Near field of stacked diffraction gratings

Abstract

We obtain a general analytical formulation for determining the near field produced by N diffraction gratings disposed in stack using a scalar approximation. Parameters of the gratings such as type-amplitude/phase-, fill factors, periods and relative positions between gratings along the x and y axes are considered. The obtained formulation is useful for analyzing problems which involve several diffraction gratings, such as optical encoders since it is computationally faster than integral formulations. Finally, analytical results are compared with numerical simulations based on the Rayleigh–Sommerfeld equation.