Abstract

We have shown how it is possible to characterize an optical surface by means of measurements of the scattered-light distribution. In the case of a multilayer coating, some particular techniques (Al layer, antiscattering effect) enabled us to determine the roughness of each interface and to solve the difficult problem of the cross-correlation laws inside the stack. We are now dealing with the variations of scattering vs wavelength, and we show that the total integrated scattering is strongly dependent on the reflection and transmission windows of the coatings. Such variations are directly connected with the cross-correlation laws between the interfaces, which is important information in determining these laws and, therefore, characterizing the microstructure of materials in thin-film forms.

© 1987 Optical Society of America