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Quarter-wave Mirrors

Definition: dielectric mirrors based on a sequence of quarter-wave layers

Alternative term: Bragg mirrors

Cite the article using its DOI: https://doi.org/10.61835/let

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A quarter-wave mirror, also called a Bragg mirror, is usually a dielectric mirror (or semiconductor mirror) structure which consists of an alternating sequence of layers of two different optical materials, with each optical layer thickness corresponding to one-quarter of the wavelength for which the mirror is designed. Here, the wavelength is taken to be the wavelength within the material, not the vacuum wavelength. For a given wavelength and number of layer pairs, a quarter-wave mirror is the structure which can result in the highest reflectance.

Quarter-wave stacks are also very basic building blocks of more complicated dielectric mirror structures.

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