Polarization conversion by reflection in a thin-film grating

摘要

A dielectric-film waveguide with a grating etched on its film-cover interface can be used as a polarization converter. The e wave can be converted into the h wave and vice versa if the guided wave is incident obliquely to the grating vector. The polarization converter is analyzed by use of a quasi-optic technique. A high degree of polarization-conversion efficiency is achieved by a suitable choice of the grating length. The Bragg angles of incidence and observation, the maximum polarization-conversion efficiency, and the frequency and the angular selectivity are all found to increase with an increase in the grating period. An illustrative numerical example is presented. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America. [References: 20]