Bilayer free-standing beam splitter for Fourier transform infrared spectrometry.

We describe the design, fabrication, testing, and performance of a two-layer free-standing beam splitter for use in far-infrared Fourier transform infrared spectrometers. This bilayer beam splitter, consisting of a low-index polymer layer in combination with a high-index semiconductor layer, has an efficiency that is higher than that of the best combination of four single-layer Mylar beam splitters currently in use for spectrometry from 50 to 550 cm(-1).