ANOMALOUS METALLIC-LIKE OPTICAL PHENOMENA IN MULTILAYER THINFILM ASSEMBLIES

FUSION SYSTEMS HAS FABRICATED ULTRAVIOLET REFLECTORS USING ALUMINUM BASED DIELECTRIC MULTILAYERS. THE RESULTING OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MULTILAYER ASSEMBLY DISPLAY PHENOMENA CHARACTERISTIC OF ANOMALOUS, METALLIC-LIKE OPTICALPROPERTIES, WHILE RETAINING THE BASIC DIELECTRIC CHARACTER OF THE MATERIALS. THE DESCRIPTIVE TERM "TRANSPARENT ALUMINUM" HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THIS PHENOMENA. THE PHENOMENA WAS DISCOVERED DURING STUDIES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH REFLECTANCE (GREATER THAN 95%), BROADBAND ULTRAVIOLET REFLECTORS FOR USE IN THE DEEP UV AND MID UV PORTIONS OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM. WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE THE OPTICAL AND ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF THIS PHENOMENA FOR POTENTIAL APPLICATION IN THE DEEP UV AND VACUUM UV (VUV) AS WELL AS OTHER REGIONS OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM, AND TO APPLY SUITABLE ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES TO ATTEMPT TO FURTHER DEFINE THE ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA IN BOTH THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL TERMS. WE ALSO PROPOSE TO STUDY THE POSSIBILITY THAT "TRANSPARENT ALUMINUM" ANALOGUES MAY EXIST FOR ALTERNATE, PROPRIETARY MATERIALS.