Ray matrices for a varied line-space diffraction grating with curved lines

Gilles Fortin, Alexandre April, and Nathalie McCarthy* Centre doptique, photonique et laser, Dpartement de physique, Universit Laval, Qubec, QC Canada

ABSTRACT
The focusing properties of orthogonal optical systems that include a varied line-space grating with curved lines can be analyzed efficiently with the ray matrices presented in this paper. These matrices are obtained by comparing the true optical path length truncated to the second order and the eikonal function (the phase of the kernel appearing in the Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction integral) expressed in terms of ABCD-matrix elements. Keywords: ray matrices, ABCD matrices, varied line-space grating, chirped grating

1. INTRODUCTION
The ray-tracing method is particularly useful to describe and analyze an optical system. Neglecting all aberrations except astigmatism (paraxial approximation) and diffraction effects from the edges of finite apertures, each consecutive evolution step of the ray pencils through a paraxial optical system can be represented by a ray matrix, also called ABCD matrix. The global ray matrix of the system is equal to the multiplication of the consecutive ray matrices in reverse order. The electric field at the system output can then be obtained from the resulting ray matrix of the system and the input electric field with one calculation process using the well-known propagation integral in terms of the ABCD-matrix elements. This integral is based on the Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction theory [1, 2]. The most widespread ray matrices contain 22 elements and apply to orthogonal systems, where the evolution of the rays can be described independently in two orthogonal planes called "tangential" and "sagittal" planes. Figure 1 shows the paraxial parameters used for the analysis in the tangential xz plane. They are the optical axis z, the transverse distance x from the z axis to the projection of the analyzed ray (in the xz plane), and the angle x from the direction of the z axis to that of the ray path projection (in the xz plane).

evolution described by the ray matrix

X
1f'

n0

optical axis .
>ZV

plane U
(input)

plane V (output)

Fig. 1. Paraxial parameters in the tangential xz plane.

The analysis becomes paraxial when tan and sin can be approximated by expressed in radians. The refractive index n of the propagation medium is often merged with the angle to form the reduced slope defined by [2] x' n dx/dz = n tan x n x .
* nathalie.mccarthy@phy.ulaval.ca; phone 1 418 656-3120; fax 1 418 656-2623

(1)

Photonics North 2008, Ral Valle, Michel Pich, Peter Mascher, Pavel Cheben, Daniel Ct, Sophie LaRochelle, Henry P. Schriemer, Jacques Albert, Tsuneyuki Ozaki, Eds., Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7099, 70991I, (2008) 0277-786X/08/$18 doi: 10.1117/12.806544 Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7099 70991I-1 2008 SPIE Digital Library -- Subscriber Archive Copy

The 22 tangential ray matrix is defined in the expression

Ax xV x' = C V x Bx x U Dx x' U

(2)

This matrix links the position x and reduced slope x' of any paraxial ray from the transverse input plane U to the transverse output plane V (see Fig. 1). Matrix elements are related by Ax Dx Bx Cx = 1 . Parameters y , y', and y, and matrix elements Ay, By, Cy, and Dy, are similarly defined in the sagittal yz plane. The first 22 ray matrices developed for varied line-space (VLS) gratings were restricted to straight grating lines [3]. We present here the tangential and sagittal ray matrices (called Mt and Ms respectively) for a VLS grating with curved lines. These matrices are obtained from the term-by-term comparison of the true optical path length truncated to the second order and the eikonal function, expressed in terms of ABCD-matrix elements, that appear in the kernel of the Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction integral [1, 2]. (3)

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE VLS GRATING

The analyzed VLS grating is illustrated for the case of reflection in Fig. 2. It consists of a surface modulation lying on a curved mirror. The plane of incidence coincides with the plane of dispersion (tangential plane in classical diffraction) and contains the incident optical axis zi, the grating normal, and the diffraction optical axis zm of the analyzed mth order (see Fig. 2a).

/ I. /

J
'm order
Zm axis

plane of incidence and dispersion (classical diffraction)

ifh . .1 1JIUI

\\ft_ I

0)

1\

I3mj

,
axis of symmetry

_>'' IE

vlI41
0
x

(r' VJ

:1

Fig. 2. VLS grating lying on a curved mirror. (a) Plane of dispersion containing the incident and diffraction axis zi and zm at respective angles i and m from the grating normal (the optical axes and the normal meet at point O). (b) Projection of the curved lines in the XY plane perpendicular to the grating normal at point O. The arbitrary analysis point P is shown 6.5 cycles away from point O. (c) Orthogonal radii of curvature RX and RY defining the average grating surface Z(X, Y).

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The following analysis relates to the Cartesian coordinate system (X, Y, Z) of Fig. 2a. The optical axes and the grating normal meet at point O of coordinates (0, 0, 0). The projection of the grating lines in the XY plane, perpendicular to the grating normal at point O, is shown in Fig. 2b. Point P is in the XY plane and will be used in the matrix analysis. The function defining the grating cycle number at each point in the XY plane is called N(X, Y). The line space (X) varies along the X axis and is defined by

N ( X , Y ) 1 = N X (X , 0) X ( X )

.
Y =0

(4)

The grating lines are curved symmetrically on each side of the X axis, which means that N Y ( X , 0) = 0. That symmetry is required for the analysis to be orthogonal. Otherwise, the 44 ray matrix formalism would be needed to describe the paraxial effect of the grating [4]. We assume that the average surface of the grating (excluding the surface modulation) is an elliptic or hyperbolic paraboloid defined by the function Z(X, Y) =
X2 Y2 + 2R X 2 RY

(5)

where RX and RY are the orthogonal radii of curvature shown in Fig. 2c. By convention the values of RX and RY are here positive (negative) for a concave (convex) curvature.

3. OPTICAL PATH LENGTHS

3.1 True optical path length

Figure 3 illustrates the true path of the analyzed ray. A point source Si is located on the zi axis at the positive axial distance ri from point O. The analyzed ray emitted from Si meets the grating surface at point PZ of coordinates (X, Y, Z(X, Y)) near point O, is then diffracted by the grating in the mth order, and finally crosses the zm axis at point Sm located at the axial distance rm from point O (see Fig. 3). The value of rm is positive (negative) when Sm is real (virtual). There is a different zm axis and a different point Sm for each diffraction order m. Point P is the projection of point PZ in the XY plane and will be used in the matrix analysis.

Sm

Fig. 3. True path of a ray emitted from point Si, diffracted at point PZ near point O and traveling up to point Sm. Point PZ has the projection P in the XY plane. Axes Y, yi, and ym, follow the right-hand rule (not shown).

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The true optical path length W, obtained from geometry and diffraction considerations [5, 6], is expressed by W = n S i PZ + n PZ S m + m 0 N ( X , Y ) , (6)

where 0 is the wavelength in vacuum. Using O to denote the value of at point O, NO to denote the arbitrary XX YY reference value of N at point O, and N O and N O to denote the curvatures (second partial derivatives) of N at point O along the X and Y axes respectively, W can be expanded in power series around point O and truncated to the second order to give
m 0 W ( ri + rm ) n + m 0 N O + X ( sin i sin m ) n + O X 2 cos2 i cos2 m cos i + cos m XX n + m 0 N O + + 2 ri rm RX

Y2 2

1 1 cos i + cos m YY n + m 0 N O . + r r RY i m

(7)

3.2 Matrix optical path length

The matrix optical path length (i.e. the optical path length expressed in terms of the ABCD-matrix elements) is an approximation of the true optical path length. It does not take into account the true point PZ of Fig. 3; its projection P in the XY plane is used instead. Figure 4 illustrates the three parts of the matrix analysis of the ray path.
(b)
1st part

(c)
2nd part 3rd part

A
Si

rv n2fh

matrix

Mt =

1AF IkxbxI
[c D J
CyDyJ

Sm
z
\ matrix

tray path

M=[AYBY1

/rm
_______________________

____ x

Fig. 4. Matrix analysis of the ray path in three parts. (a) The paraxial ray travels from point Si to point PU (the projection of point P in plane U). (b) The paraxial ray evolves from plane U to plane V with the grating matrices Mt and Ms to be determined. (c) The paraxial ray emerges in plane V at point PV (the projection of point P in plane V) and travels up to point Sm. Axes Y, yU, and yV, follow the right-hand rule (not shown).

In the first part, the ray emitted from the axial point source Si in the transverse plane xi yi reaches plane U at point PU, which is the projection of point P in plane U (see Fig. 4a). This propagation is described in the tangential plane by
xU 1 ri n x' = 1 0 U

xi x' i

(8)

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In the second part, the ray evolves from the input plane U to the output plane V of the grating. This is described in the tangential plane by Eq. (2), using the ray matrix Mt of Fig. 4b. In the third part, the ray emerges from plane V at point PV, which is the projection of point P in plane V, and the ray then travels up to the axial point Sm (see Fig. 4c) in the transverse plane xm ym. This propagation is described in the tangential plane by
xm 1 rm n x' = 1 0 m xV x' . V

(9)

Equations similar to Eqs. (2), (8), and (9), are found in the sagittal plane using y instead of x and Ms instead of Mt. We are now looking for the expression of the optical path length in terms of matrix elements. The matrix optical path length Wmat from the xi yi plane to the xm ym plane is Wmat = Waxial + Wq1 + Wq2 + Wq3 , (10) where Waxial is the constant optical path length along the optical axis (from the xi yi plane to the xm ym plane) and Wq1, Wq2, and Wq3, are the quadratic parts added to the path for the paraxial ray under analysis in the first, the second, and the third parts of Fig. 4, respectively. The expression generally used for Wq2 in an orthogonal system is Wq2 =

1 1 2 2 2 2 ( y U Ay 2 y U y V + y V D y ) ( x U Ax 2 x U xV + xV D x ) + 2By 2 Bx

(11)

This expression comes from the phase shift associated to each ray in the eikonal function of the propagation integral found in the Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction theory and expressed in terms of ABCD-matrix elements [1, 2]. Using Eq. (3), its analogous relation in the sagittal plane, and the matrix elements of Eqs. (8) and (9), Eq. (11) can be rewritten for each individual quadratic part as r (12a) Wq1 = i ( x'i x' U + y 'i y ' U ) , 2n 1 (12b) Wq2 = ( x U xV C x + x' U x' V B x + y U y V C y + y ' U y ' V B y ) , 2 r (12c) Wq3 = m ( x' V x'm + y ' V y 'm ) . 2n The useful expressions for Wq1, Wq2, and Wq3 in terms of X 2 and Y 2 are developed as follows, with relations coming from geometry and from the combination of Eqs. (2), (3), (8), and (9) in the tangential plane. First, we apply
x'i = ( x U xi ) n ri

(13a) (13b) (14a) (14b)

in Eq. (12a) and then in the result. Second, we apply

x U = D x x V B x x' V x' m = ( xm xV ) n rm

in Eq. (12c) and then

x V = Ax x U + B x x ' U

in the result. Third, we use the fact that x i = x m = 0 and we convert all the remaining slopes in terms of xU and xV with
x' U = n x U ri x' V = n x V rm

, .

(15a) (15b)

Relations similar to those of Eqs. (13) to (15) are found in the sagittal plane using y instead of x. Finally, we use the geometric relations x U = X cos i , (16a)
x V = X cos m

, ,

(16b) (16c)

and

yU = yV = Y

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to obtain the total matrix optical path length Wmat = Waxial

X 2 cos i cos m 2 n Ax n 2 B x nDx + + Cx + rm ri rm ri Y 2 n Ay n 2 B y nD y + + +Cy + 2 rm ri rm ri
.

(17)

4. COMPARISON AND RESULTS

On one hand, the comparison of the constant terms in Eqs. (7) and (17) gives Waxial = ( ri + rm ) n + m 0 N O , (18)

which highlights the contribution of the reference grating cycle number NO to the effective optical path length for m 0. On the other hand, the comparison of the linear terms in Eqs. (7) and (17) (the terms in X ) gives the well-known diffraction grating equation
sin m = sin i + m 0 n O

(19)

Finally, the comparison of the quadratic parts in Eqs. (7) and (17) goes as follows. The elements Ax, Bx, Cx, and Dx, are found by equating the terms containing X 2 rm , X 2 (ri rm ) , X 2 , and X 2 ri , respectively. The same method is applied to the terms in Y 2 for the elements Ay, By, Cy, and Dy. This method is valid because the matrix elements should not depend on X, Y, ri, or rm. The 22 tangential and sagittal matrices of the curved VLS grating used in reflection are therefore
cos m cos i Mt = XX m 0 N O ( cos i + cos m ) n R cos cos cos cos i m i m X 1 Ms = YY m 0 N O ( cos i + cos m ) n RY , cos i cos m 0 0 . 1

(20a)

(20b)

A similar development for the case of a transmission VLS grating leads to Waxial = nin ri + n out rm + m 0 N O ,
n out sin m = nin sin i + m 0 O

(21) (22)
cos i cos m 0 0 , 1

cos m cos i Mt = XX nout cos m nin cos i m0 N O + cos i cos m R X cos i cos m

(23a)

and

1 Ms = YY m 0 N O + ( nout cos m nin cos i ) RY

(23b)

where nin and nout are the refractive indices of the input and output media respectively.

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5. DISCUSSION
The comparison between the true (truncated) and the matrix optical path lengths gives the 22 tangential and sagittal ray matrices for a varied line-space diffraction grating with curved lines. The matrix elements BX and BY equal zero (no propagation), as expected for an interface. The matrix elements CX and CY govern the orthogonal focal lengths of the grating. They depend on the orthogonal curvatures (second partial derivatives) of both the average surface function Z(X, Y) and the line number function N(X, Y). The comparison also leads to the classical diffraction grating equation required to retrieve the direction of the optical axis of the mth diffraction order. Without the grating lines, the obtained matrices become the well-known 22 matrices of elliptic or hyperbolic paraboloid boundaries and mirrors [2]. In the case of reflection, one of the transverse axes must rotate, which introduces a negative sign in all the elements of the ray matrix related to the rotated axis. The mention of this behavior is often missing from matrix analyses done independently in the tangential and sagittal planes. Symmetry of the curved grating lines is required for the analysis to be orthogonal. Further non-orthogonal analyses would need the 44 matrix formalism [4].

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by grants from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Fonds qubcois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FQRNT), and the Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations (CIPI).

REFERENCES
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Collins Jr., S. A., "Lens-system diffraction integral written in terms of matrix optics," J. Opt. Soc. Am. 60, 11681177 (1970). Siegman, A. E., [Lasers], University Science Books, Sausalito, Chap. 15 (1986). April, A. and McCarthy, N., "ABCD-matrix elements for a chirped diffraction grating," Optics Commun. 271, 327333 (2007). Fortin, G. and McCarthy, N., "4x4 ray matrix for a curved chirped grating at oblique incidence," accepted in June 2008, to be published in J. Opt. Soc. Am. A. Abramson, N., "Principle of least wave change," J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 6, 627-629 (1989). Palmer, C. and McKinney, W. R., "Imaging theory of plane-symmetric varied line-space grating systems," Opt. Eng. 33, 820-829 (1994).

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