Abstract

The Talbot array illuminator (TAIL) is well known as an efficient diffractive optical element that transforms, in the near field, a spatially coherent monochromatic wave into a large number of bright spots. Its performance is generally measured in terms of the highest achievable intensity compression ratio, i.e., the maximum achievable ratio of the array illuminators grating cell area to the area of the bright spot (or spots) formed within the cell area.

© 1998 Optical Society of America