POLARIMETRY OF TRANSMISSION GRATINGS

We have investigated the polarizing properties of gold wire gratings i n the resonance domain. The partial polarizing properties of 1-mu m pe riod gratings in the near IR are then used to orient the wire structur e of transmission grating facets parallel to each other by means of an alignment polarimeter technique. The absolute alignment accuracy for these gratings is limited by the influence of the support structure on the orientation of the polarization ellipse. If the polarizing proper ties of this perturbative component are known, the accuracy can be enh anced by treating the polarization by means of the Mueller calculus.