Three-dimensional vector coupled-wave analysis of planar-grating diffraction

Diffraction by an arbitrarily oriented planar grating with slanted fringes is analyzed using rigorous three-dimensional vector coupled-wave analysis. The method applies to any sinusoidal or nonsinusoidal amplitude and/or phase grating, any plane-wave angle of incidence, and any linear polarization. In the resulting (conical) diffraction, it is shown that coupling exists between all space-harmonic vector fields inside the grating (corresponding to diffracted orders outside the grating). Therefore the TE and TM components of an incident wave are each coupled to all the TE and TM components of all the forward- and backward-diffracted waves. For a general Bragg angle of incidence, it is shown that the diffraction efficiency can approach 100% for a lossless grating if either the incident electric field or the magnetic field is perpendicular to the grating vector. Maximum coupling between incident and diffracted waves is shown to occur when the incident electric field is perpendicular to the grating vector. In general, the diffracted waves are shown to be elliptically polarized. The three-dimensional vector coupled-wave analysis presented is shown to reduce to ordinary rigorous coupled-wave theory when the grating vector lies in the plane of incidence.