Reflection and transmission calculations in a multilayer structure with coherent, incoherent, and partially coherent interference, using the transmission line method.

A generalized transmission line method (TLM) that provides reflection and transmission calculations for a multilayer dielectric structure with coherent, partial coherent, and incoherent layers is presented. The method is deployed on two different application fields. The first application of the method concerns the thickness measurement of the individual layers of an organic light-emitting diode. By using a fitting approach between experimental spectral reflectance measurements and the corresponding TLM calculations, it is shown that the thickness of the films can be estimated. The second application of the TLM concerns the calculation of the external quantum efficiency of an organic photovoltaic with partially coherent rough interfaces between the layers. Numerical results regarding the short circuit photocurrent for different layer thicknesses and rough interfaces are provided and the performance impact of the rough interface is discussed in detail.