Infrared properties of chemical-vapor deposition polycrystalline diamond windows

Low-resolution transmittance and reflectance spectra of high-quality chemical-vapor deposition (CVD) diamond windows were measured in the infrared in the 2.5-500-mu m wavelength range (20-4000 cm(-1)). High-resolution measurements on a window with nearly parallel surfaces show well defined interference fringes at low frequencies. By standard procedures the optical constants n and K of CVD diamond were determined, for the first time to the author's knowledge, in the far-infrared region. It is shown that a window with a large wedge angle, close to 1 degrees, does not produce appreciable interference fringes. Modeling of these results confirms that interference fringes can be avoided by use of properly wedged CVD diamond windows. This result is of considerable relevance to the use of CVD diamond windows in spectroscopic applications for which fringe suppression is a major requirement. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.