Abstract

Birefringence in optical thin films due to structure on a scale large compared to atoms but small compared to optical wavelengths, otherwise known as form birefringence, was observed almost a century ago by Kundt (1886), Braun (1985) and others. More recently, studies by Holland (1953) and other workers on obliquely deposited metal films stimulated new interest in birefringent films. The link between structure, which is predominantly columnar in evaporated thin films, and birefringence has been conclusively demonstrated through modeling and by high resolution electron microscopy. Theoretical investigations were initiated by Abeles (1958), with the goal of producing a general, elegant basis for the interaction of polarized light with anisotropic thin films. The value of such a theory lies not only in the insight into the origins and disruption of the columnar structures that pervade evaporated films, but also in the possibility that form birefringence can be exploited optically.

© 1984 Optical Society of America