Many applications of diffractive phase elements involve the calculation of
a continuous phase profile that is subsequently quantized for fabrication.
The quantization process maps the continuous range of phase values to a lim
ited number of discrete steps. We report our observation of the influence o
f this quantization process on the performance of mode-selecting diffractiv
e elements and show that the quantization process produces significantly be
tter results by use of an optimized bias phase. In principle this process c
an be employed to a greater or lesser extent in any quantization process. (
C) 1999 Optical Society of America.