New calculational technique for multilayer stacks

We introduce a new calculational technique for multilayer stacks that avoids numerical instability problems inherent in the well-known characteristic matrix technique when evanescent waves are present. The new technique is based on R matrix propagation algorithms in which the impedance of the multilayer rather than the admittance is propagated. The relation between the new R matrix and the characteristic matrix techniques is given as well as the criteria for choosing which technique to employ in a given problem. Several simple examples are given to illustrate how the R matrix propagation technique is implemented.