Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2006
Abstract
Simple and explicit expressions for the phase shifts that p- and s-polarized light experience in frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) and optical tunneling by an embedded low-index thin film are obtained. The differential phase shifts in reflection and transmission Δr,Δt are found to be identical, and the associated ellipsometric parameters ψr,ψt are governed by a simple relation, independent of film thickness. When the Fresnel interface reflection phase shifts for the pand s polarizations or their average are quarter-wave, the corresponding overall reflection phase shifts introduced by the embedded layer are also quarter-wave for all values of film thickness. In the limit of zero film thickness (i.e., for an ultrathin embedded layer), the reflection phase shifts are also quarter-wave independent of polarization (p or s) or angle of incidence (except at grazing incidence). Finally, variable-angle FTIR ellipsometry is shown to be a sensitive technique for measuring the thickness of thin uniform air gaps between transparent bulk media.
Journal Name
Journal of the Optical Society of America A
Recommended Citation
R. M. A. Azzam, "Phase shifts in frustrated total internal reflection and optical tunneling by an embedded low-index thin film," J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 23, 960-965 (2006)
Comments
This paper was published in Journal of the Optical Society of America A and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://www.opticsinfobase.org/josaa/abstract.cfm?URI=josaa-23-4-960. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.