M/2, and the total matched optical thickness of the stack is substantially equal to (2N-1).lambda..sub.L /8, where M and N are positive integers and .lambda..sub.L is an incident long wavelength (such as the wavelength of a CO.sub.2 laser beam). Preferably, the substrate is silver, the high index dielectric is zinc sulfide, and the low index dielectric is yttrium fluoride or cerium fluoride. In other embodiments, the invention is a coated substrate having substantially parallel indentatio…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.