Observation of total omnidirectional reflection from a one-dimensional dielectric lattice

We show that under certain conditions one-dimensional dielectric lattice possesses total omnidirectional reflection of incident light. The predictions are verified experimentally using Na3AlF6/ZnSe multilayer structure developed by means of standard optical technology. The structure was found to exhibit reflection coefficient more then 99% in the range of incident angles 0-86 (degree) at the wavelength of 632.8 nm for s-polarization. The results are believed to stimulate new experiments on photonic crystals and controlled spontaneous emission.