3-DIMENSIONAL DIFFRACTION ANALYSIS OF DIELECTRIC SURFACE-RELIEF GRATINGS

Diffraction of the general angle of incidence by dielectric surface-re lief gratings is analyzed by use of a differential method. The method is applied to sinusoidal, rectangular, and triangular gratings. In all our results, error in energy conservation is of the order of 10(-4) t o groove depths as deep as 2.5 grating periods. It is also shown that, in conical diffraction mountings, when conditions of incidence upon t hese gratings are controlled, the gratings function as if a polarizing beam splitter had been cascaded with a rotatable half-wave retardatio n plate.