Abstract

This paper presents a derivation of the response of a simple grating spectrometer to a plane wave that is modulated in both phase and amplitude by arbitrary functions. The spectrometer is characterized by its familiar frequency-domain response and by its less familiar time-domain response. It is found that the time-domain characterization is a useful form for studying the response of a spectrometer to a modulated plane wave. The quasi-static response for low modulation rates is clearly revealed by the time-domain characterization. Furthermore, the response of the first moment of the light intensity in the focal plane of the spectrometer can be derived easily from the time-domain characterization.

The technique described here is used to compute the time-domain response of a spectrometer to a plane wave with a linearly sweeping frequency.

© 1966 Optical Society of America

Diffraction of a Plane Wave at a Sinusoidally Stratified Dielectric Grating

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J. Opt. Soc. Am. 56(11) 1502-1508 (1966)

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Visual Display of Incoherent Wave Fields by Planar Arrays*

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J. Opt. Soc. Am. 56(3) 370-376 (1966)