Estimates Related to the Error Self-Compensation Mechanism in Optical Coatings Deposition

This paper introduces an estimate for the strength of the correlation of layer thickness errors in the process of coating deposition with broadband optical monitoring. It is shown that a strong effect of self-compensation of deposition errors is observed in the case of a strong correlation of layer thickness errors. An estimate for the strength of this effect is introduced. Theoretical conclusions are confirmed by comparison with practical deposition results that demonstrate the presence of a strong self-compensation effect.