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Chapter 21: Problem 12

Briefly explain how reflection losses of transparent materials are minimized by thin surface coatings.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: Reflection losses of transparent materials are minimized using thin surface coatings by promoting destructive interference between reflected light waves. The coatings are made of materials with an intermediate refractive index and have a thickness carefully designed to create a phase difference causing destructive interference, ultimately reducing overall reflection and minimizing light loss.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Reflection Loss

Reflection loss occurs when a portion of light incident upon a transparent material is reflected back instead of being transmitted through the material. This reflection occurs at the boundary between the two materials (air and the transparent material) due to the difference in their refractive indices. The greater the difference in refractive indices, the more significant the reflection loss will be.
02

Thin Surface Coatings

To minimize reflection losses, thin surface coatings are applied to transparent materials. These coatings are made of materials with an intermediate refractive index between that of air and the transparent material. A common example of a transparent material coated with a thin surface film is an anti-reflective coating applied to eyeglass lenses.
03

Interference: The Key Principle

The principle behind minimizing reflection losses using thin surface coatings is interference, a phenomenon that occurs when two or more waves (in this case, light waves) combine to form a new wave. When light reflects off the surface of the thin-film coating, it will interact with light reflecting off the surface of the transparent material. Depending on the phase difference between these reflected light waves, interference can occur, either reinforcing or canceling out the reflections.
04

Constructive and Destructive Interference

Constructive interference occurs when the phase difference between the interfering waves is an even multiple of π (such as 2π or 4π) and the amplitudes of the waves reinforce each other. Destructive interference occurs when the phase difference is an odd multiple of π/2 (such as π or 3π/2) and the amplitudes of the waves cancel each other out.
05

Designing the Thin Surface Coating

The thickness of the thin surface coating is designed in such a way that it causes destructive interference between the light waves reflecting off the coating and those reflecting off the transparent material underneath. Specifically, the thickness of the coating is chosen so that the phase difference between these reflections will be odd multiples of π/2 when light passes through the film. With this condition met, destructive interference will occur, significantly reducing the overall reflection of light from the surface.
06

Conclusion

To summarize, reflection losses of transparent materials are minimized by applying thin surface coatings with an intermediate refractive index. The principle of interference is the key concept in this process, as the thin surface coating's thickness is carefully designed to promote destructive interference between reflected light waves, thus reducing the overall reflection and minimizing the loss of light due to reflection.

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