Reflection and transmission guided-mode resonance filters

New reflection and transmission optical filters based on guided-mode resonances in multilayer waveguide gratings are characterized and compared with homogeneous thin-film filters. These guided-mode resonance filters are implemented by integration of diffraction gratings into classical thin-film multilayers to produce high-efficiency filter response and arbitrarily low sidebands extended over a large spectral range. Compared with homogeneous thin-film reflection filters, guided-mode resonance reflection filters require significantly fewer layers for a narrow linewidth and a high peak response to be obtained. The single-grating transmission filters presented have a narrower linewidth than Fabry-Perot filters with an equal number of layers and similar materials while maintaining high peak transmittance and low sidebands. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.