Abstract

The performance (paraxial phase delay) of conventional diffractive optical elements is generally analyzed using the analytical scalar theory of diffraction, based on thin-element approximation (TEA). However, the high thickness of multilayer diffractive optical elements (MLDOEs) means that TEA yields inaccurate results. To address this, we tested a method based on ray-tracing simulations in mid-wave and long-wave infrared wave bands and for multiple $f$-numbers, together with the effect of MLDOE phase delay on a collimated on-axis beam with an angular spectrum method. Thus, we accurately generate optical figures of merit (point spread function along the optical axis, Strehl ratio at the “best” focal plane, and chromatic focal shift) and, by using a finite-difference time-domain method as a reference solution, demonstrate it as a valuable tool to describe and quantify the longitudinal chromatic aberration of MLDOEs.

© 2022 Optica Publishing Group

Multilayer diffractive optical element material selection method based on transmission, total internal reflection, and thickness

Victor Laborde, Jérôme Loicq, Juriy Hastanin, and Serge Habraken
Appl. Opt. 61(25) 7415-7423 (2022)

Modeling infrared behavior of multilayer diffractive optical elements using Fourier optics

Victor Laborde, Jérôme Loicq, and Serge Habraken
Appl. Opt. 60(7) 2037-2045 (2021)

Thickness optimization algorithm to improve multilayer diffractive optical elements performance

Victor Laborde, Jérôme Loicq, Juriy Hastanin, and Serge Habraken
Appl. Opt. 62(3) 836-843 (2023)

Optimal design of multilayer diffractive optical elements with effective area method

Hongfang Yang, Changxi Xue, Chuang Li, and Ju Wang
Appl. Opt. 55(7) 1675-1682 (2016)

Optimization and analysis of infrared multilayer diffractive optical elements with finite feature sizes

Chao Yang, Hongfang Yang, Chuang Li, and Changxi Xue
Appl. Opt. 58(10) 2589-2595 (2019)