Diffractive Optical Elements & Microstructures

Diffractive optical elements (DOEs) are optical components that use the diffractive properties of engraved microstructures to transform the incoming beam into the desired light distribution, using the periodicity of the structure or lack thereof to create discrete (beam splitters) or continuous patterns (beam shapers, diffusers) respectively. Because the working principle of these components is based on the diffraction of the light by these patterned surfaces, DOE beam shapers and beam splitters can be designed much thinner and lighter than their refractive counterparts, but the small structure sizes make them difficult and resource-intensive to simulate.

In this field, the fast physical optics modeling and design software VirtualLab Fusion offers a family of field solvers based on the Thin Element Approximation (TEA), which allow optical engineers to design systems with this type of devices and to analyze their behavior. As an example, below you can find an investigation of the angular dependence of a reflective diffractive beam splitter, as well as a document offering a deeper look into our diffractive optical element and microstructure components.