Diffraction of multi-level atoms by an evanescent wave reflective diffraction grating is modeled by numerically solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. We are able to explain the diffraction observed in experiments with metastable Neon. This is not possible using a two-level atom model. The multi-level model predicts sensitive dependence of diffraction on the laser polarization. For pu...

We describe a new and unique method for simultaneous determination of the groove depth and duty cycle of binary diffraction gratings. For a near-normal angle of incidence, the +1 and -1 diffracted orders will behave nearly the same as the duty cycle is varied for a fixed grating depth. The difference in their behavior, quantified as the ratio of their respective diffraction efficiencies, is com...

A simple grating lateral shear interferometer is described that can be made to give simultaneously two interferograms having shear in two orthogonal directions. The shear for the two orthogonal directions is produced in one plane by one double frequency crossed diffraction grating that can easily be produced holographically. Translating the grating sideways causes the irradiance of the interfer...

Measuring orbital angular momentum (OAM) states of vortex beams is of great importance in diverse applications employing OAM-carrying vortex beams. We present a simple and efficient scheme to measure OAM states (i.e. topological charge values) of vortex beams with annular gratings. The magnitude of the topological charge value is determined by the number of dark fringes after diffraction, and t...

We investigated the development of spontaneous gratings arising in light-sensitive waveguide AgCl–Ag films on glass substrates at various cases of linear polarization of the single inducing laser beam. The cause of such a grating development is the appearance of an interference field created by the summation of the incident beam and scattered waveguide TEand TM-modes. Positive feedback in grati...

Transmission gratings that combine a large diffraction angle with a high diffraction efficiency and a low angular and wavelength dispersion could be used to collect sunlight in a light guide. In this paper we compare the diffractive properties of polarization gratings and classical surface-relief gratings and explore their possible use in solar concentrators. It is found that polarization grati...

We discuss electron diffraction from two counterpropagating light waves with two different frequencies. We show that, even though these waves do not form a standing wave, electron diffraction similar to the conventional Kapitza-Dirac effect, i.e., scattering on a standing wave, is still possible. The nonlinear response of the electron to the laser fields creates a stationary diffraction grating...

We demonstrate the use of shallow diffraction gratings for quadrature phase interferometry. A single shallow diffraction grating-based Michelson interferometer yields only trivial (0(o) or 180(o) ) phase shift between different output ports. In comparison, a combination of two parallel shallow diffraction gratings can be useful to achieve desired phase shifts (e.g., 90 (o) for quadrature phase ...

We report on the optimization of staircase grating profiles for the case of absorbing grating materials. Using a simple numerical algorithm, we determined the grating parameters, maximizing the first-order diffraction efficiency for different numbers of staircase steps. The results show that there is a significant difference between the staircase profiles for nonnegligible and negligible absorp...

Multilayer coated blazed gratings with high groove density are the best candidates for use in high resolution EUV and soft x-ray spectroscopy. Theoretical analysis shows that such a grating can be potentially optimized for high dispersion and spectral resolution in a desired high diffraction order without significant loss of diffraction efficiency. In order to realize this potential, the gratin...