Thin-film diffraction
Thin-film interference is a natural phenomenon in which light waves reflected by the upper and lower boundaries of a thin film interfere with one another, either enhancing or reducing the reflected light. When the thickness of the film is an odd multiple of one quarter-wavelength of the light on it, the reflected waves from both surfaces interfere to cancel each other. Since the wave cannot be reflected, it is completely transmitted instead. When the thickness is a multiple of a half-wavelength of the light, the two reflected waves reinforce each other, increasing the reflection and reducing the transmission. Thus when white light, which consists of a range of wavelengths, is incident on the film, certain wavelengths (colors) are intensified while others are attenuated. Thin-film interference explains the multiple colors seen in light reflected from soap bubbles and oil films on water. It also is the mechanism behind the action of antireflection coatings used on glasses and camera lenses.
Studying the light reflected or transmitted by a thin film can reveal information about the thickness of the film or the effective refractive index of the film medium. Thin films have many commercial applications including anti-reflection coatings, mirrors, and optical filters.
A thin film is a layer of material with thickness in the sub-nanometer to micron range. As light strikes the surface of a film it is either transmitted or reflected at the upper surface. Light that is transmitted reaches the bottom surface and may once again be transmitted or reflected. The Fresnel equations provide a quantitative description of how much of the light will be transmitted or reflected at an interface. The light reflected from the upper and lower surfaces will interfere. The degree of constructive or destructive interference between the two light waves depends on the difference in their phase. This difference in turn depends on the thickness of the film layer, the refractive index of the film, and the angle of incidence of the original wave on the film. Additionally, a phase shift of 180° or radians may be introduced upon reflection at a boundary depending on the refractive indices of the materials on either side of the boundary. This phase shift occurs if the refractive index of the medium the light is travelling through is less than the refractive index of the material it is striking. In other words, if and the light is travelling from material 1 to material 2, then a phase shift occurs upon reflection. The pattern of light that results from this interference can appear either as light and dark bands or as colorful bands depending upon the source of the incident light.
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