Far-field diffraction characteristics of a Gaussian pulse incident on a sinusoidal phase grating

Abstract

The diffraction characteristics of an ultrafast light source from a sinusoidal amplitude grating in the far field are theoretically investigated in this study with a prompt and precise mathematical derivation. We provide a rigorous treatment of a time-dependent Gaussian pulse passing through a sinusoidal amplitude grating and we obtain more accurate and concrete criteria to judge the timing for the spectral red or blue shifts, as well as the splitting of light distributions. In addition, the distortion of the diffraction temporal intensity distribution is also derived.