Nonparaxial scalar treatment of sinusoidal phase gratings

    Authors

    J. E. Harvey; A. Krywonos;D. Bogunovic

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J. Opt. Soc. Am. A-Opt. Image Sci. Vis.

    Keywords

    DIFFRACTION THEORY; FUNDAMENTAL QUANTITY; ANOMALIES; RADIANCE; LIMITS; Optics

    Abstract

    Scalar diffraction theory is frequently considered inadequate for predicting diffraction efficiencies for grating applications where lambda/d > 0.1. It has also been stated that scalar theory imposes energy upon the evanescent diffracted orders. These notions, as well as several other common misconceptions, are driven more by an unnecessary paraxial approximation in the traditional Fourier treatment of scalar diffraction theory than by the scalar limitation. By scaling the spatial variables by the wavelength, we have previously shown that diffracted radiance is shift invariant in direction cosine space. Thus simple Fourier techniques can now be used to predict a variety of wide-angle (nonparaxial) diffraction grating effects. These include (1) the redistribution of energy from the evanescent orders to the propagating ones, (2) the angular broadening (and apparent shifting) of wide-angle diffracted orders, and (3) nonparaxial diffraction efficiencies predicted with an accuracy usually thought to require rigorous electromagnetic theory. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.

    Journal Title

    Journal of the Optical Society of America a-Optics Image Science and Vision

    Volume

    23

    Issue/Number

    4

    Publication Date

    1-1-2006

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    858

    Last Page

    865

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000236300900013

    ISSN

    1084-7529

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