Experimental Diffraction Efficiency Research Articles

Diffraction symmetry of binary Fourier elements with feature sizes on the order of the illumination wavelength and effects of fabrication errors

When building spot array binary Fourier diffractive optical elements (DOEs) having feature sizes on the order of the wavelength, we noticed remarkable variations in the experimental diffraction efficiency compared to the simulation results. Even with the use of high-cost electron beam lithography and rigorous Fourier modal method simulations, there appear to be no publications, to the best of our knowledge, showing close agreement in diffraction efficiency between the simulation and experimental results. In this Letter, we show that the diffraction symmetry of binary Fourier DOEs can be an efficient and consistent metric for evaluating the limit of the thin-element approximation and the effects of fabrication errors.

Reconstruction of non-error magnetic hologram data by magnetic assist recording

Hologram memory is expected to be the next-generation of optical data storage technology. Bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet is typically used for rewritable magnetic hologram media. The diffraction efficiency of magnetic holography depends on the Faraday rotation angle, but the experimental diffraction efficiency is not as high as that expected from calculations. This difference could be caused by incomplete magnetization reversal at the recorded region. In this study, we investigated the effects of magnetic assist (MA) recording through numerical simulation and experiment to improve the diffraction efficiency and the resulting reconstructed images. The improvement of diffraction efficiency was more effective in garnet films thinner than the width of a fringe, and a suitable value of the assist magnetic field was identified for the improvement. In addition, MA recording improved the intensity of reconstructed images and broadened the non-error recording conditions to the low energy region. This technique shows promise in improving the reconstructed quality of magnetic hologram data.

High efficiency geometric-phase polarization fan-out grating on silicon.

We report the design, fabrication and characterization of a 1-by-5 geometric-phase polarization fan-out grating for coherent beam combining at 1550 nm. The phase profile of the grating is accurately controlled by the local orientation of the binary subwavelength structure instead of the etching depth and profile empowering the grating to be more tolerant to fabrication errors. Deep-UV interference lithography on silicon offers an inexpensive, highly efficient and high damage threshold solution to fabricating large-area fan-out gratings than electron beam lithography (EBL) and photoalignment liquid crystals. The theoretical and experimental diffraction efficiency of the grating is 87% and 85.7% respectively. Such a fan-out grating may find application to high-power beam combining in the infrared regime.

Parallel laser writing system with scanning Dammann lithography

Scanning Dammann lithography (SDL) is proposed and implemented, which uses a Dammann grating to generate multiple beams with sharp step boundary for writing large-sized gratings efficiently. One of the most attractive advantages is that this technique can accelerate the writing speed, e.g. 1 × 32 Dammann grating can be 32 times faster than the single laser scanning system. More importantly, the uniformity of the multi-beams-written lines is much better than the single laser beam scanning system in consideration of the environmental effects such as air turbulence, thermal instability, etc. Using the SDL system, a three-port high-efficiency beam splitter at visible wavelengths is fabricated quickly, and the theoretical and experimental diffraction efficiencies are both higher than 90%. Therefore, SDL should be a useful tool for fabrication of large-sized gratings.

Efficient focusing of 8 keV X-rays with multilayer Fresnel zone plates fabricated by atomic layer deposition and focused ion beam milling.

Fresnel zone plates (FZPs) recently showed significant improvement by focusing soft X-rays down to ~10 nm. In contrast to soft X-rays, generally a very high aspect ratio FZP is needed for efficient focusing of hard X-rays. Therefore, FZPs had limited success in the hard X-ray range owing to difficulties of manufacturing high-aspect-ratio zone plates using conventional techniques. Here, employing a method of fabrication based on atomic layer deposition (ALD) and focused ion beam (FIB) milling, FZPs with very high aspect ratios were prepared. Such multilayer FZPs with outermost zone widths of 10 and 35 nm and aspect ratios of up to 243 were tested for their focusing properties at 8 keV and shown to focus hard X-rays efficiently. This success was enabled by the outstanding layer quality thanks to ALD. Via the use of FIB for slicing the multilayer structures, desired aspect ratios could be obtained by precisely controlling the thickness. Experimental diffraction efficiencies of multilayer FZPs fabricated via this combination reached up to 15.58% at 8 keV. In addition, scanning transmission X-ray microscopy experiments at 1.5 keV were carried out using one of the multilayer FZPs and resolved a 60 nm feature size. Finally, the prospective of different material combinations with various outermost zone widths at 8 and 17 keV is discussed in the light of the coupled wave theory and the thin-grating approximation. Al2O3/Ir is outlined as a promising future material candidate for extremely high resolution with a theoretical efficiency of more than 20% for as small an outermost zone width as 10 nm at 17 keV.

Method on double-pass acousto-optic frequency shifter in absolute distance measurement using Fabry-Pérot interferometry

In order to realize nanometer-scale absolute distance measurements based on Fabry-Pérot interferometry for long-range displacement measurement of the moving coil in Joule balance, the acousto-optic frequency shifter (AOFS) in double-pass configuration is presented, and a tunable frequency difference in a range of 200 MHz is achieved. The focus length of the lens is determined by analyzing the relationship of the tradeoff between the AOFS modulation bandwidth and its diffraction efficiencies; the beam spot of the first-order diffraction beam is guaranteed by accurately positioning the focused beam according to the distribution of the zero-order diffraction beam spot. The experimental single-pass and double-pass peak diffraction efficiency of the AOFS are 79.54% and 61.41%, respectively; the tunable frequency difference of 440-640 MHz, which is twice the single-pass modulation bandwidth output of 220-320 MHz, is obtained by the beat note between the incident beam and the first-order diffraction beam of the double-pass AOFS, and has a good signal-to-noise ratio. Theoretical analysis shows that a folded Fabry-Pérot cavity length displacement of about 53 mm can be measured through the tunable frequency difference achieved by means of double-pass AOFS.

Polarization-independent and high-diffraction-efficiency Fresnel lenses based on blue phase liquid crystals

A polarization-independent and high-diffraction-efficiency Fresnel lens is developed based on blue phase liquid crystals (BPLCs). The optically isotropic characteristic of BPLCs is used to produce a polarization-independent Fresnel lens. The small optical phase shift of BPLCs that is induced by the Kerr effect is sufficient for the BPLC Fresnel lens to have high theoretical and experimental diffraction efficiencies of 41% and ∼34%, respectively. An electrically erasable memory effect in the focusing diffraction at an electric field E>4.44 V/μm is observed. The electro-optical properties of the BPLC Fresnel lens are analyzed and discussed.

Nonlinear effects on holographic reflection gratings recorded with BB640 emulsions

Nonlinear recording effects on holographic re ection gratings recorded on BB640 emulsions have been studied. Using an analytical approach to the characteristic curve of this emulsions, the density profiles recorded in the developed emulsions that correspond to the original light pattern generated by the holographic setup have been obtained. The final spatial profiles of the refraction index resulting from different exposure levels and different bleaching processes have been evaluated studying the experimental diffraction efficiency and comparing it with Kogelnik's theory. The quality of the fittings of this model with the experimental spectral responses of the final gratings has been used as a measure of the accordance between the original sinusoidal and periodical light distribution and the obtained modulation profile of the processed hologram. The range of applicability of the theoretical model to the experimental results has been evaluated using different bleaching processes.

Diffraction Efficiency of Holographic Grating Formed in Au Nano particle-Doped Sol–Gel Silica Film by Laser Irradiation

We investigated the diffraction efficiency of the holographic grating formed in the Au-nano particle-doped sol–gel film by irradiation using a frequency-doubled pico second Nd:YAG laser. The experimental diffraction efficiency obtained was ∼0.01%.

Phase function encoding of diffractive structures

We analyzed the direct sampling (DS) method for diffractive lens encoding, using exact electromagnetic diffraction theory. In addition to previously published research [Pure Appl. Opt. 7, 565 (1998)] we present what we believe to be new results for TM polarization. We found that the validity of the scalar-based DS method is even more extended for TM than for TE polarization. Additionally, we fabricated and characterized DS-encoded blazed gratings and found good agreement between the experimental and theoretical diffraction efficiencies. We analyzed quantitatively the influence of the encoding schemes DS and analytic quantization (AQ) on the quality of the focal spot. We also investigated the focal spot sizes (FWHM) and the Strehl ratios of the DS- and the AQ-encoded cylindrical lenses.

Artificial dielectric optical structures: A challenge for nanofabrication

Diffractive optical components can be made using multiple level kinoforms or single level artificial dielectric structures. The latter require the fabrication of pillars of equal depth but differing width and spacing. As a demonstration device, the diffractive optic equivalent of a wedge has been made in GaAs for use at 1.15 μm. The need for all pillars to have the same height was met by using a selective etch and a very thin etch-stop layer on AlGaAs. The experimental diffraction efficiency was 87.8%, among the best ever obtained and close to the theoretical maximum of 97.6%.

Multilevel phase-only array generators with a trapezoidal phase topology

The implementation of a two-stage design process for the design of diffractive optical elements for array illumination is described. Results are presented for on-axis two-dimensional array illuminators for which this method is used. The final designs are theoretically within 5% of the calculated diffraction efficiency upper bound, and theoretical signal reconstruction error is below 1%. Experimental verification of the design theory is given, with experimental diffraction efficiencies within 4% of design values and signal reconstruction error below 6%.

Cross-link optimized cascaded volume hologram array with energy-equalized one-to-many surface-normal fan-outs

Achieving a uniform fan-out energy distribution is critical to the successful applications of substrate guided-wave optical interconnects. Using Dupont photopolymer film HRF-600X00120, we investigated the optimum recording beam intensity for obtaining a large dynamic region of diffraction efficiency relative to exposure dosage. Based on the experimental diffraction efficiency curve, 1-to-5 and 1-to-9 surface-normal fan-out devices were fabricated that operated at a wavelength of 850nm, and output nonuniformities of +/-4 % and +/-10 % were obtained for the two devices.

Experimental characterization of reactive ion etched germanium diffraction gratings at 10.6 μm

An experimental study of diffraction gratings reactive ion etched in germanium is performed. Gratings are designed for the 10.6 μm infrared CO2 laser. Different etchants have been compared to pattern 3-μm-deep grooves in the germanium layers evaporated on a GaAs substrate. The experimental diffraction efficiency (maximum 30%) of the prototype gratings are in good accordance with the theoretical predictions. The U-shaped grooves have still to be further optimized.

ELECTRON-HOLE PLASMA GRATINGS RELATED TO THE URBACH TAIL IN POLAR SEMICONDUCTORS

We have studied the optical index modulation in the Urbach tail of Cd 0.96 Zn 0.04 Te , using the transient grating technique in the subnanosecond domain. We have shown that the screening of the electric field due to LO-phonons by free carriers can explain the main features of picosecond transient grating experiments in the spectral region of the Urbach tail in CdZnTe. We can explain simultaneously the following features: the existence of a break in the kinetics, the saturation of the diffraction efficiency with the pump energy, the possibility of grating erasure and finally the order of magnitude of the experimental diffraction efficiency.

New method for the fabrication of stratified gratings and their applications

Anew method for the preparation of stratified light-sensitive film is developed, and the stratified gratings (SG's) are recorded in the film. The sensitive layers on both sides of a dichromated cellulose triacetate film are produced simultaneously through chemical reaction and not with the conventional coating technique. Compared with SG's in other materials made with coating techniques, double-layer SG's in the film have, to my knowledge, the highest experimental diffraction efficiency (~54%) in addition to their having a simple recording optical system. The diffraction efficiency and the periodic Bragg selectivity of the SH in the film is given. Based on the SG's of the film, several beam splitters with 2, 3, 4, or 7 fan-outs and higher than 80% total diffraction efficiencies are realized experimentally. The advantages of this method as compared with others, such as the method based on volume holographic beam splitters, are explained.

Double-phase-conjugate mirror in CdTe:V with elimination of conical diffraction at 154 μm

We have fabricated a double-phase-conjugate mirror (DPCM) in a single crystal of vanadium-doped cadmium telluride. Because of the high gain in the near-infrared region, a DPCM is possible at a telecommunication wavelength of 1.54 microm in this material. Experimental and theoretical thresholds for the DPCM are compared, and an experimental diffraction efficiency of 7.4% is reported. Conical diffraction has been eliminated by the method of cylindrical lenses. We propose to use this astigmatic configuration to enhance the capacity of interconnections between fibers with a single crystal in a vector-matrix architecture.

Spatial-frequency response of holographic gratings photodeposited from inorganic colloids

Surface photodeposition is a photon-assisted process by which thin films are formed on substrates immersed in colloid solutions. We experimentally evaluate the resolution capabilities of the photodeposition process with amorphous selenium colloids by recording holographic gratings at different spatial frequencies, up to 2200 lines/mm. The experimental diffraction efficiencies are analyzed in terms of a theoretical model, which relates the spatial-frequency response to optical recording parameters and colloid particle sizes. The maximal experimental diffraction efficiency reaches 13% with a spatial frequency of f = 1100 lines/mm. The diffraction efficiencies decrease monotonically with spatial frequency, and drop to half of the maximal diffraction efficiency at f ≈ 1500 lines/mm. These resolution capabilities are achieved with colloid particle sizes extending up to 80 nm. The theoretical derivation indicates that to obtain spatial frequencies above 3000 lines/mm, one should restrict the colloid particle size to a(max) ≤ 30 nm.

Computer-generated holograms on a metal ion-doped polymer system: contact copying

Dichromated poly(acrylic acid) films with dimethyl formamide have been used as a real-time recording medium for volume transmission holograms. In this study a simple computer-generated holographic grating with a sinusoidal amplitude profile is copied onto this recording material by the contact-copying technique. The experimental setup for the contact copying of a computer-generated hologram (CGH) is explained, and the phase modulation is observed for a different exposure time. Theoretical and experimental diffraction efficiency values for the CGH copy are also evaluated. Photographs of the original and copy of the CGH on the photopolymer film are presented.

Analysis and demonstration of an integrated optical switch based on dynamic free carrier gratings: a blueprint for a 100×100 element switch array

We propose, analyze, and demonstrate a new type of integrated optical switch based on dynamic free carrier gratings at the intersection of crossing waveguides. A low efficiency, nonregrowth device was fabricated to demonstrate the dynamic free carrier grating concept. Experimental dynamic diffraction efficiency results measured as a function of wavelength for various polarization cases are analyzed using the models developed here, and are found to be in good agreement with theory. Theoretical calculations for higher efficiency designs with more involved fabrication requirements indicate that high speed 100/spl times/100 element switch arrays, with good polarization independent diffraction efficiency (40%), and thus low insertion loss, can be fabricated on a single substrate.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>