Design of Diffractive Optical Elements by Direct and Indirect Construction of Diffraction Pattern: A Comparative Study

Abstract

In this work, we present the design method of diffractive beam splitters via two comparative technical routes, the first referred as the direct scheme, and the second referred as the indirect scheme. Comparative study is carried on the design procedures and results. The advantages of the direct design scheme include overcoming the limit on the number of phase pixels, and being capable of realizing beam shaping and splitting simultaneously. Numerical simulation shows that the uniformity of spots array pattern in the direct design is close to that of the indirect design. These results are helpful for the design and application of diffractive optical elements in modern optical devices.