We present white light diffraction phase microscopy (wDPM) as a quantitative phase imaging method that combines the single shot measurement benefit associated with off-axis methods, high temporal phase stability associated with common path geometries, and high spatial phase sensitivity due to the white light illumination. We propose a spatiotemporal filtering method that pushes the limit of the...

In this experiment you will become familiar with diffraction patterns created when a beam of light scatters from objects placed in its path. Such experiments were important historically as they were crucial in establishing the wave nature of light in face of competing theories that described light in terms of geometrical rays of discrete objects. Only a wave theory can give a quantitative expla...

We put forward a new approach to generate stable, fully three-dimensional light bullets, which is based on the matching of the intrinsic material dispersion with a suitable effective diffraction. The matching is achieved in adequate waveguide arrays whose refractive index is periodically modulated along the direction of light propagation. We show that by using nonconventional, out-of-phase long...

The sieve-pipette is the standard method for determining soil particle size distribution (PSD) because it is precise and reproducible. However, this method requires considerable time. Light diffraction methods for determining PSD are fast, but there is no standard procedure and often, results do not agree precisely with the pipette. The objective of this study was to develop a simple and fast p...

An innovative class of coupling gratings for efficiently redirecting light beams is described. They are based on symmetric binary gratings equipped with an asymmetric high refractive index coating. This kind of structure exhibits a grating blaze effect and produces high diffraction efficiencies. Coupling gratings based on the described principle have been fabricated by UV casting and subsequent...

Modern optical telescopes are giving us unprecedented imaging of the Universe in order to probe into the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Large optical telescopes require complex optical systems—often involving multiple lenses and mirrors. Light diffraction patterns on the focal planes influence imaging resolution, so a good understanding of diffraction is required to ensure high precisio...

Fraunhofer diffraction patterns of human enamel samples were photographed with a helium-neon laser beam (lambda = 633 nm). The first-order diffraction angle was in reasonable agreement with a prediction based upon enamel prisms acting as a two-dimensional grating. These results support the hypothesis that enamel diffracts light because of the periodic structure of enamel prisms with interprisma...

Diffraction of normally incident light by a subwavelength circular aperture is calculated analytically. The aperture is opened on a perfectly conducting planar screen with infinitesimal thickness. In our model, the aperture is replaced by uniform magnetic currents and charges. The model allows one to obtain the normalized cross section for the aperture radius up to half of the wavelength, which...

Recently, diffraction elements that reverse the color sequence normally observed in planar diffraction gratings have been found in the wing scales of the butterfly Pierella luna. Here, we describe the creation of an artificial photonic material mimicking this reverse color-order diffraction effect. The bioinspired system consists of ordered arrays of vertically oriented microdiffraction grating...