Simultaneous diffraction of two finite waves at non-uniform dynamic volume reflection gratings

Abstract

Based on the two-dimensional coupled-wave theory, the simultaneous diffraction of two finite waves with non-constant amplitude distribution at a finite non-uniform dynamic volume reflection grating is described. A coupled differential equation is derived and solved numerically with the aid of a two-dimensional Runge-Kutta method. The results for the chosen example of a planar volume reflection grating both for pure phase and absorption gratings show the dependence of the fidelity and diffraction efficiency on the normalized parameter grating strength, on the phase shift with respect to the interference pattern of the read-out waves and on the absorption modulation. In contrast to the transmission grating, a high fidelity of the enhanced beam can be achieved for reflection gratings. The numerical results are compared with the solution of the one-dimensional theory.