Matrix method for thin film optics

Review of a matrix method used in optics of thin films for the calculation of reflectance, transmittance, absorptance, the electric field distribution inside the stack and the photonic dispersion considering the stack as perfect unidimensional crystals -Distributed Bragg mirrors-. We emphasizes the discussion on transfer matrices and give an alternative approach with scattering matrices for the propagation of light as plane waves through a homogeneous layered system.