Shape resonances in nested diffraction gratings

The diffraction problem of a plane wave impinging on a grating formed by nested cavities is solved by means of the modal method, for s and p polarization modes. The cavities are formed by perfectly conducting sheets that describe rectangular profiles. The electromagnetic response of the grating is analyzed, paying particular attention to the generation of resonances within the structure. The dependence of the resonances on the geometrical parameters of the grating is studied, and results of far and near field are shown. The results are checked and compared with those available in the literature for certain limit cases.     

Effects of thermal treatment on femtosecond laser fabricated diffraction gratings in polystyrene

We report the fabrication of efficient, buried diffraction gratings and micro-craters in bulk polystyrene using femtosecond laser direct writing technique. We recorded a maximum diffraction efficiency of 10% for a buried grating fabricated at 1 μJ energy, 1 mm/s speed, and a period of 30 μm. Buried micro-craters, with typical dimensions of ∼2 μm, were achieved at low energies and high scanning speeds. From the field emission scanning electron microscope studies, the observed emission is attributed as due to the inner surface modifications and the debris settled around the voids. The fabricated gratings subjected to heat treatment were tested for the diffraction efficiency and emission at different excitation wavelengths and the observed results are presented. Raman spectra collected from the femtosecond laser modified regions revealed the disappearance of few Raman modes at high peak intensities associated with incident Gaussian laser pulse. Potential applications of these luminescent micro-craters are highlighted.     

Surface plasmon-assisted optical switching/bistability at telecommunication wavelengths in nonlinear dielectric gratings

In this paper, we numerically investigate nonlinear optical responses in dielectric gratings coated by flat metallic surface, where the structural parameters are chosen for wavelengths of operation at the telecom regime. The presented designs show the output light reflection with respect to the incident intensity of increasing, decreasing, and non-monotonic belt-shape functions. Nonlinear optical responses including switching and bistability appeared in the telecom region owing to assistance of surface plasmon resonance excited at the metal/dielectric interface, which enhances the diffraction efficiency and induces the momentum matching for the leaky modes of the dielectric grating. This results in electric intensity-effective refractive index dependence enhancement in the Kerr nonlinear media. Our design and investigation of the linear and nonlinear optical responses will provide a general guideline for a hybrid metallic-dielectric structure-based optical switching/bistability device design.     

Gaussian beam diffraction by a quasi-optical grating for coupling to lower-hybrid plasma waves

This paper is dedicated to the theoretical approach to the problem of modelling quasi-optical launchers of plasma waves in the lower-hybrid range of frequencies, when a gaussian beam is the incident field. Numerical results are presented and discussed comparing the cases of a gaussian beam and a plane wave as an incident field [1].     

Total internal reflection diffraction grating in conical mounting

The main conditions and parameters for obtaining surface relief total internal reflection diffraction gratings in conical mounting are presented. Calculated and experimental investigations reveal that there are ranges of grating periods, incidence angles, diffraction angles and gratings depths for which such gratings could be obtained, both for TE and TM polarizations. With optimized grating parameters the diffraction efficiency of the total internal reflection diffraction gratings can be greater than 90%.     

Phase resonances in obliquely illuminated compound gratings

The existence of phase resonances in obliquely illuminated, perfectly conducting compound gratings is investigated. The diffraction problem of a p-polarized plane wave impinging on the structure is solved using the modal approach. The results show that even under oblique illumination, where no symmetry is imposed by the incident field, there are resonant wavelengths that are clearly associated with a certain degree of symmetry in the phase distribution of the magnetic field inside the cavities. New configurations of this phase distribution take place, that were not allowed under normal incidence conditions. It was found that the interior field is intensified in the resonances, and the specularly reflected efficiency is maximized. In particular, this efficiency is optimized for Littrow mount.     

Polarization conversion from highly conducting holographic gratings with asymmetric profile

We use a rigorous electromagnetic code to investigate the differences between the zeroth-order cross-polarization reflection coefficients in highly conducting metallic gratings with asymmetric profile. This study results of interest from a practical point of view due to its possible applications as a technique to detect gratings asymmetries. Numerical results in holographic gratings made of gold with asymmetric profiles are presented.     

Digital volume gratings

An optical element constructed by stacking a set of binary-phase grating sheets can simulate the functions of optically recorded volume gratings. Our electromagnetic numerical study also shows that if one of the grating sheets is replaced by another one with different grating period, power spectrum of the diffracted wave changes completely with extra diffraction orders. This property will claim strong advantage in security document applications. Analysis of alignment error reveals interesting phenomena concerning to how misalignment affects diffraction efficiency.     

利用泽尼克系数求取衍射光栅的分辨本领

光栅分辨本领检测设备的焦距通常达几米甚至十几米,采用直接测量法难度大、成本高,利用衍射波前间接求取光栅分辨本领是解决该问题的有效途径之一。在光栅光谱成像傅里叶变换理论基础上,建立了利用泽尼克多项式拟合系数求解衍射光栅分辨本领的归一化模型,揭示了光栅衍射波前与分辨本领的求取关系,提出了依据泽尼克多项式拟合系数求取衍射光栅分辨本领的新方法。根据该方法实测了一块衍射光栅的分辨本领,并与直接测量法进行对比测试。结果表明该方法误差小于4.42%,降低了分辨本领的测试难度,是衍射光栅分辨本领求取的有效手段,应用于ZYGO干涉仪等仪器中,通过简单的波前测试即可得到定量的衍射光栅分辨本领指标。     

Inverse symmetric Dammann gratings

Inverse symmetric Dammann grating is a special grating, whose transition points are reflection symmetric about the midpoint with inverse phase offset in one period. It can produce even-numbered or odd-numbered array illumination when the phase modulations are π or a specific value. Numerical solutions optimized by the steepest-descent algorithm for binary phase and multilevel phases with splitting ratio from 1 × 4 to 1 × 14 are given. Fabrication of 1 × 6 array without the zero-order intensity and 1 × 7 array with the zero-order intensity are made from the same amplitude mask. A 6 × 6 output without the crossed zero-orders was achieved by crossing two one-dimensional 1 × 6 inverse symmetric Dammann gratings. This grating may have potential value for practical applications.     

Diffraction study of volume holographic gratings in dispersive photorefractive material for femtosecond pulse readout

Based on the modified Kogelnik diffraction efficiency equation, the diffraction intensity spectrum and the total diffraction efficiency of volume gratings in photorefractive media are studied systematically. Taking photorefractive InP:Fe crystal as an example, the effect of the grating parameters and the pulse width on the diffraction properties are presented, in particular under the influence of crystal material dispersion. Under the combined effects, the diffraction pulse profiles and the total diffraction efficiency are shown. Also, the diffraction properties with and without crystal material dispersion are compared. These studies indicate that the properties of the diffraction beams can be controlled by the holographic grating parameters; this property can be used for pulse shaping applications.     

Self-imaging with curved gratings

We analyze the near field behavior of binary amplitude gratings which present a curved profile. This configuration has an important application in rotary optical encoders. This kind of encoders is used to measure the angular displacement between two different parts of the devices. To our knowledge, its behavior in the near field has not been analyzed yet. We have found that Talbot effect is produced but the period of the self-images and Talbot distances change as we separate from the grating. We have fabricated a curved grating and have performed the experiment to corroborate the behavior theoretically found. This fact could be useful in systems that use Talbot effect to measure displacements, since the mechanical tolerances grow.     

The influence of the polarization effect in Talbot self-imaging of high-density gratings

The Talbot self-imaging of high-density gratings with different period at half Talbot distance for different polarization is analyzed with the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The numerical results indicate that the Talbot self-imaging of high-density gratings is obviously different for different polarization when the period d of the grating between 2λ and 3λ, which is verified through experimental results with the scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) technique. Furthermore, the Fourier spectrum (far field) generated by the gratings is also given with the rigorous coupled-wave method, which is in agreement with the near field.     

Grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance in conical mounting with polarization modulation

A grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance (GCSPR) technique based on polarization modulation in conical mounting is presented. A metallic grating is azimuthally rotated to support double-surface plasmon polariton excitation and exploit the consequent sensitivity enhancement. Corresponding to the resonance polar angle, a polarization scan of incident light is performed, and reflectivity data are collected before and after functionalization with a dodecanethiol self-assembled monolayer. The output signal exhibits a harmonic dependence on polarization, and the phase term is used as a parameter for sensing. This technique offers the possibility of designing extremely compact, fast, and cheap high-resolution plasmonic sensors based on GCSPR.     

Analysis of the diffraction by the gratings generated in the materials with a nonlinear response

Diffraction by a thick transmission phase grating being illuminated by a plane wave at the first, second and third Bragg angles is analyzed using the rigorous coupled-wave theory for the materials having a nonlinear response to the holographic illumination. It is shown that in the case of nonlinear holographic recording the two-wave approximation can be applied with the use of the effective value of the amplitudes of the refractive index modulation (n_1ef, n_2ef, and n_3ef). The applicability conditions of such approximation are defined. The analytical dependencies of n_1ef, n_2ef, and n_3ef on the amplitudes of the first, second and third harmonics of spatial frequency of the refraction index modulation amplitude n₁, n₂ and n₃ are derived and the criteria of their applicability are established here. The resulting expressions for the diffraction efficiencies are given for readout at three Bragg angles. The results of analytical and numerical methods are compared. The obtained formulas are used for the calculation of n₁, n₂ and n₃ of the holographic gratings generated in the photopolymer material.     

Power penalty of cascaded Bragg gratings in the presence of PMD and PDL

Considering the presence of birefringence in Bragg gratings, the spectral polarization mode dispersion (PMD) and polarization dependent loss (PDL) induced power penalty of eye opening is examined for a network with cascaded Bragg gratings. It is shown that when the birefringence in the grating is less than 10⁻⁵, the induced power penalty is less than 0.1 dB for a network with up to 30 cascaded Bragg gratings. However, when the grating birefringence is on the order of 10⁻⁴, the induced power penalty can be as high as 5.6 dB for a network with 14 cascaded Bragg gratings.     

Polarizing beam splitter of two-layer dielectric rectangular transmission gratings in Littrow mounting

We theoretically investigated the design of polarizing beam splitters (PBS) of two-layer dielectric rectangular transmission gratings in Littrow mounting. The PBS grating is aimed to separate TE and TM polarized waves into two different transmitted orders, i.e. the 0th and −1st orders. The polarization-dependent diffraction process is analyzed by using a simplified modal method. The mode reflection and transmission at the interface of the two layers are illustrated. Design equations are given based on the average mode indices of the even and odd modes inside the grating region, which are verified by using rigorous coupled wave analysis. Moreover, with simulated annealing algorithm, two kinds of two-layer PBS gratings are optimized for operation over the C-band (1520-1570 nm). Compared with the single-layer transmission PBS gratings, such two-layer scheme exhibits a great flexibility of design. The PBSs of two-layer dielectric transmission gratings should be useful for practical applications.