Abstract

Beryllium optical components have been shown to have scattering characteristics considerably different from other metals such as aluminum or silver. The wavelength and angular dependence of light scattered from a beryllium surface partially overcoated with aluminum have been studied both theoretically and experimentally. The aluminum overcoating preserves the topography of the beryllium but provides different optical constants. By measuring scattering on both halves of the sample, the effects of topographic roughness and optical constants can be separated. Topographic roughness has been measured with a mechanical stylus profiler which is insensitive to the optical constants of the material. A dual-source scattering theory is used to model the surface as having both roughness and dielectric perturbations. Attention is given to both p- and s-polarization in the incident and scattered light at visible and infrared wavelengths.

© 1992 Optical Society of America