Abstract

Bare silver provides one of the highest reflectivities possible in metal mirrors at visible wavelengths. However, its widespread usage is hampered by its tendency to quickly tranish upon exposure to air. One recent effort to improve the durability of bare silver mirrors has been to include a copper underlayer beneath the silver.¹ Reflectance measurements have demonstrated the improved durability of the silver on copper mirrors, but these measurements have been at normal incidence. This paper compares the absorptance properties of bare silver and bare silver on copper mirrors at angles of incidence from 0° to 89° for both s- and p-polarizations.

© 1986 Optical Society of America