Study of broadband polarization conversion with metallic surface-relief gratings by rigorous coupled-wave analysis

The conical rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) is employed to calculate the polarization conversion through the excitation of surface plasmons on metallic gratings. Various examples are examined with this numerical scheme. Our calculated results are consistent with those obtained from experiment and from other numerical methods. Three types of subwavelength surface-relief gratings are studied for the capability of broadband polarization conversion in the visible region. For wide-angle applications, various incident angles are studied and high polarization conversion efficiency is achieved. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America