DIFFRACTION PROPERTIES OF A PERIODIC MULTIPLE-APERTURE SYSTEM - AN APPROACH BASED ON THE WALSH-FUNCTIONS

The analysis of light propagation in optical systems composed of perio dic arrays of identical apertures is performed using the diffraction p roperties of the Walsh functions. By taking into account three main fe atures of these functions, namely, completeness, binary nature, and se lf-imaging properties, the successive interactions between each apertu re and the diffracted field can be adequately explained through the Wa lsh-Hadamard spectrum associated with the transmitted amplitude distri bution.