Asymmetrical properties of the optical reflection response of the Fabry-Perot interferometer

It may be shown that, even when a Fabry-Perot interferometer is used with plane waves propagating at: normal incidence, the variations of the intensity reflected by it with respect to the phase difference (induced by the distance between the two mirrors) are generally not symmetrical around its extrema. We study this problem and express the necessary and general conditions for obtaining a symmetrical optical response in the reflection mode. We analyze the simple case of a Fabry-Perot interferometer the first mirror of which is constituted by a thin layer of metal. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America [S0740-3232(00)00101-0].