Numerical errors of diffraction computing using plane wave spectrum decomposition

Article history: Received 4 January 2008 Received in revised form 3 April 2008 Accepted 19 May 2008 0030-4018/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier B.V. A doi:10.1016/j.optcom.2008.05.023 * Tel.: +48 224328635. E-mail address: [email protected] In the paper the numerical determination of diffraction patterns using plane wave spectrum decomposition (PWS) is investigated. The simple formula for sampling selection for error-free numerical computation is proposed and its applicability is discussed. The usage of this formula presents practical difficulty for some diffraction problems due to required large memory load. A new multi-Fourier transform PWS (MPWS) method is elaborated which overcomes memory requirement of the PWS method. The performances of the PWS and MPWS methods are verified through extensive numerical simulations. 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.