Strong coupling of a surface-relief dielectric grating to a structurally chiral volume grating

The boundary-value problem of the reflection and transmission of light by a composite structure, wherein a surface-relief dielectric grating is coupled to a structurally chiral volume grating, has been formulated and solved with results showing the robust co-existence of phenomena characteristic of both types of grating: namely, Rayleigh-Wood anomalies and Bragg phenomena. A mechanism to strengthen the coupling between both grating types is included namely, a quarter wave plate - whose birefringence converts normally incident linearly polarised light at the Bragg wavelength into transmitted circularly polarised light (and vice versa). It is possible to tailor the period of the sinusoidally corrugated surface-relief grating such that the scattering of obliquely incident light from above, by the surface grating, will lead to a specific non-specular order being scattered onto a path which is normally incident on the rest of the composite structure. Significantly, such orders exhibit the circular Bragg phenomenon in reflection and transmission only if both grating types are present, making this a truly coupled effect. (c) 2005 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.