Prevailing effects of interference or diffraction by multiple apertures

The effects of interference and diffraction produced by a bidimensional structure composed of multiple and identical apertures are studied. Such effects are competitive during the propagation, that is, in some planes the interference effects are more visible, while in others prevail the diffraction ones. Using the number of Fresnel zones, the spatial domains where the interference or diffraction effects prevail are defined and parameterized. Simulation and experimental results are further introduced to verify the proposed method.