The Optical Society’s 2016 topical meeting on optical interference coatings: introduction

This feature issue of Applied Optics is dedicated to the 13th Topical Meeting on Optical Interference Coatings, which was held June 19-24, 2016, in Tucson, Arizona, USA. The conference, taking place every three years, is a focal point for global technical interchange in the field of optical interference coatings and provides premier opportunities for people working in the field to present their new advances in research and development. Papers presented at the meeting covered a broad range of topics, including fundamental research on coating design theory, new materials, and deposition and characterization technologies, as well as the vast and growing number of applications in electronic displays, communication, optical instruments, high power and ultra-fast lasers, solar cells, space missions, gravitational wave detection, and many others.