Stratified volume holographic optical elements

Abstract

A computational algorithm for analyzing diffraction properties of optical devices, the optical beam propagation method, has suggested a new class of devices by which Bragg regime (thick grating) response can be obtained from a spaced sequence of thin grating layers. Such stratified volume holographic optical elements (SVHOE's) can emulate distributed volume gratings in terms of diffraction efficiency and angular selectivity and in addition possess periodic diffraction properties that might serve, for example, as interconnections for optical cellular logic arrays. SVHOE's also offer a unique capability for altering the device diffraction response on a layer-by-layer basis, allowing for control of both the diffraction peak width and the angular separation of adjacent peaks.