EM Reflection & Transmission in Layered Media

Reading - Shen and Kong – Ch. 4

Outline

•  Review of Reflection and Transmission

•  Reflection and Transmission in Layered Media
•  Anti-Reflection Coatings
•  Optical Resonators
•  Use of Gain

1
 TRUE or FALSE

1. The refractive index of glass is approximately n = 1.5 for

visible frequencies. If we shine a 1 mW laser on glass, more
than 0.5 mW of the light will be transmitted.

Laser

?

?

2
 Reflection & Transmission of EM Waves at Boundaries


E Normal Incidence
incident wave

H

transmitted wave

Medium 1 Medium 2

Additional Java simulation at

Animation © Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering University. All rights reserved. This http://phet.colorado.edu/new/simulations/
content is excluded from our Creative Commons license. For more information,
see http://ocw.mit.edu/fairuse.

3
 Incident EM Waves at Boundaries

E
 incident wave
H Normal Incidence

Medium 1 Medium 2

Incident Wave Known

 i = x̂E i e−jk1 z
E o
 1  1 i −jk1 z
Hi = ẑ × Ei = yˆ Eo e
η1 η1

4
 Reflected EM Waves at Boundaries


H Normal Incidence

E

reflected wave

Medium 1 Medium 2

Reflected Wave Unknown DEFINE REFLECTION

COEFFICIENT AS

 r = x̂E r e+jk1 z
E o
r
1
 r = (−z) E
 r = −yˆ o e+jk1 z
H ˆ ×E
η1 η1

5
 Transmitted EM Waves at Boundaries

E

H Normal Incidence

transmitted wave

Medium 1 Medium 2

Transmitted Wave Unknown DEFINE TRANSMISSION

COEFFICIENT AS

 r = x̂E t e−jk2 z
E o
t
1
 t = ẑ × E E
 t = yˆ o e−jk2 z
H
η2 η2

6
 Reflection & Transmission of EM Waves at Boundaries

1 = E
E i + E
r 2 = E
E t

Medium 1 Medium 2

1 = H
H i + H
r
2 = H
H r

7
 Reflectivity & Transmissivity of Waves

•  Define the reflection coefficient as

•  Define the transmission coefficient as

8
 Thin Film Interference

Constructive
Incident interference
light

air
oil

water

Image by Yoko Nekonomania http://www.

flickr.com/photos/nekonomania/4827035737/
on flickr

9
 Reflection & Transmission in Layered Media

Medium 1 ( k1 , η1 ) Medium 2 ( k2 , η2 ) Medium 3 ( k3 , η3 )

Incident → Forward →
Reflected ← Backward ← Transmitted →

z=0 z=L

Incident: Ei e−jk1 z Omit ejωt

Reflected: Er e+jk1 z H± = ±E± /η
Forward: Ef e−jk2 z √
Eb e+jk2 (z −L) k ≡ ω μ
Backward: 
μ
Transmitted: Et e−jk3 (z−L) η≡


10
 Reflection & Transmission in Layered Media

Apply boundary conditions …

•  E at z = 0 → Ei + Er = Ef + Eb
•  H at z = 0 → Ei /η1 − Er /η1 = Ef /η2 − Eb /η2
•  E at z = L → Ef e−jk2 L + Eb e+jk2 L = Et e−jk3 L
•  H at z = L →Ef e−jk2 L /η2 − Eb e+jk2 L /η2 = Et e−jk3 L /η3
•  … and solve for Er , Ef , Eb and Et as functions of Ei .
Could
easily be extended to more layers.

11
 Reflection by Infinite Series

Medium 1 ( k1 , η1 ) Medium 2 ( k2 , η2 ) Medium 3

2
t21 r21 r23 t12 Γ4 Ei Γ ≡ e−jk2 L
∗r21 r23 Γ2
2
t21 r23 t12 Γ2 Ei

r23 t12 Γ2 Ei
r12 Ei t12 ΓEi
Ei t12 Ei

z=0 z=L
Er = Ei (r21 + t21 r23 t12 Γ2 (1 + r21 r23 Γ2 + r21
2 2 4
r23 Γ ...))
= Ei (r21 + t21 r23 t12 Γ2 /(1 − r21 r23 Γ2 ))

12
 Transmission by Infinite Series

Medium 1 Medium 2 ( k2 , η2 ) Medium 3 ( k3 , η3 )

Γ ≡ e−jk2 L
r21 r23 t23 t12 Γ3 Ei

∗r21 r23 Γ2
t23 t12 ΓEi
t23 ΓEi
t12 Ei
Ei

z=0 z=L
Et = Ei (t23 t12 Γ(1 + r21 r23 Γ2 + r21
2 2 4
r23 Γ ...))
= Ei t23 t21 Γ/(1 − r21 r23 Γ2 ))

13
 Is Zero Reflection Possible?

One could solve for conditions under which …

•  Er = 0 … no reflected wave

•  |Et |2 /η3 = |Ei |2 /η1 … transmitted wave carries incident

power

and then determine conditions on L and η2 for which there is no

reflection, for example. This would yield the design of an anti-
reflection coating.

Or, one could use generalized impedances …

14
 Today
s Culture Moment
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a
constellation of 24 Earth-orbiting
satellites.
The orbits are arranged so that
at any time, anywhere on Earth, there
are at least four satellites "visible" in the Image by ines saraiva http://www.flickr.com/
sky. GPS operations depend on a very photos/inessaraiva/4006000559/ on flickr

accurate time reference; each GPS

satellite has atomic clocks on board.

Galileo – a global system being developed by the European Union

and other partner countries, planned to be operational by 2014
Beidou – People's Republic of China's regional system, covering Asia
and the West Pacific
COMPASS – People's Republic of China's global system, planned to be
operational by 2020
GLONASS – Russia's global navigation system
15
Reflection and Transmission by an Infinite Series

Medium 1 ( k1 , η1 ) Medium 2 ( k2 , η2 ) Medium 3

Ei

Er = Ei (r12 + t21 r23 t12 Γ2 /(1 − r21 r23 Γ2 )) Γ ≡ e−jk2 L

Et = Ei (t23 t12 Γ/(1 − r21 r23 Γ2 ))

How do we get zero reflection?

16
 Generalized Impedance
Define a spatially-dependent impedance

η(z) = −
( ) E z
H (z)

In region 1 (z < 0) we have

1 2
z=0 μ1 e− jkz + re jkz
()
η1 z =
ε1 e− jkz − re jkz

In region 2 (z > 0) we have

μ2
()
η2 z =
ε2

17
 Generalized Impedance
The incident wave in region 1
d
now sees an impedance of
regions 2 and 3:
μ2 e jk2 d + r23e− jk2 d
1 2 3 ( )
η −d =
ε 2 e jk2 d − r23e− jk2 d
z=0

Reflection of incident wave can be

eliminated if we match impedance
μ1
( )
η −d =
ε1

18
 Matching Impedances
We need
μ1 μ2 e jk2 d + r23e− jk2 d μ2 1 + r23e−2 jk2 d
= − jk2 d
=
ε1 jk2 d
ε 2 e − r23e ε 2 1 − r23e−2 jk2 d

For lossless material, ε and μ are real, so only choices are

2 jk2 d
e = ±1

Choose -1 and obtain … requires d = λ/4n2

μ1 μ2 1 − r23
=
ε1 ε 2 1 + r23

19
 Matching Impedances

Consider impedance at z = 0
μ2 1 + r23 μ3 1 + r23 μ3 ε 2
= ⇒ =
ε 2 1 − r23 ε3 1 − r23 ε 3 μ2

So, we can eliminate the reflection as long as

μ1 μ2 ⎛ μ ε3 ⎞ μ2 μ1 μ3
2
= ⎜ ⎟ ⇒ =
ε1 ε2 ⎜⎝ ε 2 μ3 ⎟⎠ ε2 ε1 ε 3
η2 ⋅ η2 = η1 ⋅ η3

(n2 )2 = n1 n3

20
 Anti-reflection Coating

Uncoated glass
Reflectance(%)

Coated glass

wavelength

Image is in the public domain

21
Everyday Anti-Reflection Coatings

Incident
Destructive

light path
interference

no
n1
n2

Ghost image
 Transmission Again

Ei

Transmitted Wave from a few slides ago

− jk2 L
Ei t 21t12 e
Et =
1 − r21r21e− j 2 k2 L

23
 Fabry-Perot Resonance

2
|t| 1

0.8
Transmission

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
1.5 1.52 1.54 1.56 1.58

Wavelength [μm]

Fabry-Perot Resonance: maximum transmission

minimum reflection

24
 Resonators with Internal Gain

What if it was possible to make a material with
negative absorption

so the field grew in magnitude as it passed through a material?

1.0 
E(z)  i egz gz
=E

Field strength [a.u.]
e
0.5

-0.5

-1.0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Propagation distance [cm]

Resonance:

25
 Laser Using Fabre-Perot Cavity

Resonant modes

Gain profile

Image is in the public domain

26
 Key Takeaways
Reflection and Transmission by an Infinite Series

Er = Ei (r21 + t21 r23 t12 Γ2 (1 + r21 r23 Γ2 + r21

2 2 4
r23 Γ ...))
= Ei (r21 + t21 r23 t12 Γ2 /(1 − r21 r23 Γ2 ))

Et = Ei (t23 t12 Γ(1 + r21 r23 Γ2 + r21

2 2 4
r23 Γ ...))
= Ei t23 t21 Γ/(1 − r21 r23 Γ2 ))
1

2
|t|
Anti-reflective coatings by 0.8

impedance matching: Transmission 0.6

0.4
d = λ/4n2 0.2

(n2 )2 = n1 n3 0
1.5 1.52 1.54 1.56 1.58

Wavelength [μm]

Fabry-Perot Resonance
27
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6.007 Electromagnetic Energy: From Motors to Lasers

Spring 2011

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