Spectral self-similarity in fractal one-dimensional photonic structures

Transmission spectra of one-dimensional fractal multilayer structures are found to exhibit self-similar properties. Self-similarity manifests itself in the shape of a transmission envelope (map of transmission dips) rather than in the map of resonance transmission peaks, as is commonly the case with spectra of quasiperiodic systems. To observe the self-similarity, one needs to apply a power transformation to the transmittance in addition to the usual frequency scaling. The values of this power as well as the scaling factor have been calculated analytically and found to depend on the geometrical parameters of the structure.