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The transfer-matrix method is a method used in optics and acoustics to analyze the propagation of electromagnetic or acoustic waves through a stratified (layered) medium.〔Born, M.; Wolf, E., ''Principles of optics: electromagnetic theory of propagation, interference and diffraction of light''. Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1964.〕 This is for example relevant for the design of anti-reflective coatings and dielectric mirrors. The reflection of light from a single interface between two media is described by the Fresnel equations. However, when there are multiple interfaces, such as in the figure, the reflections themselves are also partially transmitted and then partially reflected. Depending on the exact path length, these reflections can interfere destructively or constructively. The overall reflection of a layer structure is the sum of an infinite number of reflections, which is cumbersome to calculate. The transfer-matrix method is based on the fact that, according to Maxwell's equations, there are simple continuity conditions for the electric field across boundaries from one medium to the next. If the field is known at the beginning of a layer, the field at the end of the layer can be derived from a simple matrix operation. A stack of layers can then be represented as a system matrix, which is the product of the individual layer matrices. The final step of the method involves converting the system matrix back into reflection and transmission coefficients. ==Formalism for electromagnetic waves== Below is described how the transfer matrix is applied to electromagnetic waves (for example light) of a given frequency propagating through a stack of layers at normal incidence. It can be generalized to deal with incidence at an angle, absorbing media, and media with magnetic properties. We assume that the stack layers are normal to the axis and that the field within one layer can be represented as the superposition of a left- and right-traveling wave with wave number , :. Because it follows from Maxwell's equation that and must be continuous across a boundary, it is convenient to represent the field as the vector , where :. Since there are two equations relating and to and , these two representations are equivalent. In the new representation, propagation over a distance into the positive direction is described by the matrix : and : Such a matrix can represent propagation through a layer if is the wave number in the medium and the thickness of the layer: For a system with layers, each layer has a transfer matrix , where increases towards higher values. The system transfer matrix is then : Typically, one would like to know the reflectance and transmittance of the layer structure. If the layer stack starts at , then for negative , the field is described as : where is the amplitude of the incoming wave, the wave number in the left medium, and is the amplitude (not intensity!) reflectance coefficient of the layer structure. On the other side of the layer structure, the field consists of a right-propagating transmitted field : where is the amplitude transmittance, is the wave number in the rightmost medium, and is the total thickness. If and , then we can solve : in terms of the matrix elements of the system matrix and obtain : and : ■ウィキペディアで「Transfer-matrix method (optics)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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