Surface Science 0 North-Holland

96 (1980) 41-53 Publishing Company

OPTICS OF ANISOTROPIC ALGEBRA Pochi YEH

Rockwell International Received 20 August

LAYERED MEDIA: A NEW 4 X 4 MATRIX

Science Center, Thousand Oaks, California 91360,

USA

1979

A new 4 X4 matrix algebra, which combines and generalizes Abel&s 2 X 2 matrix method and Jones 2 X 2 matrix method, is introduced to investigate plane-wave propagation in an arbitrarily anisotropic medium. In this new method, each layer of finite thickness is represented by a propagation matrix which is diagonal and consists of the phase excursions of the four partial plane waves. Each side of an interface is represented by a dynamical matrix that depends on the direction of the eigenpolarizations in the anisotropic medium.

1. Introduction Anisotropic thin films have become increasingly important in a number of modern optical systems such as guided-wave propagation in integrated optics, narrow-band birefringent filters and, many semiconductor devices. Many of these active and passive optical devices require the epitaxial growth of anisotropic thin films. The design characteristics of these devices are strongly dependent on the understanding of electromagnetic propagation in anisotropic layered media. In addition, ellipsometry of anisotropic multilayer systems also requires a precise understanding of electromagnetic propagation in these media. Ellipsometry of anisotropic multilayer systems may be an ultimate optical technique for the characterization of the anisotropic thin film properties, which include the orientation of the optical axes, the refractive indices, and the film thicknesses. A general theory of electromagnetic propagation in isotropic layered media and the 2 X 2 matrix method are described in the pioneering analysis of Abel&s [l]. A similar theory on the electromagnetic propagation in periodic layered media was published by Yeh et al. [2]. Several interesting new phenomena are predicted and observed experimentally in these media; these include Bragg waveguiding [3,4], optical surface waves [5,6] and injection lasers [7,8]. A general theory on the propagation of electromagnetic radiation in birefringent layered media, especially the Sole layered media [9], was recently published by Yeh [lo]; new phenomena such as the exchange Bragg scattering and the oscillatory evanescent waves are found in these media [lO,ll]. A 4 X4 differential matrix method has been devel41

42

P. Yeh / Optics

of anisotropic layered media

oped by Berreman [12,13] to study the reflection and the transmission of an arbitrarily polarized light by stratified anisotropic planar structures. In the case of isotropic layered media, the electromagnetic radiation can be divided into two independent (uncoupled) modes: s-modes (with electric field vector E perpendicular to the plane of incidence) and p-modes (with electric field vector E parallel to the plane of incidence). Since they are uncoupled, the matrix method involves the manipulation of 2 X 2 matrices only. In the case of birefringent layered media, the electromagnetic radiation consists of four partial waves, Mode coupling takes place at the interface where an incident plane wave produces waves with different polarization states due to the anisotropy of the layers. As a result, 4 X4 matrices are needed in the tnatrix method. Before proceeding with the many applications envisaged for birefringent layered media, it is necessary to understand precisely and in detail the nature of electromagnetic wave propagation in these media. Although a number of special cases have been analyzed, a simple and general theory is not available. The case of plane wave incidence at a plane interface between two biaxial media has been solved by many workers [14-l 61; however, these results are not in a useful form for treating electromagnetic propagation in birefringent multilayer media. The case of plane wave propagation in a three-layer structure consisting of birefringment media has also been solved [17-201; however, in each case, other than in ref. /20], the structure involves at least one isotropic layer. Even the results obtained in ref. [ZO] are not systematic enough for treating the general tnultilayer birefringent media. Holmes and Feucht [Zl] treated the reflection and transmission properties of a stack of birefringent crystals theoretically. Their analysis is restricted to the case where one principal axis is normal to the plane of incidence and the incident waves have their electric fields polarized parallel to the same plane. Recently, Stamnes and Sherman [22] obtained exact solutions for the reflected and transmitted fields which result when an arbitrary electromagnetic wave is incident on a plane interface separating two uniaxial media, Their results, however, are not in a useful form for treating birefringent layered media. This paper describes a general theory of electromagnetic plane wave propagation in birefringent layered media. The theoretical approach is general, so that many situations considered previously will be shown to be special cases of the formalism. New concepts of dynamical matrix as well as propagation matrix are introduced: this makes it possible to write out the transfer matrix in terms of diagram representation.

2. Propagation

of plane waves in homogeneous

anisotropic

media

First a brief review of the propagation of plane waves in homogeneous anisotropic media is in order. The approach and formulation are different from the traditional one [23] because of the demands of their appli~tion in this problem. The

P. Yeh / Optics of anisotropic layered media

43

Cartesian coordinate system is chosen such that the z axis is normal to the interfaces. Since the medium is not isotropic, the propagation characteristics depend on the direction of propagation, The orientations of the crystal axes are described by the Eulers angles 8, #, J/ with respect to a fixed xyz coordinate system. The dielectric tensor in the xyz coord~ate system is given by

where el, ez e3 are the principal dielectric tion matrix, which is given by f24] :
J, cos d, - cos 0 sin @sin $

constants

and A is the coordinate

rota-

-sin$cosQ,-cosOsin@cosJI -sin* sin#+cosB cos~cosJ,

sin 0 sin ct, -sin B cos # . (2) cos e :

sin B cos I$

Since A is orthogonal, the dielectric tensor E in xyz coordinate must be symmetric, i.e., eff = eii. The electric field can be assumed to have exp[i(m t (3~ + ~2 - wt)] dependence in each crystal layer, which is assumed to be homogeneous. Since the whole birefringent layered medium is homogeneous in the xy plane, LY and @remain the same t~oughout the layered medium. Therefore, these two com~nents (QI,8) of the propagation vector are chosen as the dynamical variables to characterize the electromagnetic waves propagating in layered media. Given a: and /I, the z component y is determined directly from the wave equation in momentum space:
kX(kX~~~2~~~=0,

(3)

or equivalently

In order to have nontrivial plane-wave solutions, the determinant of the matrix in eq. (4) must vanish. This gives a quartic equation in y which yields four roots yo, u = 1, 2, 3, 4. These roots may be either real or complex. Since all the coefficients of this quartic equation are real, complex roots are always in conjugate pairs. These four roots can also be obtained graphically from fig. 1, if they are real. The plane of incidence [25] is defined as the plane formed by CY& + #I$ and i. The intersection of this plane with the normal surface yields two closed curves which are symmetric

44

P. Yeh /Optics

ofanisotropic

layered

media

Fig. 1. Graphic

method

to determine

the propagation

constants

from the normal

surface

with respect to the origin of the axes. Drawing a line from the tip of the vector c& + 0-9 parallel to the z^direction yields, in general, four points of intersection. These four wave vectors k, = ok + /3j + y$ all lie in the plane of incidence, which also remains the same throughout the layered medium because o( and fl are constant. However, the four group velocities associated with these partial waves are, in general, not lying in the plane of incidence. If all the four wave vectors k, are real, two of them have group velocities with positive z component and the other two have group velocities with negative z component. The z component of the group velocity vanishes when Y,, becomes complex. The polarization of these waves is given by

where u = 1, 2, 3, 4 and NOs are the normalization constants such that fi. p = 1. The electric field of the plane electromagnetic waves can thus be written
4

E=~A,ri,exp[i(ax+&+y,z-wt)].
0=1

(6) propagation vectors cannot exist in an infinite

Partial

waves with

complex

P. Yeh / Optics ofanisotropic

layered media

45

homogeneous birefringent medium. If the medium is semi-infinite, the exponentially damped partial waves are legitimate solutions near the interface, and the field envelope decays exponentially as a function of z, where z is the distance from the interface. These exponentially damped partial waves are called evanescent waves. The evanescent waves in birefringent media in general have complex ys, i.e., y = yK t iyt. In a uniaxially birefringent medium, the ordinary evanescent wave has a purely imaginary y. If the three principal dielectric constants are all real, then these partial waves with complex ys can be shown to have their Poynting vectors parallel to the interface. In other words, the energy is flowing parallel to the interface and the propagation is lossless as it should be. A mathematical proof is given in appendix A of ref. [lo] for the special case of extraordinary evanescent waves in a uniaxially birefringent medium.

3. Matrix method The 4 X4 matrix algebra, which analyzes the propagation of monochromatic plane waves in birefringent layered media, can now be introduced. The approach is general so that the results will be used later on for many special cases of propagation in anisotropic layered media. The materials are assumed to be nonmagnetic so that 1_1=constant throughout the whole layered medium. The dielectric permittivity tensor e in xyz coordinates is given by

40) 4%
e=..

z<z,,
z.
z1

41),

<z <z,, <z <z,,

(7) <i! <zN,

ZN-1
.?N

<z.

The electric field distribution within each homogeneous anisotropic layer can be expressed as a sum of those four partial waves. The complex amplitudes of these four partial waves constitute the components of a column vector. The electramagnetic field in the nth layer of the anisotropic layered medium can thus be represented by a column vector A Jn), u = 1,2, 3,4. As a result, the electric field distribution in the same nth layer can be written
4 E= oGl hAn)Mn) ew{i[m +Pv +r&)(z z,) -

atI 1.

(8)

46

i? Yeh / Optics ofanisotropie

layered media

The cofumn vectors are not independent of each other. They are related through the continuity conditions at the interfaces. As a matter of fact, only one vector (or any four components of four different vectors) can be arbitrarily chosen. The magnetic field distribution is obtained by using Maxwells equations and is given by
4 ff=g,

A.(n)(i,(12)expCi[axfpy+y,(n)(z-z,)-wtl},
Q,(n) 2

(9) (10) (1x1

B*(n) = (QWYW)

k,(n) = a.2 + pj + y*(n) 3 I

Note that the ijO(n are no longer unit vectors. Imposing the continuity of EX, E.V,H,, and H.,, at the interface z = z,,_t Ieads to 5 A&r - l)ri,(n u=r - 1) *g= 5 A.(n)~~i,(n).~exp[-iy,(n)t,], 0=1

(12)

$r A,@ - l)&(fi

- 1) *P= kr

~~(~z)~~(~)

-.PexpI-ly&)f,l,

(13)

@$ A&

- I)?&

- 1) *.%= 5 A,(n) 0=1

ci,(n)* .? exp[-kyo(n)r,]

(14)

Q$r A&

- l)c?,(n

- 1)-P = ~~n,(i,)g~~)-pexpi-iroDI)f,,i, , (12= 1,2, ... . N. can be rewritten as a matrix equation

(151

where f, = z, -- z,

These four equations

=fl-(n
where

- 1) D(n) P(n)

(17)

P. Yeh / Optics of anisotropic layered media

41

rev[-irl(fl)f,l
0 0 P(n)= i 0

0
0 0

0 0 0

0
exp[-ir&)bJ 0

exp[-ir,(n>t,l

exp[-ir,(~~M1. (18)

The matrices D(n) are called dynamical matrices because they depend only on the direction of polarization of those four partial waves. The dynamical matrices are defined in a way such that they are block-diagonalized when the mode coupling disappears. This requires that Ar and A2 are the amplitudes of the plane waves of the same mode (polarization) such that the plane wave with amplitude Ar propagates to the right, whereas the plane wave with amplitude Aa propagates to the left. Likewise A3 and A4 are the amplitudes of the plane waves of the same mode, propagating, respectively to the right or left. The matrices, P(n), are called propagation matrices, and depend only on the phase excursion of these four partial waves. The transfer matrix is defined as

Tn- 1 ,n =ryn

- l)D(n)P(n).

09)

Eq. (16) can thus be written

= Tn-r,n

The matrix equation

which relates A(0)and A(s) is therefore given by

wheres=N+ 1 and tN+l 20. Eqs. (16) and (21) show how systematic the matrix method is for treating electromagnetic propagation in anisotropic layered media. If eq. (21) is represented graphically in fig. 2, two dynamical matrices can be seen to be associated with each layer. The overall transfer matrix is the product of all these matrices from left to right. This completes the theoretical formulation of the 4 X 4 matrix method. The matrix method just described is an exact approach to the propagation of

48

P. Yelr / Optics of anisotropic

laJ,ered media

D-(0

(1) P(1) D-l{1

) Il(N)

P(N)

D-l(N

(S)

Fig. 2. Diagram

representation

of tl he matrix

method.

electromagnetic radiation in anisotropic layered media. Both birefringent phase retardation and thin film interference are considered. This differs from the traditional 2 X 2 Jones calculus [26] which neglects the reflection from each interface. Therefore, in calculating the transmission and reflection properties of some birefringent filters, the results obtained from these methods are expected to be different. In fact, they are only very different in the fine structures of the spectral responses [27,28] when the birefringence of the material is small. In addition, there are several interesting optical phenomena in periodic birefringent layered media which have been analyzed by using this 4 X4 matrix algebra. These include the indirect optical bandgap, exchange Bragg reflection and exchange Sole-Bragg transmission. Details can be found in ref. [IO].

4. Reflection

and transmission

The matrix method just discussed is very useful in the calculation of the reflectance and transmittance of an anisotropic layered medium. Because of the anisotropy of the medium, mode coupling appears at the interfaces. Therefore, there are four complex amplitudes associated with the reflection and another four associated with the transmission. These eight complex amplitudes can be expressed in terms of the matrix elements of the overall transfer matrix. To illustrate this, one considers, without loss of generality, the case of an anisotropic layered medium sandwiched between two isotropic ambient and substrate media. Assume that the light is incident from the left side of the structure, and let A,,A,, B,, B, and C,, C, be the incident, reflected, and transmitted electric field amplitudes, respectively. By employing the matrix method described in section 3, a transfer matrix can be found for any given anisotropic layered structure such that

As
4 = M,,
M 4 _

A,
B p,

MS, M33 M34

A442 M43 M44 !

(22)
CP
IJ0

P. Yeh /Optics of anisotropic layered media

49

The reflection and transmission the matrix elements as follows: rss

coefficients

are defined and expressed in terms of

(23)

M,,M33 -M&f,,
YSP

A~=O =%M,, Ml,43

=%M,,

-M,,M,, -M,,M,,
-M,df31

(24)

(25)

(26)

t ss =

MS3

(27)

A~=O =M,,M,,

-M,,M,,

t sp

-4
/ip=o =%M,, -Ml,
=%M,,

1 - M,,M,,

(28)
(29)

-M&f,,

t,, = $

(1

Ml1
=M,,M,,-M,,M,,

(30)

p A,=0

These reflection and transmission formulas are extremely useful in the calculation of the spectral response of an anisotropic layered structure. The matrix elements are obtained by carrying out the matrix multiplication in eq. (21). The general explicit forms are normally not available. For fast results, a computer program is in general required. Even for the special case of periodic layered medium, closed forms for the reflectance and transmittance are too complicated to derive. These eight complex amplitudes are spectrally correlated (see ref. [lo]).

5. Ellipsometry

of anisotropic

layered structures

Ellipsometry has long been recognized as one of the most accurate techniques for determining the optical properties of materials. The basic mathematical problem involved for the case of isotropic films has been discussed by VaCicek [29] and many other workers [30.31]. In recent years, many mathematical techniques have been developed for the ellipsometric study of anisotropic layered media; many of these are special cases of the uniaxial system, with the optic axis either perpendi-

50

P. Yeh / Optics of anisotropic layered media

cular or parallel to the surface [32-381. The differential 4 X4 matrix method described by Berreman 1121 provides a much more general approach to the problem of stratified anistropic media, including continuous variation of the refractive indices in the media. De Smet [39] has recently presented a paper at the Third Conference on Ellipsometry in which he discussed a 4 X4 matrix formalism. This 4 X 4 matrix formalism also used the amplitudes of the electric fields and magnetic fields as the elements of a column vector which is function of position. In the matrix method discussed in secion 3, a constant column vector is associated with each layer, The new 4 X4 matrix algebra just discussed is very useful in calculating the reflectance and transmittance amplitudes which are externally measurable via the ellipsometric techniques. For example, the ellipse of polari~tion for the reflected light can be expressed in terms of the matrix elements as (31) where xi represents the ellipse of polarization for the incident light. In the ellipsometric determination of the refractive indices, crysta1 axes orientations and thicknesses of the films several independent measurements obviously must be made. Since there are so many variables involved, a computer program is generally required to determine these unknowns efficiently.

6. Guided waves Birefringent multilayer waveguides, especially titanium diffused lithium niobate waveguides [40,41], are becoming increasingly important in integrated optics. The waveguiding principle is similar to that of the isotropic case. Waves are to be evanescent in the regions outside the guiding layer. The propagation characteristics, however, depend on the direction of propagation. The analytic treatment for the general multilayer birefringent waveguide suffers from the serious difficulty of solving an eigenvalue problem involving a large number of simultaneous linear equations. A systematic approach is to use the matrix method described in section 3 which involves the ~nipulation of 4 X 4 matrices. As a result of successive matrix multip~~tions, a linear relation between the fields on both sides of a finite birefringent layered medium is obtained. The reflectance and transmittance coefficients have been shown to be expressible in terms of the elements of the overall transfer matrix. It will be shown in the following that the poles of the reflectance coefficients play an important role in the guided-mode theory of birefringent layered media. A basic problem in particle physics is that the poles in the scattering amplitude, which are assumed to dominate the scene, correspond to exchange of particles carrying definite angular momentum [42]. In other words, a resonance scattering

P. Yeh /Optics of anisotropic layered media

51

corresponds to an eigenstate of the composite system. It was suggested by Regge [43] in 1959 that the angular momentum be treated as a complex continuous variable. In particle scattering, the angular momentum corresponds to the impact parameter, while in the optics of birefringent layered media the direction of incidence (or equivalently, o. and /3) is the corresponding variable. The a! and /I variables can now be extended into complex variables, and the poles of the reflectance amplitudes, which correspond to the scattering amplitudes, can be sought. In general, the poles occur at complex values of 01and f3, and each of these poles corresponds either to a guided mode or to a leaky mode. From eqs. (23) through (30) it was concluded that the poles of the reflectance amplitudes occur at

MllM,, -~13~31

=o.

(32)

It is important to notice that at the poles of the reflectance amplitudes, the reflectivities are infinite. In order to fulfill the finiteness of the electromagnetic field, the solution of the Maxwell equations consists of outgoing waves only. Eq. (32) is actually the mode dispersion relation (33) for a given birefringent layered structure. Eq. (33) can also be written (34)

w = w3,@p>
7 p, =

(a't /3),
(fl/o) (36)

0 n = tan-

The subscript en in eq. (34) indicates that the dispersion relation between o and &, depends on the direction of propagation defined by 0, in the xy plane. In order to be a confined mode, the field amplitude must decay to zero at infinity (z = +m). Therefore, the propagation constant, /In, must be big enough so that the z components of the propagation vectors (i.e., 7,) are complex. Outgoing waves with complex propagation constant are evanescent waves. Therefore, the optical energy is guided by the structure and propagates parallel to the layers. Because of mode coupling, pure TE or TM waves, in general, do not exist. Except for some cases with special crystal orientations, most of the guided modes are a mixture of ordinary waves and extraordinary waves. Another distinct feature of the guided waves in birefringent layered structure is the evanescent waves in a birefringent substrate. In the case of isotropic media, the evanescent waves have a pure imaginary propagation constant. This however, is no longer true in birefringent layered media. A guided wave in birefringent layered waveguide has, in general, two complex ys in the birefringent substrates. This makes the evanescent wave decay exponentially with an oscillatory intensity distribution.

52

P. Yeh /Optics

ofanisotropic

layered

media

7. Conclusion A new 4 X 4 matrix algebra has been developed for investigation of the propagation of electromagnetic radiation in anisotropic layered media. The concepts of dynamical matrix and propagation matrix have been introduced to clarify this method and to make it systematic. Diagram representation is also made possible via the use of these two matrices. Applications of this new matrix method in the ellipsometry of anisotropic layered media, as well as the guided wave in these media, have been illustrated.

References
_[l] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [lo] [ll] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [ 17 j [18] [lP] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] F. Abel& Ann. Physique (Paris) 5 (1950) 596, 706. P. Yeh,A. Yarivand C.S. Hong, J. Opt. Sot. Am. 67 (1977) 423, 438. P. Yeh and A. Yariv, Opt. Commun. 19 (1976) 427. A.Y. Cho, A. Yariv and P. Yeh, Appl. Phys. Letters 30 (1977) 471. P. Yeh, A. Yarivand A.Y. Cho, Appl. Phys. Letters 32 (1978) 104. W. Ng, P. Yeh, P.C. Chen and A. Yariv, Appl. Phys. Letters 32 (1978) 370. J.B. Shellan, W. Ng, P. Yeh, A. Yariv and A.Y. Cho, Opt. Letters 2 (1978) 136. R.D. Dupuis and P.D. Dapkus, Appl. Phys. Letters 33 (1978) 68. I. Sole, Cesk. Casopis Fys. 3 (1953) 366; 10 (1960) 16; J. Opt. Soc.Am. 55 (1965) 621. P. Yeh, J. Opt. Sot. Am. 69 (1979) 742. P. Yeh, J. Opt. Sot. Am. 68 (1978) 1423. D.W. Berreman, J. Opt. Sot. Am. 62 (1972) 502. See, for example, R.M.A. Azzam and N.M. Bashara, Ellipsometry and Polarized Light (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1977) section 4.7, p. 340. A. Wunsche, Ann. Physik(Leipzig) 25 (1970) 201. J. Schesser and G. Eichmannb, J. Opt. Sot. Am. 62 (1972) 786. C.B. Curry, ElectromagneticTheory of Light (McMiBan, London, 1950) pp. 356-369. Ii. Schopper, 2. Physik 132 (1952) 146. A.B. Winterbottom, Kgl. Norske Videnskab. Selskab, Skrifter 1 (1955) 17. A.M. Goncharenko and F.J. Federov, Opt. Spektrosk. 14 (1962) 94; Opt. Spectrosc. 14 (1963) 48. J. Schesser and G. Eichmann, J. Opt. Sot. Am. 62 (1972) 786. D.A. Holmes and D.L. Feucht, J. Opt. Sot. Am. 56 (1966) 1763. J.J. Stamesand G.C. Sherman, J. Opt. Sot. Am. 67 (1977) 683. M. Born and E. Wolf, Principles of Optics (Pergamon, Oxford, 1964). See, for example, H. Goldstein, Classical Mechanics (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, J.M. Stone, Radiation and Optics 488. (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1963) sec-

1965). [25] See, for example, [26] [27] [28] [29] [3O]

tion 17-5. R.C. Jones, J. Opt. Sot. Ref. [lO],p. 752. P. Yeh, Opt. Commun. A. Vasicek, J. Opt. Sot. See, for example, O.S. 1965).

Am. 31 (1941)

29 (1979) 1. Am. 37 (1947) 145. Heavens, Optical Properties

of Thin Solid Films (Dover,

New York,

P. Yeh /Optics ~~arlisoiro~ic layered media

53

[ 311 See, for example, ref. [ 131, ch. 3. [32] R&W. Graves, J. Opt. Sot. Am. 59 (1969) 1225. [33] D.J. D&yam and M. Moskovits, Appl. Opt. 9 (1970) 1868. [34] D. den Engelsen, J. Opt. Sot. Am. 61 (1971) 1460. [35] D.J. De Smet, .I. Opt. Sot. Am. 63 (1973) 958. [36] D.J. De Smet, J. Opt. Sot. Am. 64 (1974) 631. 1371 R.M.A. Azzam and N.M. Basbara, J. Opt. Sot. Am. 64 (1974) 128. [38] M. E~hazIy-ZaghIou~ R.M.A. Azzam and N.M. Bashara, Surface Sci. 56 (1976) 293. [39] D.J. De Smet, Surface Sci. 56 (1976) 293. [40] I.P. Kaminow and J.R. Carruthers, AppL Phys. Letters 22 (1973) 326. [41] R.V. Schmidt and I.P. Kaminow, Appi. Phys. Letters 25 (1974) 458. [42] S.C. Frautschi, Regge Poies and S-Matrix Theory (Benjamin, New York, 1963). [43] T. Regge, Nuovo Cimento 14 (1959) 9.51.

Discussion J.B. Theeten (Laboratories DElectronique et de Physique Appliquee): In your calculation on exchange Bragg scattering in those layered structures, what do you expect the effect of a nonabrupt transition between two successive layers to be on the quality of the guided wave? P. Yeh: In the event when there is a non-abrupt transition between two successive layers, the phe~amena of guided waves and exchange Bragg reflection still exist. Wowever, the matrix method developed here becomes only an approximation to the exact solution provided the transition region near the interface is much smaller than the wavelength. Exchange Bragg reflection and guided waves normally happen under different conditions, i.e., different LY and 0.