Optimized phase quantization for diffractive elements by use of a bias phase

Area of Science:

• Optics
• Photonics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Diffractive phase elements require continuous phase profiles for applications.
• Fabrication necessitates quantizing these continuous profiles into discrete steps.
• Quantization impacts the performance of optical elements, particularly mode-selecting ones.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of the quantization process on diffractive element performance.
• To demonstrate improved performance using an optimized bias phase during quantization.
• To explore the general applicability of this optimized quantization method.

Main Methods:

• Calculation of continuous phase profiles for diffractive elements.
• Application of a quantization process to map continuous to discrete phase values.
• Introduction and optimization of a bias phase within the quantization procedure.

Main Results:

• The quantization process significantly influences the performance of mode-selecting diffractive elements.
• Utilizing an optimized bias phase during quantization leads to substantially improved results.
• The observed benefits of optimized bias phase quantization are demonstrable.

Conclusions:

• Optimized bias phase is a crucial factor in improving diffractive element performance post-quantization.
• This method offers a significant enhancement for mode-selecting diffractive elements.
• The principle of optimized bias phase can be broadly applied to other quantization processes in optics and photonics.