Abstract

Scatter from coated optical components results from the substrate surface as well as from the coating itself. In many cases the coating is the dominant source of scatter. This paper investigates the effects of substrate preparation on the scatter observed from the coated surface. The results demonstrate that the substrate preparation technique affects the level of the observed scatter and that the substrates with lowest scatter do not necessarily result in the coatings with the lowest scatter.

© 1992 Optical Society of America