Abstract

Discriminatory optical behavior of obliquely deposited films with respect to the polarization of light has been known for about a century.¹ Although scarce, reports on this effect can be found in the literature from the early^2-5 and mid^6-8 1900's. More recently, metal films were used as polarizers in the near-infrared⁹ and dielectric films were shown to perform as phase-retarders in the visible.¹⁰ Those are two different manifestations of structure-induced optical anisotropy in connection with significant asymmetries in extinction coefficient and refractive index valves, respectively.¹⁰

© 1988 Optical Society of America