Rigorous vector wave propagation for arbitrary flat media

Steven P. Bos; Sebastiaan Y. Haffert; Christoph U. Keller

doi:10.1117/12.2273341

30 August 2017 Rigorous vector wave propagation for arbitrary flat media

Steven P. Bos, Sebastiaan Y. Haffert, Christoph U. Keller

Proceedings Volume 10407, Polarization Science and Remote Sensing VIII; 1040709 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2273341
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2017, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Precise modelling of the (off-axis) point spread function (PSF) to identify geometrical and polarization aberrations is important for many optical systems. In order to characterise the PSF of the system in all Stokes parameters, an end-to-end simulation of the system has to be performed in which Maxwell’s equations are rigorously solved. We present the first results of a python code that we are developing to perform multiscale end-to-end wave propagation simulations that include all relevant physics. Currently we can handle plane-parallel near- and far-field vector diffraction effects of propagating waves in homogeneous isotropic and anisotropic materials, refraction and reflection of flat parallel surfaces, interference effects in thin films and unpolarized light. We show that the code has a numerical precision on the order of ~ 10^-16for non-absorbing isotropic and anisotropic materials. For absorbing materials the precision is on the order of ~ 10^-8. The capabilities of the code are demonstrated by simulating a converging beam reflecting from a flat aluminium mirror at normal incidence.

Citation Download Citation

Steven P. Bos, Sebastiaan Y. Haffert, and Christoph U. Keller "Rigorous vector wave propagation for arbitrary flat media", Proc. SPIE 10407, Polarization Science and Remote Sensing VIII, 1040709 (30 August 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2273341

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