Numerical errors of diffraction computing using plane wave spectrum decomposition

In the paper the numerical determination of diffraction patterns using plane wave spectrum decomposition (PWS) is investigated. The simple formula for sampling selection for error-free numerical computation is proposed and its applicability is discussed. The usage of this formula presents practical difficulty for some diffraction problems due to required large memory load. A new multi-Fourier transform PWS (MPWS) method is elaborated which overcomes memory requirement of the PWS method. The performances of the PWS and MPWS methods are verified through extensive numerical simulations.