Open AccessWave-optical modeling beyond the thin-element-approximation
Author(s) -
S. Schmidt,
Tobias Tieß,
Siegmund Schröter,
Ralf Hambach,
Matthias Jäger,
Hartmut Bartelt,
Andreas Tünnermann,
Herbert Groß
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.24.030188
Subject(s) - optics , wave propagation , holography , sampling (signal processing) , beam propagation method , beam (structure) , refractive index , physics , computer science , detector
The optical design and analysis of modern micro-optical elements with high index contrasts and large numerical apertures is still challenging, as fast and accurate wave-optical simulations beyond the thin-element-approximation are required. We introduce a modified formulation of the wave-propagation-method and assess its performance in comparison to different beam-propagation-methods with respect to accuracy, required sampling densities, and computational performance. For typical micro-optical components, the wave-propagation-method is found to be considerably faster and more accurate at even lower sampling densities compared to the different beam-propagation-methods. This enables realistic wave-optical simulations beyond the thin-element-approximation for micro-optical components. As an example, the modified wave-propagation-method is applied for in-line holographic measurements of strongly diffracting objects. From a direct comparison of experimental results and corresponding simulations, the geometric parameters of a test object could be retrieved with high accuracy.