Fabrication and characterization of tuned Gaussian mirrors for the visible and the near infrared

A thin-film technique has been developed for vacuum fabrication of mirrors with Gaussian reflectivity profiles. Samples with diameters from 2 to 8 mm and assigned maximum reflectivities for visible or near-IR wavelengths have been made and their optical properties evaluated. By properly choosing both the geometry of the evaporation source and the masking system, one can obtain quasi-Gaussian or super-Gaussian reflectivity profiles.