It is known that diffraction-based grating dividers can be constructed using materials of different diffraction indices and certain critical geometries. For example, a grating divider may comprise a periodic pattern of geometrically regular ridges and grooves in a substrate of fused SiO2. The ridges and grooves exhibit geometric characteristics including a period “p”, a height “h” of the ridges, and a fill factor “r” which is the ratio of the width of the ridges to the period. Through selection of these parameters, it is possible to determine the degree to which light of various orders are transmitted and/or are trapped within the substrate. For example, a grating having a refraction angle in excess of the 43.6° critical angle for the SiO2 air interface will trap±first order refraction component light. Details of a relevant grating divider can be found in the co-pending application Ser. No. 12/638,334 filed Dec. 15, 2009 and assigned to the assignees of this application, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds