Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Analysis of grating doublets for achromatic beam-splitting

Open Access Open Access

Abstract

Achromatic beam-splitting grating doublets are designed for both continuous phase and binary phase gratings. By analyzing the sensitivity to lateral shifts between the two grating layers, it is shown that continuous-profile grating doublets are extremely difficult to fabricate. Achromatic grating doublets that have profiles with a constant first spatial derivative are significantly more resistant to lateral shifts between grating layers, where one design case showed a 17 times improvement in performance. Therefore, binary phase, multi-level phase, and blazed grating doublets perform significantly better than continuous phase grating doublets in the presence of a lateral shift between two grating layers. By studying the sensitivity to fabrication errors in the height of both grating layers, one grating layer height can be adjusted to maintain excellent performance over a large wavelength range if the other grating layer is fabricated incorrectly. It is shown in one design case that the performance of an achromatic Dammann grating doublet can be improved by a factor of 215 if the heights of the grating layers are chosen to minimize the performance change in the presence of fabrication errors.

© 2015 Optical Society of America

1. Introduction

A common design problem is to split one laser beam into multiple beams with equal energy. For example, binary phase beam-splitting gratings utilize a pattern consisting of two phase levels [1–3]. Since these gratings are limited to only two phases, efficiency is relatively low. Dammann and Görtler were the first to address the problem of beam-splitting phase gratings [3], their class of binary phase grating solutions are now referred to as Dammann gratings. Continuous phase gratings were developed to further improve efficiency [3–5]. Using calculus of variations, Romero and Dickey found analytical expressions for the optimal continuous phase functions of one- and two-dimensional gratings that maximize energy into N desired output beams [6,7]. While these gratings theoretically provide optimal efficiency into N outgoing beams, the presence of fabrication errors can significantly degrade their performance. However, consideration of fabrication errors in the design can significantly improve tolerances [8]. Applications that benefit from beam-splitting gratings are parallel processing in laser machining and material processing, sensor systems, interferometry, communication systems, and image processing and gathering system [9].

One disadvantage of single layer beam-splitting gratings is that they are only optimized for a single wavelength. If the wavelength deviates from the designed wavelength, uniformity of the output beams degrades. This degradation may be unacceptable for certain applications. An achromatic beam-splitting grating has wavelength-independent diffraction efficiency. By using multiple layers, a diffractive optical element (DOE) can be achromatized for multiple wavelengths [10,11]. The sensitivity of multilayer DOEs has been studied by analyzing the change in the diffraction efficiency of multilayer DOEs with respect to some common fabrication errors [12,13]. However, only DOEs that are designed to diffract all energy into one diffraction order were analyzed. By optimizing the levels of a single relatively thin multi-level phase grating, a grating can be achromatized at multiple wavelengths [14]. However, these designs typically have several closely spaced large discontinuities in the height profiles, which may make fabrication difficult. In this paper, a generalized achromatic design method is used to design multilayer achromatic beam-splitting grating doublets with equal energy output modes at two wavelengths. By studying the sensitivity of these achromatic grating doublets, it is shown that grating profiles with constant spatial derivatives perform significantly better than continuous grating profiles with respect to fabrication errors.

Section 2 details the theory of achromatic beam-splitting grating doublet design. Section 3 analyzes the sensitivity of grating doublets to lateral shifts between grating layers for an achromatic continuous phase grating doublet and an achromatic Dammann grating doublet. Section 4 analyzes the sensitivity of grating doublets to fabrication errors in the heights of each layer for an achromatic Dammann grating doublet.

2. Achromatic beam-splitting grating doublet design

A lossless, one-dimensional grating is characterized by periodic height function h(x). In the absence of fabrication errors and using a thin grating approximation, the transmitted phase in air of a laser beam at position x is changed by an amount

ϕ(x,λ)=h(x)2π(n(λ)1)/λ,
where n(λ) is the grating material refractive index at the wavelength of light λ. Note that the phase of the transmitted light on-axis is inversely proportional to the wavelength of light λ. For a grating illuminated by a unit-amplitude plane wave, the output beams, ignoring Fresnel losses, are characterized by the grating’s Fourier coefficients:
ap(λ)=1TT/2T/2eiϕ(x,λ)ei2πpx/Tdxforp=±1,±2,...,
where T is the period of the grating. The Fourier coefficients determine energies and phases of the output beams [15].

The efficiency of each beam at wavelength λ is defined as |ap(λ)|2. A 1xN vector η[ϕ(x,λ)] is defined that contains efficiencies of each desired output beam at wavelength λ,

ηp[ϕ(x,λ)]=|ap(λ)|2.

The efficiency of each output beam depends on the amount of fabrication error and the phase function of the grating. Total efficiency E of the grating at wavelength λ is

E[ϕ(x,λ)]=p=m(1)m(N)|ap(λ)|2,
where m contains the N desired output modes. Note that m are not limited to modes that are uniformly spaced. The remaining (1-E) are spread into orders outside the desired N output modes. There may be significant energy in orders outside the desired range, so E might be less than unity. For a 1x5 beam-splitting grating, the total efficiency is the sum of N = 5 desired output modes.

In the design algorithm, Fourier coefficients of an error-free uniform beam-splitting grating are subject to the constraint

|ap(λi)|2=E/N,
which ensures that energies in all desired output beams are equal at wavelength λi. If there are fabrication errors or the wavelength changes, output beam energies in the desired range of p are not equal. The standard deviation σ is used to quantify the departure from the equal-energy output beam condition,
σ(λ)=s(η[ϕ(x,λ)]),
where s is the function for standard deviation. Since σ is the standard deviation of the beam efficiencies, σ is unitless.

To demonstrate the performance change due to wavelength, performance of a 1x5 beam-splitting phase grating is simulated from 400 nm – 700 nm. The form of the phase function used to design beam-splitting continuous phase gratings into odd numbers of beams is described analytically by [6]:

ϕ(x)=tan1(Q(x,α,μ)P(x,α,μ)),
P(x,α,μ)=1+2j=1Mμjcos(αj)cos(jx),
Q(x,α,μ)=2j=1Mμjsin(αj)cos(jx).
Note that the phase function ϕ is parameterized by the phase α and amplitude μ of corresponding sinusoids. The solution for a 1x5 beam-splitting grating with optimal efficiency into the first 5 modes has the following parameters: α = (-π/2,π), μ = (0.459, 0.899). The grating profile in radians is shown in Fig. 1(a). The grating is assumed to be fabricated using BK7 glass and is optimized for a wavelength of 486 nm. The standard deviation σ of the 5 desired modes as a function of wavelength is shown in Fig. 1(b). At 486 nm, all 5 desired output modes have equal energy, so σ is zero. As the wavelength varies from the optimized wavelength, the standard deviation of the desired 5 modes increases dramatically. At 700 nm, σmax = 0.165. The efficiency E of the 5 desired modes is shown in Fig. 1(c). The efficiency of each peak |ap|2 is shown in Fig. 1(d). The efficiency of the + 1 mode and −1 mode change by the same amount, and likewise for the ± 2 modes. At 700 nm, the maximum difference between modes is Δ|ap|2 = 0.403 . While this grating yields equal energy for the desired 5 modes at λ = 486 nm, other wavelengths have a large deviation from the equal-energy condition.

 figure: Fig. 1

Fig. 1 a) Transmitted phase in radians of achromatic 1x5 continuous phase beam-splitting grating, b) Standard deviation σ and c) total efficiency E of the 5 desired output modes as a function of wavelength. At 700 nm, σmax = 0.165. d) The efficiency of each output mode |ap|2 as a function of wavelength. At 700 nm, Δ|ap|max2 = 0.403.

Download Full Size | PDF

Analogous to how a refractive achromatic doublet lens is designed to have the same focus for two wavelengths, an achromatic beam-splitting grating doublet is designed to produce σ = 0 at two wavelengths. In order for a beam-splitting grating to have equal energy output modes at two different wavelengths, two grating layers with different refractive indices are placed in series, as shown in Fig. 2 (a). To design achromatic grating doublets, start with the desired phase profile for a beam-splitting grating that is represented by ϕ(x) in radians, like the phase function in Fig. 1(a). Achromatization with two grating layers sets ϕ(x) to be the same at two wavelengths. The optical path lengths in units of microns for two desired wavelengths is given by:

OPL(x,λ1)=H1+H2+(n1(λ1)1)h1(x)+(n2(λ1)1)h2(x)=H1+H2+ϕ(x)2πλ1
OPL(x,λ2)=H1+H2+(n1(λ2)1)h1(x)+(n2(λ2)1)h2(x)=H1+H2+ϕ(x)2πλ2
where n1 and n2 are refractive indices for two different grating materials [10,11]. Note that the sum of H1 and H2 yields a constant OPD offset, which adds overall phase to the output electric field, but does not change the performance of the grating, so it can be ignored. Using Eq. (10) and Eq. (11) and ignoring the constant heights, the two unknown height profiles h1(x) and h2(x) are calculated. Note that this method can be expanded to optimize a grating for more than two wavelengths by adding more grating layers.

 figure: Fig. 2

Fig. 2 (a) Diagram of the OPL for an achromatic grating. Index of refraction for (b) BK7 and (c) SF5 as a function of wavelength. (d) Height profile in microns for grating layer 1. (e) Height profile in microns for grating layer 2. Peak-to-valley heights for layer 1 and layer 2 are 17.24 μm and 12.58 μm, respectively.

Download Full Size | PDF

An example of an achromatized continuous phase 1x5 beam-splitting phase grating doublet is shown in Fig. 2 that is optimized for λ1 = 486 nm and λ2 = 656 nm. The desired phase profile ϕ(x) is shown in Fig. 1(a). Grating layer 1 is made from BK7 glass, and grating layer 2 is made from SF5 glass. At these wavelengths, n1(486 nm) = 1.5224, n1(656 nm) = 1.5143, n2(486 nm) = 1.6875, and n2(656 nm) = 1.6667. Figures 2(b) and 2(c) show the index of refraction as a function of wavelength for BK7 and SF5, respectively. Height profiles for the two grating layers are shown in Fig. 2(d) and 2(e). Grating layer 1 has a peak-to-valley height of H1 of 17.24 μm and grating layer 2 has a peak-to-valley height H2 of 12.58 μm. Note that h2(x) is an inverted copy of h1(x), and is scaled by a different height. When light is transmitted through both grating layers using illumination at λ1 or λ2, the transmitted phase of the light is given by the desired phase profile ϕ(x). For all other wavelengths, the transmitted phase deviates from ϕ(x), and the 5 desired output modes are no longer equal energy.

A plot of the standard deviation σ as a function of wavelength is plotted in Fig. 3(a), where σ = 0 for λ1 and λ2. For all other wavelengths, the modes are not equal energy. The efficiency for each mode |ap|2 is shown as a function of wavelength in Fig. 3(b). Note the transmitted phase through both grating layers deviates significantly from the desired phase profile at λ = 400 nm, which results in σ = 0.2. If this is unacceptable for a certain application, the achromatic grating doublet can be redesigned in order to minimize σ at λ = 400 nm by using a combination of different materials for the grating layers, different design wavelengths λ1 and λ2, and different phase profiles. Between 486 nm and 700 nm, the maximum difference in efficiencies between modes is Δ|ap|max2 = 0.047, and the maximum standard deviation σmax = 0.020 at λ = 554 nm. Comparing this to Δ|ap|max2 and σmax at 700 nm for the grating optimized for a single wavelength, there is an improvement by a factor of at least 8 in both Δ|ap|max2 and σmax between 486 nm and 700 nm. Using this method, beam-splitting achromatic grating doublets can be designed for any ϕ(x). The ability to fabricate an achromatic grating doublet is explored in the following sections.

 figure: Fig. 3

Fig. 3 a) Standard deviation σ and b) efficiency E of the 5 desired output modes as a function of wavelength for achromatic 1x5 continuous phase beam-splitting grating doublet. σmax = 0.020 between 486 nm and 700 nm. d) The efficiency of each output mode |ap|2 as a function of wavelength. The max difference between 486 nm and 700 nm is Δ|ap|max2 = 0.047.

Download Full Size | PDF

3. Sensitivity to lateral shifts between grating layers

3.1 Theory

This section studies how a lateral shift between two grating layers of an achromatic design affects performance. First, assume the achromatic solution is known, where ϕ1(x,λ) is the transmitted phase through grating layer 1 and ϕ2(x,λ) is the transmitted phase through grating layer 2. When added together, ϕ1(x,λ) and ϕ2(x,λ) have a transmitted phase ϕ(x,λ) that produces equal energy output beams at two wavelengths λ1 and λ2. The electric field amplitude of the beam in the far field with uniform illumination is proportional to:

UequalF{ei(ϕ1(x,λ)+ϕ2(x,λ))},
where F is the Fourier transform operator. A lateral shift Δx between grating layer 1 and grating layer 2 produces accumulated phase through both grating layers at a position x of
ϕtotal(x,λ)=ϕ1(x,λ)+ϕ2(x+Δx,λ),
If Δx is small relative to the grating period, this expression is approximately
ϕtotal(x,λ)ϕ1(x,λ)+ϕ2(x,λ)+ϕ2(x,λ)Δx,
where ϕ2(x,λ) is the first spatial derivative of ϕ2(x, λ). The electric field amplitude in the far field of the two shifted grating layers with uniform illumination is proportional to:
UshiftF{ei(ϕ1(x,λ)+ϕ2(x,λ)+ϕ2(x,λ)Δx)}=F{ei(ϕ1(x,λ)+ϕ2(x,λ))ei(ϕ2(x,λ)Δx)}.
In order for the electric field to be unchanged by the relative shifts of the grating layers, either Δx = 0 or ϕ2(x,λ) = 0. In either case, the multiplicative complex exponential is unity. By the convolution theorem, this expression is re-written as:
UshiftF{ei(ϕ1(x,λ)+ϕ2(x,λ))}F{ei(ϕ2(x,λ)Δx)},
where * is the convolution operator. The first Fourier transform yields Uequal, and the second Fourier transform is defined as Uderiv. In the far-field,
UshiftUequalUderiv.
If the shift is small, the electric field in the far-field is the convolution of Uequal with Uderiv. Since ϕ2(x,λ) is periodic, Uderiv is comprised of delta functions at integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. The solution that yields Ushift = Uequal requires
eiϕ2(x,λ)Δx=C,
where C is a constant.

To satisfy Eq. (18), ϕ2(x,λ) must be constant. The types of gratings that approximate this property are blazed gratings, Dammann gratings and multi-level phase gratings. Blazed gratings are ideally a sawtooth pattern, which has a constant non-zero first spatial derivative, except for the transitions at the end of every period. Dammann gratings and multi-level phase gratings have profiles with either binary or multi-level phases. Therefore, the grating profiles are a series of steps, where each step has a first spatial derivative equal to zero.

It makes intuitive sense that constant derivative grating profiles are the most resistant to lateral shifts between gratings. For example, as light is transmitted through two binary phase gratings shifted relative to each other, the only portion of the transmitted phase that deviates from the designed transmitted phase is near the transitions of the grating. All other portions of the transmitted phase have the designed phase. In comparison, if a continuous phase grating is shifted, the transmitted phase at every position x deviates from the designed transmitted phase after passing through both gratings. Therefore, the far field pattern from a shifted continuous phase grating deviates significantly from its designed performance.

3.2 Simulation of performance of a laterally shifted continuous phase grating doublet

A continuous phase grating doublet is analyzed to demonstrate problems associated with a lateral shift between the two continuous grating layers that are designed in Sec. 2. Figure 4(a) shows the transmitted phase ϕ2(x,λ) of the profile from Fig. 2(e) at λ1. Figure 4(b) shows ϕ2(x,λ1). Figure 4(c) shows |Uderiv| assuming Δx = 0.01, where units of Δx are fractional period. Note that |Uderiv| exhibits significant energy in almost all modes. When Uderiv is convolved with Uequal, a low-amplitude copy of Uequal is centered at each of the modes shown in Fig. 4(c). This solution yields extremely poor performance, even with the small shift of Δx = 0.01. Figure 4(d) shows the total efficiency E and Fig. 4(e) shows the standard deviation σ of the 5 desired output beams plotted as a function of the relative shift between gratings at the two design wavelengths. For |Δx| > 0.008, efficiency E drops to below half its designed value, which indicates the majority of the energy in these modes are distributed to higher, undesired modes. The difference in E between Δx = 0 and Δx = 0.1 is 0.86. The maximum value of σ is σmax ≈0.1 at Δx ≈0.004, which is a significant departure from the design value, while σmax = 0.020 in Fig. 3(a). Figures 5(a) and 5(b) show |ap|2 for the continuous phase grating for λ1 and λ2, respectively. After |Δx| > 0.01, the efficiency of each output mode is below half its designed value. The performance of this grating deteriorates significantly with small lateral shifts. Due to the high sensitivity to lateral shifts between the grating layers, continuous phase gratings are ill-suited for achromatic grating doublets. Continuous phase achromatic grating doublets require nearly perfect alignment, which may be extremely difficult to achieve during fabrication.

 figure: Fig. 4

Fig. 4 (a) Transmitted phase ϕ2(x,λ) in radians through the grating layer 2 of 1x5 achromatic continuous phase beam-splitting grating doublet. (b) The spatial derivative ϕ2(x,λ1) in units of radians/μm. (c) |Uderiv|. Note nearly all modes are non-zero. (d) Efficiency E and (e) standard deviation σ of desired 5 modes as a function of the lateral shift of grating layer 2.

Download Full Size | PDF

 figure: Fig. 5

Fig. 5 Efficiency of each output mode |ap|2 at (a) λ = 486 nm and (b) λ = 656 nm as a function of lateral shift of grating layer 2. At Δx = 0, |a0|2|a±1|2|a±2|2.

Download Full Size | PDF

3.3 Simulation of performance of laterally shifted Dammann grating

Binary phase gratings have a first derivative of zero over nearly the entire period, which make them excellent candidates for achromatic beam-splitting grating doublets. The solution for an achromatic binary phase Dammann grating doublet that splits an incident beam into 5 equal energy output beams is shown in Fig. 6. The desired transmitted phase ϕ(x) has transitions between the high and low phases at x = (−0.471, −0.133, 0.133, 0.480)T, where T is the period of the grating, with a maximum phase of 2.993 radians [9]. This grating is optimized to be achromatic at λ1 = 486 nm and λ2 = 656 nm. Grating layer 1 is made from BK7 glass and grating layer 2 is made from SF5 glass. Figure 6(a) shows the transmitted phase through the ideal combined grating layers, and Figs. 6(b) and 6(c) show height profiles of grating layers 1 and 2, respectively. The peak-to-valley heights are 11.29 μm and 8.24 μm for grating layers 1 and 2, respectively. Once again, note that h2(x) is an inverted copy of h1(x), and is scaled by a different height. Figure 6(d) shows the efficiency E, which is nearly constant after λ = 486 nm. Figure 6(e) shows the efficiency of each of the 5 desired modes |ap|2 as a function of wavelength. After λ = 460 nm, the efficiency of each mode remains relatively constant. A magnified portion of this wavelength range is shown in Fig. 6(f). This grating doublet has 5 nearly equal energy output beams from 486 nm – 700 nm, which makes it an excellent achromatic grating over this wavelength range with Δ|ap|max2 = 0.010 and σmax = 0.004 at λ = 700 nm. Note Δ|ap|max2 and σmax are approximately 5 times lower than the achromatic continuous phase beam-splitting grating doublet from 486 nm – 700 nm.

 figure: Fig. 6

Fig. 6 Transmitted phase ϕ(x) in radians of an achromatic 1x5 beam-splitting Dammann grating doublet. (b) Height profile in microns for grating layer 1. (c) Height profile in microns for grating layer 2. Peak-to-valley heights are 11.29 μm and 8.24 μm, respectively. (d) Efficiency E of each of the desired 5 output modes from λ = 400 nm – 700 nm. (e) The efficiency of each output mode |ap|2 as a function of wavelength. (f) Magnified portion of |ap|2 from λ = 460 nm – 700 nm.

Download Full Size | PDF

The transmitted phase ϕ2(x, λ1) is shown in Fig. 7(a) and ϕ2(x,λ1) is shown in Fig. 7(b). ϕ2(x,λ1) is zero, except at the transitions between the high and low phase of the profile. Figure 7(c) shows |Uderiv| assuming Δx = 0.01, which is approximately a delta function. Therefore, this grating is resistant to shifts between grating layers. The efficiency E and standard deviation σ are plotted as a function of the lateral shift in terms of the fraction of the grating period in Figs. 7(d) and 7(e), respectively. The difference in efficiency E between Δx = 0 and Δx = 0.1 is 0.05, which is 17 times smaller than the shifted continuous phase grating design. Additionally, σmax ≈0.04 at Δx = 0.1 for λ = 486 nm, which is nearly 2.5 times less than with the shifted continuous phase grating design. Figures 8(a) and 8(b) show efficiencies of each desired output mode as a function of the shift of the grating layers for λ1 and λ2, respectively. For small shifts there is very little change in the efficiencies of the desired modes, so the performance of this achromatic grating doublet is maintained, even in the presence of a lateral shift between the two grating layers, whereas efficiency for each mode in the continuous phase grating doublet decreased dramatically after a small shift. The Dammann grating doublet performs better by a factor of 17 over the continuous phase grating doublet in the presence of a shift between grating layers.

 figure: Fig. 7

Fig. 7 (a) Transmitted phase in radians through ϕ2(x,λ1) of achromatic Damman phase grating doublet. (b) The spatial derivative ϕ2(x,λ1) in units of radians/μm. (c) |Uderiv|. Note it is nearly a delta function. (f) Efficiency E and (e) standard deviation σ of desired 5 modes as a function of the lateral shift of grating 2.

Download Full Size | PDF

 figure: Fig. 8

Fig. 8 (a) The efficiency of each output mode |ap|2 at (a) λ = 486 nm and (b) λ = 656 nm as a function of lateral shift of grating layer 2. At Δx = 0, |a0|2|a±1|2|a±2|2.

Download Full Size | PDF

Greisukh et al demonstrated scalar diffraction theory reliably models two-layer phase-relief diffraction structures when the ratio of the structure period to the height of the diffraction structures is greater than 2.5 [16]. Based off this result, scalar diffraction theory is reliably accurate for periods greater than 28 μm and 43 μm for the achromatic Damman grating doublet and the continuous phase achromatic grating doublet, respectively. To maintain σ<0.04 for the achromatic continuous phase grating doublet at λ = 486 nm with a 43 μm period, the grating layers have to be aligned with Δx < 0.002, which corresponds to a lateral shift less than 0.086 μm. In contrast, the achromatic Dammann grating doublet with a 43 μm period has to be aligned within 4.3 μm to maintain σ<0.04 at λ = 486 nm. For this example, the tolerance for alignment is 50 times smaller for the achromatic continuous phase grating doublet, which makes alignment extremely difficult.

A summary of the results for the achromatic continuous phase grating doublet and the achromatic Dammann grating doublet is shown in Table 1. Note the achromatic Dammann grating doublet significantly outperforms the achromatic continuous phase grating doublet in all cases. Therefore, gratings that have a height profile where the spatial derivative is constant over approximately the entire period like Dammann gratings, multi-level gratings, and blazed gratings minimize sensitivity to relative shifts between the two grating layers. While continuous phase beam-splitting gratings are superior for single-wavelength designs, since they can yield higher efficiencies and better uniformity than Dammann and multi-level gratings, their sensitivity to lateral shifts between grating layers makes it extremely difficult to fabricate an achromatic continuous phase grating doublet with good performance. Dammann gratings, multi-level gratings, and blazed gratings are superior for fabrication of achromatic beam-splitting grating doublets.

Tables Icon

Table 1. Summary of 1x5 achromatic grating doublet results

4. Sensitivity to height fabrication errors

4.1 Theory

In addition to lateral shifts between the two grating layers, each grating layer may be fabricated with an error in its height. Start with the solution for an achromatic grating doublet, where ϕ1(x, λ) is the transmitted phase through grating layer 1 and ϕ2(x, λ) is the transmitted phase through grating layer 2. Together, ϕ1(x, λ) and ϕ2(x, λ) have a transmitted phase ϕ(x, λ) that creates equal energy output beams at two wavelengths λ1 and λ2. Assume there is a constant multiplicative fabrication error in the height, so the total phase transmission is (1 + Δ)ϕ(x, λ). The electric field amplitude in the far field in the presence of fabrication errors in the height is proportional to:

UF{ei((1+Δ1)ϕ1(x,λ)+(1+Δ2)ϕ2(x,λ))},
where each grating layer has its own associated height error Δ1 and Δ2. To gain more insight, this expression is rewritten as
UUequalF{ei(Δ1ϕ1(x,λ)+Δ2ϕ2(x,λ))}.
In order for there to be no change in U, the argument of the second Fourier transform, which is defined as UΔ, must be constant,
UΔ=ei(Δ1ϕ1(x,λ)+Δ2ϕ2(x,λ))=C,
where C is a constant. Thus, the spatial dependence of the argument in Eq. (21) needs to be removed.

The transmitted phase is rewritten in terms of phase amplitude ϕq0 and normalized base profile bq(x), where the subscript q indicates the layer of the doublet,

ϕq(x,λ)=ϕq0(λ)bq(x),
where bq(x) ranges from [0,1]. As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 6, achromatic grating doublet solutions have height profiles in which the two grating layers are related such that,
b2(x)=1b1(x).
UΔ written in terms of base function b1(x) is
UΔ=ei(Δ1ϕ10b1(x,λ)+Δ2ϕ20(1b1(x,λ)))=eiΔ2ϕ20ei(Δ1ϕ10b1(x,λ)Δ2ϕ20b1(x,λ)),
The first term is a constant, so it can be factored out and ignored. To make the complex exponential unity, the spatially dependent terms are integer multiples of 2π for all x, so that
b1(x)(Δ1ϕ10(λ)Δ2ϕ20(λ))=2πm,
where m is an integer.

It is instructive to observe the conditions on Δ1 and Δ2 for which Eq. (25) is satisfied with different b1(x). For an arbitrary base function, the condition for which Eq. (25) is satisfied is given by

Δ2=ϕ10(λ)ϕ20(λ)Δ12πmϕ20(λ)b1(x).
For m = 0, this relationship holds for continuous and non-continuous grating profiles. If m is non-zero, Δ2 is spatially dependent, since the offset is spatially dependent, which violates the assumption that Δ2 is constant. However, suppose b1(x) is binary, so it only takes on values of 0 and 1. When b1(x) = 0, Eq. (25) is satisfied, since 0 = 2πm when m = 0. If b1(x) = 1, Eq. (25) simplifies to
Δ1ϕ10(λ)Δ2ϕ20(λ)=2πm.
which is solved for Δ2 as
Δ2=ϕ10(λ)ϕ20(λ)Δ12πmϕ20(λ).
Equation (28) is a linear relationship between Δ1 and Δ2 to produce no change to the designed σ in the far field pattern for binary grating doublets with height errors. Thus, there are lines of no change to the designed σ at integer multiples of 2π. The slope of this line for wavelength λ is
β(λ)=ϕ10(λ)ϕ20(λ)=H1(n1(λ)1)H2(n2(λ)1),
where Eq. (1) is used for each grating layer. Note that both the slope and offset of this line are wavelength dependent. Even though the fabrication errors in height may combine to yield no change in the far-field pattern at one wavelength, the performance at another wavelength may change significantly.

4.2 Simulation of height fabrication errors for achromatic Dammann grating doublets

The performance change due to height errors in both layers of the achromatic Dammann grating doublet described in Sec. 3.3 is simulated in this section. Figure 9(a) shows σ as a function of Δ1 and Δ2 for λ = 486 nm. Note that σ is periodic, as predicted by Eq. (27). Furthermore, the minima of σ are located along the lines given by Eq. (28), shown as solid lines in Fig. 9(a). Assume grating layer 1 is fabricated with the incorrect height after fabrication and is measured to have multiplicative height error Δ1. Instead of trying to fabricate grating layer 2 at the designed value Δ2 = 0, σ is minimized if the height of grating layer 2 is calculated using the line given by Eq. (28).

 figure: Fig. 9

Fig. 9 (a) Standard deviation σ of 5 desired output modes of achromatic Dammann grating doublet as a function of height fabrication errors Δ1 and Δ2 at λ = 486 nm. The lines given by Eq. (28) for λ = 486 nm are plotted as solid lines. The line perpendicular to the solid lines is plotted as a dashed line. (b) σ along dashed line in (a) for λ = 486 nm (solid line) and λ = 656 nm (dashed line).

Download Full Size | PDF

As predicted by Eqs. (27) and (28), σ is also minimized when m is non-zero. To demonstrate the periodic nature of σ, the line perpendicular to the lines given by Eq. (28) is shown as a dashed line in Fig. 9(a). For λ = 486 nm, σ is periodic along the dashed line with a period T486 as shown in Fig. 9(b). However, this period is wavelength dependent. Figure 9(b) also shows σ perpendicular to the lines given by Eq. (28) for λ = 656 nm, which has a larger period T656. When m is zero in Eq. (27), the minima of σ for different wavelengths overlap. However, when m is non-zero, the minima of σ for different wavelengths do not overlap. Thus, when averaged over multiple wavelengths, the performance of the doublet is reduced when m is non-zero.

Since the achromatic Dammann grating doublet has excellent performance from λ = 486 nm – 700 nm, Fig. 10(a) shows σ averaged over this wavelength range as a function of Δ1 and Δ2. The multiplicative height error combinations that minimize σavg are shown along the solid line in Fig. 10(a). Even with errors from Δ1 = [-0.1,0.1], σavg only changes by a maximum of 5 × 10−5 along this line. In comparison, suppose Δ2 is fabricated and has a value along the dashed line shown in Fig. 10(a). Figure 10(b) shows σavg along the dashed line as a function of Δ1. Along this line, σavg oscillates, but does not return to the minimum value at Δ1 = 0 since Eq. (27) cannot be satisfied for multiple wavelengths when m is non-zero.

 figure: Fig. 10

Fig. 10 (a) Standard deviation σ of 5 desired output modes of achromatic Dammann grating doublet as a function of height fabrication errors Δ1 and Δ2 averaged over λ = 486 nm – 700 nm. Solid line is height combinations that minimize σavg. Dashed line is the perpendicular to the solid line. At red square (0.05,0), σavg = 0.429. At yellow circle (0.05,0.049), σavg = 0.002. (b) Average σ from 486 nm – 700 nm along dashed line in (a).

Download Full Size | PDF

As an example, suppose grating layer 1 is fabricated with Δ1 = 0.05. If grating layer 2 is fabricated with Δ2 = 0, σavg = 0.429, which is indicated as the red square in Fig. 10(a). However, if grating layer 2 is calculated using Eq. (28) it is fabricated with Δ2 = 0.049, which is indicated as the yellow circle in Fig. 10(a). At this Δ2, σavg reduces to 0.002, which is a 215 times improvement. Therefore, the performance of the achromatic Dammann grating doublet is improved significantly over a large wavelength range if the height of grating layer 2 is calculated taking Δ1 into account.

5. Conclusion

Simulations for an achromatic continuous phase grating doublet and an achromatic Dammann grating doublet are shown in this paper. Sensitivities of achromatic beam-splitting grating doublets to lateral shifts between grating layers are studied in detail. It is shown that continuous phase grating doublets are extremely sensitive to lateral shifts between the grating layers, which makes fabrication extremely difficult. Grating profiles with a constant first spatial derivative decrease the performance change caused by lateral shifts of the grating layers. Grating profiles with a nearly constant first spatial derivative over a full period include blazed gratings, Dammann gratings, and multi-level phase gratings.

An achromatic Dammann grating doublet and an achromatic continuous phase grating doublet that split an incident beam into 5 equal energy outgoing beams at λ1 = 486 nm and λ2 = 656 nm are designed. A simulation of an achromatic Dammann grating doublet with a lateral shift between grating layers of one-hundredth of the period has 17 times better performance than the achromatic continuous phase grating doublet with the same lateral shift. Grating profiles with a constant first spatial derivative are superior designs for achromatic grating doublets, since they are significantly more resistant to lateral shifts between grating layers.

By studying the sensitivities to fabrication errors in the height, it is shown that certain height error combinations yield no performance change for a single wavelength. Additionally, for binary gratings it shown that if the height fabrication errors between the two grating layers combine to produce a phase error that is an integer multiple of 2π, there is no change in the far-field pattern at a particular wavelength. When averaging over a large wavelength range, the performance of achromatic grating doublets can be preserved even with significant fabrication errors in the height of each grating layer. It is shown that the performance of an achromatic Dammann grating doublet can be improved by a factor of 215 if the height of the grating layers are chosen in order to minimize the performance change in the presence of height fabrication errors.

In addition to lateral shifts between grating layers and errors in the fabricated height of each layer, a grating layer may also be rotated or tilted with respect to the other grating layer. Both of these alignment errors further degrade the performance of a grating doublet. The diffraction pattern from a grating doublet is convolution of the diffraction pattern from grating layer 1 with the diffraction pattern from grating layer 2. A rotation between grating layers rotates the diffraction patterns from each layer with respect to each other, which may degrade the performance of the grating doublet. A tilt in one grating layer changes the optical path length through that grating layer, which may further degrade the performance of the grating doublet. Future work may quantify the impact of rotation and tilt errors on achromatic grating doublets.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant 5R21GM104665 and by NIH T32 Training grant T32EB000809.

References and links

1. J. Turunen, A. Vasara, J. Westerholm, G. Jin, and A. Salin, “Optimization and fabrication of beamsplitters,” J. Phys. D 21(10S), s102 (1988). [CrossRef]  

2. M. P. Dames, R. J. Dowling, P. McKee, and D. Wood, “Efficient optical elements to generate intensity weighted spot arrays: design and fabrication,” Appl. Opt. 30(19), 2685–2691 (1991). [CrossRef]   [PubMed]  

3. H. Dammann and K. Görtler, “High-efficiency in-line multiple imaging by means of multiple phase holograms,” Opt. Commun. 3(5), 312–315 (1971). [CrossRef]  

4. L. P. Boivin, “Multiple imaging using various types of simple phase gratings,” Appl. Opt. 11(8), 1782–1792 (1972). [CrossRef]   [PubMed]  

5. Yu. V. Miklyaev, A. Krasnaberski, M. Ivanenko, A. Mikhailov, W. Imgrunt, L. Aschke, and V. N. Lissotschenko, “Efficient diffractive optical elements from glass with continuous surface profiles,” Proc. SPIE 7913, 79130B (2011). [CrossRef]  

6. L. A. Romero and F. M. Dickey, “Theory of optimal beam splitting by phase gratings. I. One-dimensional gratings,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 24(8), 2280–2295 (2007). [CrossRef]   [PubMed]  

7. L. A. Romero and F. M. Dickey, “Theory of optimal beam splitting by phase gratings. II. Square and hexagonal gratings,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 24(8), 2296–2312 (2007). [CrossRef]   [PubMed]  

8. S. Pacheco, J. F. Brand, M. Zaverton, T. Milster, and R. Liang, “Sensitivity analysis and optimization method for the fabrication of one-dimensional beam-splitting phase gratings,” Opt. Express 23(9), 11771–11782 (2015). [CrossRef]   [PubMed]  

9. L. Romero and F. Dickey, “The mathematical theory of laser beam-splitting gratings,” Prog. Opt. 54, 319–386 (2010). [CrossRef]  

10. Y. Arieli, S. Noach, S. Ozeri, and N. Eisenberg, “Design of diffractive optical elements for multiple wavelengths,” Appl. Opt. 37(26), 6174–6177 (1998). [CrossRef]   [PubMed]  

11. S. Noach, N. Eisenberg, and Y. S. Arieli, “Achromatic diffractive optical element,” Proc. SPIE 3778, 151–157 (1999). [CrossRef]  

12. L. Yang, Q. Cui, T. Liu, and C. Xue, “Effects of manufacturing errors on diffraction efficiency for multilayer diffractive optical elements,” Appl. Opt. 50(32), 6128–6133 (2011). [CrossRef]   [PubMed]  

13. L. Gao, S. To, H. Yang, X. Nie, T. Liu, and C. Xue, “Effect of assembling errors on the diffraction efficiency for multilayer diffractive optical elements,” Appl. Opt. 53(31), 7341–7347 (2014). [CrossRef]   [PubMed]  

14. T. R. M. Sales and D. H. Raguin, “Multiwavelength operation with thin diffractive elements,” Appl. Opt. 38(14), 3012–3018 (1999). [CrossRef]   [PubMed]  

15. J. W. Goodman, Introduction to Fourier Optics (Roberts and Company Publishers, 2005).

16. G. I. Greisukh, E. A. Bezus, D. A. Bykov, E. G. Ezhov, and S. A. Stepanov, “Suppression of the spectral selectivity of two-layer phase-relief diffraction structures,” Opt. Spectrosc. 106(4), 621–626 (2009). [CrossRef]  

Cited By

Optica participates in Crossref's Cited-By Linking service. Citing articles from Optica Publishing Group journals and other participating publishers are listed here.

Alert me when this article is cited.


Figures (10)

Fig. 1
Fig. 1 a) Transmitted phase in radians of achromatic 1x5 continuous phase beam-splitting grating, b) Standard deviation σ and c) total efficiency E of the 5 desired output modes as a function of wavelength. At 700 nm, σmax = 0.165. d) The efficiency of each output mode | a p | 2 as a function of wavelength. At 700 nm, Δ| a p | max 2 = 0.403.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2 (a) Diagram of the OPL for an achromatic grating. Index of refraction for (b) BK7 and (c) SF5 as a function of wavelength. (d) Height profile in microns for grating layer 1. (e) Height profile in microns for grating layer 2. Peak-to-valley heights for layer 1 and layer 2 are 17.24 μm and 12.58 μm, respectively.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3 a) Standard deviation σ and b) efficiency E of the 5 desired output modes as a function of wavelength for achromatic 1x5 continuous phase beam-splitting grating doublet. σmax = 0.020 between 486 nm and 700 nm. d) The efficiency of each output mode | a p | 2 as a function of wavelength. The max difference between 486 nm and 700 nm is Δ| a p | max 2 = 0.047.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4 (a) Transmitted phase ϕ2(x,λ) in radians through the grating layer 2 of 1x5 achromatic continuous phase beam-splitting grating doublet. (b) The spatial derivative ϕ 2 (x, λ 1 ) in units of radians/μm. (c) |Uderiv|. Note nearly all modes are non-zero. (d) Efficiency E and (e) standard deviation σ of desired 5 modes as a function of the lateral shift of grating layer 2.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5 Efficiency of each output mode | a p | 2 at (a) λ = 486 nm and (b) λ = 656 nm as a function of lateral shift of grating layer 2. At Δx = 0, | a 0 | 2 | a ±1 | 2 | a ±2 | 2 .
Fig. 6
Fig. 6 Transmitted phase ϕ(x) in radians of an achromatic 1x5 beam-splitting Dammann grating doublet. (b) Height profile in microns for grating layer 1. (c) Height profile in microns for grating layer 2. Peak-to-valley heights are 11.29 μm and 8.24 μm, respectively. (d) Efficiency E of each of the desired 5 output modes from λ = 400 nm – 700 nm. (e) The efficiency of each output mode | a p | 2 as a function of wavelength. (f) Magnified portion of | a p | 2 from λ = 460 nm – 700 nm.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7 (a) Transmitted phase in radians through ϕ2(x,λ1) of achromatic Damman phase grating doublet. (b) The spatial derivative ϕ 2 (x, λ 1 ) in units of radians/μm. (c) |Uderiv|. Note it is nearly a delta function. (f) Efficiency E and (e) standard deviation σ of desired 5 modes as a function of the lateral shift of grating 2.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8 (a) The efficiency of each output mode | a p | 2 at (a) λ = 486 nm and (b) λ = 656 nm as a function of lateral shift of grating layer 2. At Δx = 0, | a 0 | 2 | a ±1 | 2 | a ±2 | 2 .
Fig. 9
Fig. 9 (a) Standard deviation σ of 5 desired output modes of achromatic Dammann grating doublet as a function of height fabrication errors Δ1 and Δ2 at λ = 486 nm. The lines given by Eq. (28) for λ = 486 nm are plotted as solid lines. The line perpendicular to the solid lines is plotted as a dashed line. (b) σ along dashed line in (a) for λ = 486 nm (solid line) and λ = 656 nm (dashed line).
Fig. 10
Fig. 10 (a) Standard deviation σ of 5 desired output modes of achromatic Dammann grating doublet as a function of height fabrication errors Δ1 and Δ2 averaged over λ = 486 nm – 700 nm. Solid line is height combinations that minimize σavg. Dashed line is the perpendicular to the solid line. At red square (0.05,0), σavg = 0.429. At yellow circle (0.05,0.049), σavg = 0.002. (b) Average σ from 486 nm – 700 nm along dashed line in (a).

Tables (1)

Tables Icon

Table 1 Summary of 1x5 achromatic grating doublet results

Equations (29)

Equations on this page are rendered with MathJax. Learn more.

ϕ(x,λ)=h(x)2π(n(λ)1)/λ,
a p (λ)= 1 T T/2 T/2 e iϕ(x,λ) e i2πpx/T dxforp=±1,±2, ...,
η p [ϕ(x,λ)]= | a p (λ) | 2 .
E[ϕ(x,λ)]= p=m(1) m(N) | a p (λ) | 2 ,
| a p ( λ i ) | 2 =E/N,
σ(λ)=s( η[ϕ(x,λ)] ),
ϕ(x)= tan 1 ( Q(x,α,μ) P(x,α,μ) ),
P(x,α,μ)=1+2 j=1 M μ j cos( α j )cos(jx) ,
Q(x,α,μ)=2 j=1 M μ j sin( α j )cos( jx ) .
OPL(x, λ 1 )= H 1 +H 2 +( n 1 ( λ 1 )1) h 1 (x)+( n 2 ( λ 1 )1) h 2 (x)= H 1 + H 2 + ϕ(x) 2π λ 1
OPL(x, λ 2 )= H 1 +H 2 +( n 1 ( λ 2 )1) h 1 (x)+( n 2 ( λ 2 )1) h 2 (x)= H 1 + H 2 + ϕ(x) 2π λ 2
U equal F{ e i( ϕ 1 (x,λ)+ ϕ 2 (x,λ) ) },
ϕ total (x,λ)= ϕ 1 (x,λ)+ ϕ 2 (x+Δx,λ),
ϕ total (x,λ) ϕ 1 (x,λ)+ ϕ 2 (x,λ)+ ϕ 2 (x,λ)Δx,
U shift F{ e i( ϕ 1 (x,λ)+ ϕ 2 (x,λ)+ ϕ 2 (x,λ)Δx ) }=F{ e i( ϕ 1 (x,λ)+ ϕ 2 (x,λ) ) e i( ϕ 2 (x,λ)Δx ) }.
U shift F{ e i( ϕ 1 (x,λ)+ ϕ 2 (x,λ) ) }F{ e i( ϕ 2 (x,λ)Δx ) },
U shift U equal U deriv .
e i ϕ 2 (x,λ)Δx =C,
UF{ e i( (1+ Δ 1 ) ϕ 1 (x,λ)+(1+ Δ 2 ) ϕ 2 (x,λ) ) },
U U equal F{ e i( Δ 1 ϕ 1 (x,λ)+ Δ 2 ϕ 2 (x,λ) ) }.
U Δ = e i( Δ 1 ϕ 1 (x,λ)+ Δ 2 ϕ 2 (x,λ) ) =C,
ϕ q (x,λ)=ϕ q0 (λ) b q (x),
b 2 (x)=1 b 1 (x).
U Δ = e i( Δ 1 ϕ 10 b 1 (x,λ)+ Δ 2 ϕ 20 ( 1b 1 (x,λ) ) ) = e i Δ 2 ϕ 20 e i( Δ 1 ϕ 10 b 1 (x,λ) Δ 2 ϕ 20 b 1 (x,λ) ) ,
b 1 (x)( Δ 1 ϕ 10 (λ) Δ 2 ϕ 20 (λ) )=2πm,
Δ 2 = ϕ 10 (λ) ϕ 20 (λ) Δ 1 2πm ϕ 20 (λ) b 1 (x) .
Δ 1 ϕ 10 (λ) Δ 2 ϕ 20 (λ)=2πm.
Δ 2 = ϕ 10 (λ) ϕ 20 (λ) Δ 1 2πm ϕ 20 (λ) .
β(λ)= ϕ 10 (λ) ϕ 20 (λ) = H 1 ( n 1 (λ)1 ) H 2 ( n 2 (λ)1 ) ,
Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies.