Abstract
Synthetic optical structures are classified as members of a hierarchy of electromagnetic materials and diffractive elements. Innovations on a system level are strongly related to the introduction of new members of this hierarchy as well as by combining features of two or more hierarchy levels. As an example we focus our attention on the synergy of diffractive optics and optical thin film technology. To this end properties and potential applications of diffractive optical elements coated with nonuniform thin films are investigated. Paraxial and non-paraxial diffraction models based on the Kirchhoff approximation are used to understand the response of these elements. As an important tool to provide an intuitive understanding we employ a reciprocal space representation. Three design problems are discussed, namely the shaping of the spectral response of harmonic diffractive optical elements, the design of color separation gratings, and the implementation of computer generated volume holograms.
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