The optical performance of interference filters is subject to inevitable variations of the thicknesses and indices of refraction of the layers during or even after deposition. Assuming their statistical distributions and optimizing the expected performance as a function of the nominal layer thicknesses, robust filter designs can be identified which are insensitive to these variations and are therefore easier to manufacture and more robust to use. The underlying stochastic optimization problem and practical methods for its solution using deterministic and random search procedures based on evolutionary strategies are discussed. Finally a number of examples are presented.

Date Published: 4 November 1994
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 2253, Optical Interference Coatings, (4 November 1994); doi: 10.1117/12.192107

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2253:
Optical Interference Coatings
Florin Abeles, Editor(s)