Profiled hologram diffraction gratings based on As2Se3 inorganic photoresist

We devised a method of producing blaze hologram diffraction gratings by transforming symmetric grooves of the original grating into asymmetric ones using an additional oblique irradiation by monochromatic or polychromatic light and a repeated chemical etching of the additionally irradiated grating. Photosensitive As₂Se₃ film layers are used as a photoconductive material for recording gratings. A numerical computer modeling of the formation of asymmetric grooves is conducted. The calculated shape of the groove profile is in good agreement with experimental data. The manifestation of asymmetry of the profile shape of the produced gratings in angular and spectral relations for their diffraction efficiency is considered. It is shown that by varying the parameters of producing the original gratings and the conditions of their additional treatment it is possible to obtain hologram gratings with the required profile shape and blaze angle. To whom correspondence should be addressed. Institute of Semiconductor Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 45, Nauka Ave., Kiev, 252028, Ukraine. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 66, No. 4, pp. 587–590, July–August, 1999.     

Analytical model of a corrugated optical waveguide

An analytical model of the diffraction energy exchange between the radiative and the waveguide modes in a planar optical waveguide corrugated by a waveguide grating with an arbitrary form of teeth is developed on the basis of the coupled-wave method. It is shown that the mechanism of the energy exchange between the modes is determined by the partial interaction of all components of the spatial frequency spectrum of the waveguide modes with the corresponding components of the spatial frequency spectrum of the grating. It is established that gratings with an asymmetric tooth profile providing a shift of the peak of the spatial frequency spectrum toward matching are characterized by a higher diffraction efficiency α; however, at small thicknesses δ of the waveguide grating, the efficiency is almost independent of the tooth profile. It is shown that gratings with a symmetric profile give on average a decreasing dependence α(δ), while gratings with an optimized asymmetric profile yield a monotonically increasing saturating dependence α(δ).     

Blazing of smooth gratings

The diffraction efficiency of smooth weak gratings can depend significantly on the profile of the gratings as, in the diffraction process there exists wave coupling. By adjusting the grating profile it is possible to obtain enhancement or suppression of the diffraction efficiency. Possible applications include improvements in grating devices, grating profile reconstruction, and precise control of the slightest periodical disturbances. Some numerical examples are given.     

Effect of diffusion nonlinearity and an external electric field on the formation of ion-exchange diffraction gratings in glass

The formation of gratings in glass by the ion exchange technique is analyzed. The ion exchange is modeled, and the effect of diffusion nonlinearity and the external electric field on the diffusant concentration profile and diffraction characteristics of gratings are studied. It is shown that the character of diffusion nonlinearity has a substantial effect on the diffraction efficiency of the gratings produced by thermal ion exchange. It is also shown that the diffraction efficiency can be considerably increased by using an external electric field.     

光纤Bragg光栅的饱和效应

光纤 Bragg光栅的饱和效应可引起二阶衍射,并使一阶衍射的峰值反射率下降.本文利用折射率变化模型和耦合模理论,模拟了饱和情况下 Bragg光栅的一阶和二阶衍射谱,并讨论了饱和系数对一阶和二阶衍射的 Bragg波长和峰值反射率的影响.数值模拟结果与参考文献中的实验结果相吻合.     

Producing binary diffraction gratings in the double-diffraction system

In this paper, a method — based on the diffraction of light — for producing binary diffraction gratings is presented. It is shown that using two master gratings of the Ronchi type and utilizing the results of the double diffraction system it is possible to produce binary gratings with an arbitrary opening ratio. The results have been extended for a two-dimensional case and it is shown that producing binary grid gratings with arbitrary opening ratios in both x and y directions is also possible.     

Thermomechanical modification of diffraction gratings

The most accurate approaches to fabrication of diffraction gratings are known to be the lithographic and holographic methods. The lithographic methods allow fabrication of arbitrarily chirped gratings whose performance, however, is degraded by stitching errors. The holographic methods are free from stitching errors; however, they are limited in the achievable spatial variations of their grating periods. We suggest a method of diffraction grating modification by nonuniform heating and stretching that is much more flexible than the holographic approach and does not suffer from the problem of stitching error. We demonstrate our approach for quartz phase masks that have a characteristic grating period of 1 microm and a length of several centimeters. Our approach allows the grating periods of the phase masks to vary in a range from a few picometers to a few nanometers and a spatial resolution of a few millimeters. It is shown that the grating period can be modified with a negligible effect on the profile of the gratings.     

Surface-relief diffraction gratings recorded by multiple-beam coherent phase exposure

Surface-relief hexagonal-array diffraction gratings have been produced by three-beam coherent exposure. Collimated light was used in an attempt to produce a uniform relief profile over the total area of a 7.6-cm plate coated with a positive photoresist. The resulting gratings were reproduced in nickel by an electroforming process and analyzed by atomic force microscopy. The topography of the gratings was found to be that predicted by theory. The results obtained show that the gratings were of uniform profile over their total area.     

Corn syrup holograms

A study of the diffraction efficiency parameter, of holographic gratings recorded with thin emulsion layers of corn syrup (Karo^®) photosensitized with potassium dichromate salt is presented. This was possible by the interference produced by amplitude division setup using two wavelengths at 473 nm and 530 nm respectively. The maximum diffraction efficiency for corn syrup with potassium dichromate films was on average in the order of 4.0% at first diffraction order. The energy that was applied at blue light was 10 times less than that applied at green light.Evolution in the behavior profile from the diffraction efficiency parameter is presented as a function of relaxation time necessary to obtain major performance of these gratings made with peculiar sweetener.Holograms with this material do not require developing processes, because these samples develop by themselves. After of exposition with light laser, is necessary wait to stabilize the material 96 h, to protect the film against the environmental humidity.     

计算凹面闪耀光栅衍射效率的通用方法

为使凹面光栅的衍射能量更多地集中在所需要的级次上,提出了利用机械刻划的方法在凹面基底上制作变刻槽角度的凹面闪耀光栅,并利用菲涅耳-基尔霍夫衍射公式推导了同时在主截面和非主截面内计算凹面闪耀光栅衍射效率的理论方法,弥补了以往只在主截面内考虑衍射效率的不足,最后利用Matlab仿真软件模拟了衍射效率随波长的变化曲线,并对比了在不同制作和使用参数下衍射效率峰值的变化规律,为今后凹面光栅的设计和制作提供了参考价值。     

Special features of the diffraction of light on optical Fibonacci gratings

Diffraction gratings designed on the basis of the geometrical properties of 1D quasicrystalline structures are considered. It is shown that the diffraction peak position is highly stable against small perturbations of the grating profile when the periodic pattern of the alternating elements comprising the profile remains unchanged. The fractal character of the diffraction patterns is also preserved during perturbations, with the fractal geometry obeying the principle of the Golden ratio.     

Characterization of Index and Surface-Relief Gratings Formed in Methacrylate Photopolymers

We report on an experimental investigation of the dual (index and surface-relief) grating formation in methacrylate photopolymers in the green. It is found that the dynamics of the diffracted signal from high spatial frequency dual gratings recorded in a thin film sample is mainly determined by the evolution of the volume index grating and is strongly dependent on writing intensities. Low spatial frequency dual gratings recorded in a bulk sample are also investigated. Depth profile and magnitude of the index grating are estimated quantitatively from the diffraction efficiency as a function of polish depth from the bulk sample’s surface. It is confirmed that the surface-relief grating is dominant in the light diffraction from the bulk sample.     

Recording and decay of transient gratings in a system of saturable three-level centers

The kinetics of formation and relaxation of transient holographic gratings recorded in a system of saturable three-level centers is studied. Distortions in the shape of the profile of recorded and decaying structures of population and of the refractive index are taken into account. The analysis of the time dependences of diffraction efficiencies of different orders is performed for phase (thermal) and amplitude (concentration) gratings.     

Diffraction efficiency of holographic blazed diffraction gratings

Holographic blazed diffraction grating is analysed as a periodic relief of an inclined sinusoidal curve in the shallow profile approximation. Under the condition that the rate of the development is a linear function of the development dose the evolution of the relief during the development is discussed. Theoretical curves of diffraction efficiency are compared with measurements on gratings made by direct holographic method for uv spectral region.     

Charging of glassy chalcogenide semiconductors in corona discharge and its effect on holographic grating formation

Recording of optical holographic gratings based on photostructural transformations in thin (≈ 1 μm) As₂S₃ and As₂S₃ semiconductor layers in the presence and absence of a corona discharge and also chemical etching of these gratings are studied. Initiation of a corona at the stage of interference grating recording is shown to improve the exposure contrast of metal-glassy chalcogenide semiconductor thin-film structures. The holographic sensitivity, diffraction efficiency, dynamic range, and contrast are also improved severalfold. When phase relief gratings formed in these layers are selectively etched in a chemical etchant in the presence of a corona, their profile becomes more regular and deeper by 25–30% and the diffraction efficiency increases by 30–50%.     

Nonsinusoidal absorption gratings in photographic materials

The diffraction efficiencies of pure absorption gratings are investigated in photographic materials using a coupled multiwave analysis with a realistic photographic film model. It is, for example, shown that the maximum efficiency of the order +1 of non-sinosoidal absorption gratings is almost independent of the generally used regime indicator Q′. Examples of diffraction characteristics for thin absorption gratings are included.     

Light scanner based on a viscoelastic stretchable grating

We present a new technique for light scanning by use of viscoelastic-based deformable phase diffraction gratings. Mechanical stretching of the grating permits control of its spatial period, and thus the orders of diffraction can be spatially deflected. In the experiments the viscoelastic gratings with triangular and rectangular profiles have been characterized at lambda = 633 nm. It is demonstrated that the reversible elongation can exceed 20% of the initial length. For the triangular profile grating, the diffraction angle of the first order changed from 6.6 degrees to 5.4 degrees while the diffraction efficiency remained almost constant at approximately 17%. Dynamic scanning of a laser beam at frequencies of approximately 1 kHz is demonstrated by use of electromechanically driven viscoelastic gratings.     

Polarization holographic gratings with high diffraction efficiency recorded in azopolymer PAZO

Azopolymers are one of the most efficient materials able to record the polarization state of light. They have numerous applications, such as data storage and diffractive optical elements with unique polarization properties. An essential parameter for each diffractive element is its diffraction efficiency η. In order to optimize the recording conditions and obtain high-efficient polarization holographic gratings, in the present work we study the dependence of the diffraction efficiency on the recording angle and thickness of a series of azopolymer layers. Three recording angles are used ??10°, 20° and 30° and three series of thin films with thicknesses 470, 850 and 2400 nm from the water-soluble azopolymer PAZO. The gratings are inscribed by two plain waves with left and right circular polarization from a He-Cd gas laser (442 nm). The diffraction efficiency of the gratings is probed with a right hand circularly polarized beam from a probe laser with wavelength 635 nm. The kinetics of diffraction efficiency η(t) in the +?1 diffraction order are presented and compared. Our experimental results indicate that highest diffraction efficiency (more than 40%) is obtained for the sample with thickness 2400 nm and for recording angle 10°. As the holographic recording in azopolymers is usually accompanied by formation of surface relief gratings, the surface topography of the recorded samples is also investigated by atomic force microscopy.     

Holographic diffraction gratings with multilayer insulator coatings

Based on numerical modeling of metallized diffraction gratings with multilayer insulator coatings, the diffraction efficiency of such gratings is investigated, assuming that the initial profile of the metallized grat-ing is not reproduced in the course of sequential deposition of coating layers. From comparison of experimental and calculated data, it is concluded that the initial grating relief is subject to considerable smoothing. The new nontraditional range of the optimum values of layer thicknesses, which provides a high diffraction efficiency in the operating wavelength range of 1.06 μm, is suggested. The stability of the diffraction efficiency with respect to random errors in the thickness of insulator layers deposited is investigated numerically.     

Fabrication of holographic diffraction gratings based on As<Subscript>2</Subscript>S<Subscript>3</Subscript> Layers

The formation of holographic diffraction gratings based on As₂S₃ layers is investigated. The variation of the groove profiles with exposure is studied by atomic force microscopy. The spectral curves of the diffraction efficiency are taken, and a relationship between these curves and grating surface relief is analyzed.